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ALL THAT JAZZ (Fosse, 1979)
Criterion Collection, Blu-ray, Release Date August 26, 2014
Review by Christopher S. Long
“All That Jazz” (1979) pits
choreographer-director Bob Fosse's razzle-dazzle against lead actor
Roy Scheider's serene confidence to create a movie musical like few
others.
Fosse, who also co-wrote the script
along with Robert Alan Arthur, takes the autobiographical impulse as
far as any feature filmmaker this side of Terence Davies. Joe Gideon
(Scheider) is a famous Broadway musical director who has spent most
of his life pushing every boundary of personal and professional
conduct and now also finds himself pushing fifty. Through flashbacks,
we find out that Joe (like Fosse) grew up in show business; an
adolescence in the company of burlesque strippers proved to be the
ideal apprenticeship for the big stage and also explains the constant
charges of vulgarity that dog much of Joe's work. Fortunately the
supremely talented Mr. Foss... I mean Gideon doesn't lack for
confidence, at least until his heart gives out on him. It's a wonder
it held up up so long, having to power a body that has already
burned through a dozen lifetimes, not to mention a few hundred
thousand cigarettes.
Expanding the style he first fully
explored in “Cabaret” (1972), Fosse (along with editor Alan Heim,
who netted an Oscar for his efforts) wasn't shy about chopping his
dance numbers into snippets of motion and gestures and re-assembling
the sequence in post-production. The frenetic, kaleidoscopic style
thrills fans with its nova-burst energy while frustrating other
viewers who would rather see more documentary evidence of an actual
physical performance, though it looks positively tame compared to the
absurd, fully-mulched extreme to which Rob Marshall took “Chicago”
(2002). Factor in the film's complex time-hopping structure, which
often returns to a black-clad Gideon conversing backstage with a very
sympathetic angel of death (Jessica Lange), and it's not hard to
understand why the film has sometimes been described as both
indulgent and excessive – by supporters as well as detractors.
Roy Scheider provides the calm amidst
the sensory maelstrom. He imbued every role he ever took with instant
credibility, whether blowing up sharks, piloting a helicopter, or
sorting out a massive Broadway casting call while confronting his
impending death. Scheider is the ballast that steadies the entire
production, so at ease in the role you'd never know he wasn't a
song-and-dance man by training. Maybe his career as an amateur boxer
was better preparation for life both as and under the direction of
Bob Fosse. Scheider is at his best when showing just how hard Foss..
I mean Gideon works at just about everything: his choreography, the
movie he edits in his non-existent free time, his drugs, and his very
active love life. Few characters better embody the credo that it's
better to burn out than to fade away.
With apologies to the movie's many
ardent fans, I find most of the Cuisinarted musical numbers to be
gaudy and irritating. Fosse was used to that kind of criticism and
even addresses it with humor in the film when Gideon suffers a second
heart attack while watching a vapid TV film critic tear apart his new
movie.
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Ending on a high note |
The film's final number, recently
parodied (perhaps “paid homage to” is more appropriate) in the
“Eagleheart” finale, is a distinct exception. Actually I guess it
isn't much of an exception. Gideon's final farewell is even more
ostentatious than every other number, but it is so profoundly
heartfelt that it moves me to tears despite my not feeling much for
the protagonist up to that point.
Whether or not Fosse was indulgent (and
don't we want talented artists to indulge that talent?), he was
honest. This was his genuine vision and he worked relentlessly to
achieve it. It's not my bag, but it's still damned impressive, and
thank goodness he found such a perfect collaborator to realize that
vision in Roy Scheider.
Video:
The film is presented in its original
1.85:1 aspect ratio. Criterion's 1080p transfer is spectacular as
usual. Perhaps surprisingly, the film isn't particularly colorful.
However the image detail is sharp throughout and the rich grain
structure lends it a very filmic look.
From the Criterion booklet: “Undertaken
by Twentieth Century Fox and the Academy Film Archive in
collaboration with The Film Foundation, this new 4K digital
restoration was produced from the original camera negative at Sony
Colorworks in Culver City, California.” The restoration has
certainly paid off.
Audio:
Criterion goes with a DTS-HD Master
Audio in the original 3.0 surround track. The lossless sound is sharp
and dynamic without a hint of damage or boosting anywhere. Optional
English subtitles support the English dialogue.
Extras:
I guess Criterion has embraced the
excess that comes with Bob Fosse as they have included thirteen
separate extras totaling approximately four hours running time.
And that doesn't include the
feature-length commentary track by editor Alan Heim, originally
recorded in 2007.
If that track isn't enough, you also
get a Selected-Scene Commentary by Roy Scheider, recorded in 2001 and
running 35 minutes in all. Both of the commentaries were included on
previous DVD versions of the film from Fox.
Other carry-overs from previous DVDs
include: “Portrait of a Choreographer” (2007, 23 min.) which
includes interviews with Liza Minnelli, Rob Marshall and others; “The
Soundtrack: Perverting the Standards” (2007, 8 min.), a compilation
of interviews with composers Glen Ballard, Jerry Casale, Mark
Mothersbaugh and Diane Warren; and “The Making of the Song 'On
Broadway” (2007, 4 min.) which is an interview with
singer-songwriter George Benson.
Most of the other features are new to
Criterion's Blu-ray. These include a new interview with actresses Ann
Reinking and Erzsebet Foldi (2014, 34 min), who play Gideon's
girlfriend and daughter, respectively, and also interviews with
editor Alan Heim (2014, 15 min.) and Sam Wasson (2014, 21 min.) who
wrote the biography “Fosse.” The Heim interview is of particular
interest and also encompasses his work with Fosse on “Lenny”
(1974).
Archival footage includes the Jan 31,
1980 episode of Tom Snyder's “Tomorrow” show, with Fosse and
Agnes De Mille as guests (32 min.), the Mar 8, 1981 episode of “The
South Bank Show” (27 min.) hosted by Melvyn Bragg, and a 1986
interview of Fosse conducted by critic Gene Shalit (26 min.) There
are also two short on-set featurettes: “Fosse Directing” (8 min.)
and an on-set interview with Roy Scheider (4 min.). A Theatrical
Trailer (2 min.) rounds out this exhaustive collection.
The 28-page insert booklet includes an
essay by writer Hilton Als.
Film Value:
Criterion has released a definitive
version of “All That Jazz” with a flawless transfer and as many
extras as could be squeezed onto a single Blu-ray, I'm sure. Fans
shouldn't hesitate to add this to their libraries.
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