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Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman ... see more see more... , John Lithgow , Erzebet Foldi , Ben Vereen , Michael Tolan , Max Wright , William Le Massena , Chris Chase , Deborah Geffner , Kathryn Doby , Anthony Holland , Robert Hitt , David Margulies , Sue Paul , Keith Gordon , Frankie Man , Alan Heim , Sandahl Bergman , Nicole Fosse , Ben Masters , Theresa Merritt , CCH Pounder , Wallace Shawn , Sloane Shelton

"It's showtime!" In this part film à clef, part musical phantasmagoria, director/choreographer Bob Fosse takes a Felliniesque look at the life of a driven entertainer. Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider, channe... read more read more...ling Fosse) is the ultimate work (and pleasure)-aholic, as he knocks back a daily dose of amphetamines to juggle a new Broadway production while editing his new movie, not to mention ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer), steady girlfriend Kate (Ann Reinking), a young daughter, and various conquests. Joe cannot, however, avoid intimations of mortality from white-clad vision Angelique (Jessica Lange) that lead him to look back at his life as he heads for a near-inevitable coronary and his departure from this mortal coil with the appropriate razzle-dazzle. Taking his cue from Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (1963), Fosse moves from realistic dance numbers to extravagant flights of cinematic fancy, as Joe meditates on his life, his women, and his death. Following a similarly dark revisionist vein as Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977), Fosse shows the stiff price that entertaining exacts on entertainers (among other things, he intercuts graphic footage of open-heart surgery with a song and dance), mercilessly reversing the feel-good mood of classical movie musicals. Critics praised Fosse's daring even as they damned his self-indulgence, while Scheider was lauded for giving the best performance of his career. Though not a disastrous failure, All That Jazz came nowhere near the popularity of 1978's Grease, as late '70s audiences increasingly turned away from "difficult" movies. For all its excesses, Fosse's fiercely personal approach turned All That Jazz into another striking work from one of the few directors able to make, and experiment with, movie musicals after the 1960s. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Flixster Users

83% liked it

10,627 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

30 critics

R, 2 hr. 3 min.

Directed by: Bob Fosse

Release Date: December 20, 1979

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DVD Release Date: August 19, 2003

Stats: 772 reviews

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Erzebet Foldi All That Jazz Vicki Frederick All That Jazz All That Jazz All That Jazz All That Jazz It's show time folks! All That Jazz Leland Palmer as Audrey Paris A scene near the end Vicki Frederick All That Jazz
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Flixster Reviews (772)

