All That Jazz (1979)

Director:

Bob Fosse

Writers:

Robert Alan Aurthur (written by) and
Bob Fosse (written by)

Release Date:

20 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

All that work. All that glitter. All that pain. All that love. All that crazy rhythm. All that jazz.

Plot:

Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid life of Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), a womanizing, drug-using dancer.

Plot Keywords:

Near Death Experience | Workaholic | Hallucination | Prescription Drug Abuse | Dream Sequence

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Joe Gideon
Jessica Lange	...	Angelique
Leland Palmer	...	Audrey Paris
Ann Reinking	...	Kate Jagger
Cliff Gorman	...	Davis Newman
Ben Vereen	...	O'Connor Flood
Erzsebet Foldi	...	Michelle Gideon
Michael Tolan	...	Dr. Ballinger
Max Wright	...	Joshua Penn
William LeMassena	...	Jonesy Hecht
Irene Kane	...	Leslie Perry (as Chris Chase)
Deborah Geffner	...	Victoria Porter
Kathryn Doby	...	Kathryn
Anthony Holland	...	Paul Dann
Robert Hitt	...	Ted Christopher

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:12 | South Korea:18 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Argentina:18 | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Peru:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Astoria Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The mustachioed editor (called, "Eddie") of the film-within-a-film, "The Stand-Up" is played by Alan Heim, the actual editor of this film.

Quotes:

Joe Gideon: Kate, I try to give you everything I can give.
Kate Jagger: Oh, you give all right; presents, clothes. I just wish you weren't so generous with your cock.
Joe Gideon: [pauses in thought] That's good. I can use that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fade to Black (1980)

Soundtrack:

Everything Old Is New Again

Depressing but brilliant

The life and times of Bob Fosse--oops! sorry!--Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider). He directs, choreographs and writes Broadway musicals and the occasional movie. He also has sex with every woman he can, is a chronic smoker...there's more but I don't want to ruin it.

Basically, this is a character study and an absolutely fascinating one. This is Bob Fosse doing a movie about himself and showing his life in an extremely negative light. I saw this movie when it first came out in 1980. I thought it was one of the most depressing things I had ever seen--but went back to see it three additional times.

The acting is just great all across the board--Scheider is cast against type...and pulls it off. In fact he was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance (he lost to DeNiro for "Raging Bull"). Jessica Lange is playing...let's call her Our Lady of the Oxygen Tank (you'll see what I mean). Seriously, she has a difficult role and plays it beautifully.

The direction is superb, mixing fantasy with reality seamlessly. The songs are good and the dancing is just great (especially in one VERY erotic number about casual sex).

This movie is not for everyone--I know of one theatre in which half the audience walked out demanding their money back--but, if you're game, you probably won't be able to take your eyes off the screen.

Depressing but just great. Fosse's best film (even better than "Cabaret"!)