All That Jazz (1979)

Pretty Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I remember watching the movie back in 1982, and what stuck most in my mind was the recurring scene of Roy Scheider facing the mirror with the eye drops and dexedrine tablets saying: "It's showtime folks!"Bob Fosse made a overview about his life, in which recognizes that he is not taking the right path. Even so, he is still being able to succumb to the stream of indolence. It is as if he had no choice but to surrender to his self-destructive attitude.The film also has a transcendental view: he knows he is going to die soon. The role of "Angel of Death" is played by Jessica Lange, who listen his final statement. Despite of his misbehaviour, she does not judge him. This causes a strange feeling in the viewer: empathize with him notwithstanding what we have said.Anyway, what we have is an honest, well-directed and gripping musical autobiography. 9/10

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.Besides Scheider (who is at his best here), we get a young John Lithgow, Wallace Shawn and plenty of highly skilled dancers. Even those who may not normally like musicals or dancing will be drawn to this film because it is executed so wonderfully.As if the choreography and direction were not good enough, the plot is quite clever, too, existing in layers that may not make sense at first but show themselves as the film goes on. This is really a story of life and death, told with real passion as the creator (Fosse) had really lived it, and unfortunately did not live too much longer after the film's completion.

1st watched 8/23/2014 -- 7 out of 10(Dir-Bob Fosse): Dark comedic musical about the downfall of a Broadway musical director written and directed by Bob Fosse is very well done for the most part. Roy Scheider plays the overworked, overmedicated, playboy director who just refuses to give less of himself to his work and his body can't deal with it. This is advertised as a musical, but it's more a portrayal of a man who really has no direction to go but down because of his refusal to change his way of life. He admits to his faults but just doesn't deal with it. He cheated on his ex-wife, doesn't give enough time to his daughter, cheats on his current girlfriend, and is majorly obsessed to giving everything to his work to these faults. This movie does exactly what it wants to do almost perfectly. The only flaw, in my opinion, is an overlong slightly corny ending number. Fosse choreographs the dancing numbers -- which there are plenty of -- but they complement the story rather than just being an addition. The beautiful Jessica Lange portrays death and is used throughout to help show what's going on inside Scheider's character and introduces the inevitable very early on. The movie could be considered depressing but it's all done tongue-in-cheek(almost laughing at itself because of the choice of the subject matter). The two hours fly by because of the way the director presents the main character and gets your interest in his life. Pieces are revealed as the story moves forward and by the end you get a complete picture of the man's life. This movie is so much more than a musical even though these parts aren't bad either --- it should be held in acclaim as one of the better of it's kind -- don't miss this one.

This film is about an EXTREMELY manic Broadway producer (Roy Scheider) who burns the candle at both ends--pushing himself in such an extreme and unhealthy way that eventually he has a heart attack in the midst of a production. Will he survive? Well, while waiting to find out, the film takes an amazing turn. Up until the heart attack, it's a SOMEWHAT conventional film about the making of a play. BUT, after the attack, it suddenly becomes VERY surreal--with many song and dance numbers that explore death! In this sense, the film really is a lot like Fellini's "8 1/2"--but with song and dance numbers! I could say more...but don't want to spoil what happens next. Just hold on...the final scene is one of the most amazingly stunning in film history!!"All That Jazz" is one of those rare films that I didn't particularly enjoy BUT I really respected what it tried to do. While it is similar, in some ways, to a few other films (such as "42nd Street"), the total package is wholly unique--and for that reason alone it deserves to be seen. But, I am warning you, it's very possible you won't like a lot of the film because the leading man is pretty awful--drinking to excess, using drugs to excess, using women to excess--heck, doing EVERYTHING to excess! Interestingly, the film's director, Bob Fosse, intended this as a sort of autobiography--so I assume Fosse was a very talented but incredibly screwed up man...AND, he welcomed the world to see this!! This was either a case of incredible narcissism or perhaps a cry for help or understanding--I have no idea which the case might be! I mentioned how "All That Jazz" is a lot like "42nd Street". This is because in "42nd Street" (the film), Warner Baxter is in many ways the manic Broadway producer that Scheider is in "All That Jazz"--and, in the end, he burns himself out and dies--all for the sake of the show. As far as "8 1/2" goes, it's much more likely you've seen that and it's a very strange film that explores a film director whose life is VERY hectic and he retreats into fantasy and day dreams to cope with his out of control life. All these films are well worth seeing and would make a great triple-feature.By the way, less than a decade after "All That Jazz", Fosse really DID die of a heart attack at age 60. Talk about art imitating life!! NOTE: This film has many adult themes, language and nudity. Think twice before showing this to your mother or kids.