  • hunterjt13
    June 16, 2011
    hunterjt13
    A philandering, chain-smoking choreographer struggles with heart problems, both real and figurative, as he attempts to mount another Broadway hit.
    What an amazing film! Bob Fosse's All That Jazz is everything that 8 1/2 and by extension Nine wish they were. ... read more It is about both show business and mortality, fucking around and fidelity, and addiction and love. We see this in Joe Gideon's attempts to rev himself up for the life he's chosen for himself like a car that won't turn over. He understands that all of his choices have amounted to his unhappiness but feels powerless to change anything. And the producers who calculate profit off of his potential death and scoff at the artistry of his choreography serve as an unwelcome reminder that for many it's more about the business than the show.
    I think my favorite scene is the dance that Gideon's daughter and girlfriend do for him before they serve him dinner. The choreography and their interaction with him are so charming as to melt this cold cynic's heart. More to the point, I thought, "Why is it that those who are most loved realize it the least?" Then I saw the reaction shots, showing Gideon laughing uproariously. He does realize it, but nothing can re-direct his life's course, which sets up the truly tragic but fitting ending.
    Bob Fosse's remarkable choreography is all over All That Jazz, and this is the film to disprove those who think that dancing isn't a truly effective form of artistic communication. Additionally, Roy Scheider's performance is fantastic; who knew that the dude from Jaws could sing and dance?
    Overall, this is one of the best musicals ever made, full of fantastic numbers, great acting, and a substantive story.
  • MissMorganLeee
    September 11, 2010
    MissMorganLeee
    The last 45 minutes or so of this show were very very good. The last 15 minutes FANTASIC! I loved it...If you love broadway, showbusiness, choreography ect. You will love this movie!
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    February 6, 2010
    DragonEyeMorrison
    One of the few musicals i can tolerate, and even like.
  • tsigur
    February 5, 2010
    tsigur
    Really liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. I think it was the editing that some might find annoying but I thought it was perfect for the story. Roy Scheider is great, but I was really impressed by the dancers and their naturalistic performances.
  • hobster1
    January 20, 2010
    hobster1
    Vulgar, decadent, autobiographical musical about Bob Fosse. Interestingly, the portrait is not flattering despite being written, directed, even choreographed by Fosse himself. There is real self -loathing here as the film challenges the viewer to care for the main character. H... read moree's morally repellent and downright unpleasant. Joe Gideon's constant daily routine is Vivaldi, Visine, Alka-Seltzer, Dexedrine and sex. He juggles multiple women, including a wife and girlfriend as his health deteriorates. Overly affected and self indulgent fantasy sequences in which he flirts with the angel of death are intercut with graphic scenes of real open heart surgery. Even the dance numbers feel overwrought. AirRotica, one of his most flamboyant, tries to be so aggressively erotic, it's actually humorous. Shockingly overrated, it was nominated for Nine Academy Awards. Roy Scheider has a real presence in the leading role. As for the rest? I just didn't get it.
  • jjnxn
    September 22, 2009
    jjnxn
    Roy Scheider gives a good performance of a basically unlikable person and most of the dancing is very good but the overall tone and feeling of the film is off putting.
  • sanjurosamurai
    September 18, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    although held back by an unothodox style and pacing of the music, the film excelled in enough areas so as to not only balance it out but to overcome the flaws to make for a very good movie. the commentary on death in the final act was obviously the strength and scheider gave a g... read morereat performance.
  • middleeasternfilms
    April 20, 2008
    middleeasternfilms
    After years of battling drugs dealers, murderers and sharks, Roy Scheider really shines in this dark musical based on the life of Bob Fosse, who was previously involved in Cabaret, Chicago and Damn Yankees. The ending of this movie (with Ben Vereen) is one of favorite endings.
  • mjgildea
    April 1, 2008
    mjgildea
    I kind of had a 3-star attitude about All That Jazz throughout most of the movie. I don't like musicals but seeing as how this one was darker and more character-driven I was able to get past my own bias. Roy Scheider was great and Ann Reinking was cute as all hell. Once the inevi... read moretable kicked in about 2/3 of the way through and the extended (as in often too long) musical and dance numbers kicked in I started losing interest. The hospital scene with the old woman on her death bed left me speechless. And Jessica Lange is a foxy Angel of Death. In the end I liked All That Jazz, but I probably don't need to see it again.
  • jennifxu
    September 17, 2007
    jennifxu
    Incredibly over-the-top and really typifies the area where reality meets illusion. The style takes some getting accustomed to but the dance numbers (oh wow, oh god wow) are really something. Oh mann Anne Reinking.

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Critic Reviews

Frank Rich
August 12, 2008
Frank Rich, TIME Magazine

Though Scheider is a wry, sensitive actor, he soon gets lost in the vulgar theatrics. Full Review

Dave Kehr
August 12, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Almost every scene is excruciating (and a few are appalling), yet the film stirs an obscene fascination with its rapid, speed-freak cutting and passionate psychological striptease. Full Review

Variety Staff
June 18, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

A self-important, egomaniacal, wonderfully choreographed, often compelling film which portrays the energetic life, and preoccupation with death, of a director-choreographer. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Some of it makes you wince, but a lot of it is great fun. Full Review

Dan Jardine
July 22, 2010
Dan Jardine, Cinemania

All That Jazz is a speed freak of a movie, flying by at breakneck pace, then screeching to a halt so the protagonist can indulge in some serious ruminations on death Full Review

Kim Newman
August 12, 2008
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine

Savagely witty on backstage life and audaciously edited. Full Review

August 12, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The dancing is frenzied, the dialogue piercing, the photography superb, and the acting first-rate, with non-showman Scheider an illustrious example of casting against type. Full Review

Cole Smithey
October 13, 2007
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Ain't Jazz dance grand when you're dyin' ?

Emanuel Levy
February 28, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Self-reflexive, narcissistic, and entertaining, this film is Fosse's 81/2 (he even uses Fellini's cinemtographer Rotunno). High production values and superb acting by Roy Scheider as the artist's alte... Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

It's very pleased with itself. Full Review

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    • Joe Gideon: Don't bullshit the bullshitter.
    • Joe Gideon: It's showtime!
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All That Jazz Trivia

  • Whose life story is loosley based on the film All That Jazz?  Answer »
  • Which Movie Features The Following Songs; -All That Jazz -Cellblock Tango -Mr. Cellophane  Answer »
  • What is the opening song in the film All That Jazz?  Answer »
  • True or False: Bob Fosee actually predicted his own death with the semi-autobiographical film All That Jazz.  Answer »
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