| | | A Bob Fosse Film.
Features: DVD
Part tragic, part comic, this outrageous look at life in the fast lane in the Academy Award-winning musical about Bob Fosse's excessive life in show business.Played by Roy Scheider, Fosse's alter-ego drives himself over the edge and soon finds he is caught between a recurring fantasy about his death and the reality of a near-death experience. Dazzlingly presented, this electrifying story about the perils of pushing yourself too hard is filled with Fosse's legendary song-and-dance choreography.
"...Fosse's finest cinematic achievement." Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
"The magnificent Fosse touch at its best." Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly
"...dazzling masterpiece with a stunning performance by Roy Scheider." Nell Minow, Movie Mom
Editor's Note
Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical film celebrates show business stripped of glitz or giddy illusions. Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is at the top of the heap, one of the most successful directors and choreographers in musical theatre. But he can feel his world slowly collapsing around him--his obsession with work has almost destroyed his personal life, and only his bottles of pills keep him going. As he struggles to right his relationships with his ex-wife, his lover, and his daughter, he also has to cope with his failing health. Soon it's clear he'll have to make a choice: his art--or his life. A talented director and choreographer of both film and stage, Fosse was perhaps best known for helming the film version of CABARET and creating the musical CHICAGO.
| Features | 5 Bob Fosse Clips | | Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo | | Audio: French Dolby Digital Mono | | Dubbed: French | | Interviews With Roy Scheider | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Scene-Specific Commentary By Roy Scheider | | Subtitles: English, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 10/19/2006 |
| Original Release Date: 1979 | | Catalog ID: 2239753 | | UPC: 00024543397533 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (1989) | | | British Academy Awards, Giuseppe Rotunno, Best Cinematography | | | British Academy Awards, Alan Heim, Best Editing | |
Winner (1980) | | | Cannes Film Festival, Bob Fosse, Golden Palm Award | |
Nominee (1980) | | | Golden Globe, Roy Scheider, Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy | |
Winner (1980) | | | Oscar, Philip Rosenberg, et. al., Best Art Direction-Set Decoration | | | Oscar, Albert Wolsky, Best Costume Design | | | Oscar, Alan Heim, Best Film Editing | | | Oscar, Ralph Burns, Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score |
| Memorable Quotes| "Well folks, what can I tell you about my next guest? This cat allowed himself to be adored but not loved. And his success in show business was matched by failure in his personal relationships... that's where he really bombed. And he came to believe that work, love, his whole life, even himself and all that jazz, was bullshit. He became the numero uno game player, to the point where the games ended and the reality began. Like, for this cat, the only reality is death..." (O'Connor Flood, the ultimate variety show host, introducing the final appearance of Joe Gideon) | | | "['All That Jazz'] doesn't have a chance. It's going to be mostly 'Kramer vs. Kramer'. I'm such a long shot I think anyone who bets on me should get a toaster, like they give out in banks, for having made the investment." ---- Director Bob Fosse on his film's chances at the 1979 Academy Awards |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...The most forthrightly candid variation ever worked out on Peter Pan....A key to the success of the production is the performance of Roy Scheider..." 12/20/1979 p.C13Total Film
"Dazzling in its own right, it also offers an insight into backstage life..." 02/01/2004 p.121 Entertainment Weekly
"Fosse's skills as a choreographer -- his inventive rhythms, his dazzling tableaux -- do translate to filmmaking." -- Grade: B 04/13/2007 p.60 FilmCritic.com 8 of 10
Now that both Chicago and Cabaret have been dusted off and remounted as seemingly eternal fixtures on Broadway, and the film version of Chicago was such a rousing critical and commercial success, it's a good time to take a look back at one of the stranger entries in the career of choreographer/director Bob Fosse: All That Jazz...Fosse was never a neat-and-tidy director, and All That Jazz is definitely one of his messier creations. Overflowing with half-conceived ideas, the thing consumes itself even as it unspools...The final musical number is a perfect illustration of this schizophrenia...The conclusion is chillingly matter-of-fact and has eerie resonance with the circumstances surrounding Fosse's own death in 1987. - Chris Barsanti
DVD Verdict 10 of 10
In truth, All That Jazz is not a particularly upbeat film. Its celebratory moments, mostly captured in dance, are always tinged with irony. But it is also not a bleak film. Gideon may be dying, but Death is just another woman for him to seduce, another addiction to sate...All That Jazz invites its audience to debate that question even as we enjoy the striking visual moments Fosse creates on screen. This is a musical for people who distrust the idyllic world of musicals and an exploration of the creative process for anyone who has ever wondered what it costs to be a genius. In All That Jazz, Bob Fosse has choreographed a film with the psychological complexity (and solipsism) of Fellini, the audacity (and cynicism) of Stanley Kubrick, and the rhythm and verve of - well, of Bob Fosse. - Mike Pinsky
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