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| Roy Scheider, Ann Reinking, Jessica Lange,
Ben Vereen |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Joe
Gideon (Roy Scheider): It's showtime! [repeated line]
A
brilliant but self-destructive Broadway choreographer works his way
towards a major heart attack.
 Following
the celebrated success of multi-Oscar-winner Cabaret, Broadway
choreographer Bob Fosse saw the films he directed subjected to an increasing
amount of controversy and criticism with each new outing. All That
Jazz! was greeted with public bewilderment and a kind of critical
outrage for Fosse's gall to have made an entire movie seemingly about
nothing other than himself. Words like 'self-indulgent' and 'megalomaniacal'
appeared in nearly every review, and continue to divide opinion about
this ambitious attempt to reinvigorate the defunct genre of the Hollywood
musical.
The end result, as is often the case with Fosse's films, is a rather
mixed bag. Its unsparing look at Fosse's alter ego, portrayed as an
obsessive workaholic and philanderer, is rarely fun to watch, and remains
mired in the familiar cliché of the tormented creative genius
unable to cope with personal relationships, in spite of Roy Scheider's
brilliance as an actor and the honesty of his performance. The film's
structure is desperately uneven, with several protracted set pieces
bound to test the patience of even the most devoted Fosse addicts.
But Fosse's strongest points as a director are also on hand, offering
enough memorable moments to sustain interest through the film's weaker
stretches. The director's genius for editing combined with his well-known
brilliance as a choreographer delivers musical numbers that are visually
truly unique as well as dramatically sound. He has an uncanny eye for
catching his actors at their most believable, seemingly registering
their most intimate moments, and his ability to create electrifying
cinema sequences is unchallenged. It's odd that he loses this ability
as soon as he starts staging acts rather than registering impromptu
performances, with the film's interminable closing hallucination probably
the worst example of 'over-indulgent excess'. All That Jazz!
however remains a daring, bold exercise in creative filmmaking with
an incredible lead performance, a part of a sadly limited body of work
left by one of America's most extraordinary film directors. |
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As
yet unannounced for Region 1, a Region 2 release is streeting in late
April 2002.
The
anamorphic widescreen image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx.
1.85:1. The image looks a little pale and washed-out, and shadow detail
is sometimes variable. But the source print is otherwise in surprisingly
decent shape, with very little damage or other major distractions, presenting
a stable image with consistent, natural fleshtones and a pleasing transfer.
The sound mix is a straightforward stereo track presented in Dolby Digital
2.0 without any surround elements or dialogue separation mixed in. It
sounds a little tinny at time, but most of the musical tracks have good
fidelity and dialogues sound crisp and clean.
 In
an effort to go at least one small step beyond a bare-bones release,
20th Century Fox has included a handful of extras to accompany this
long-awaited DVD. Star Roy Scheider recorded a new audio commentary
track, though the legend 'scene-specific' in this case means that he
speaks fairly briefly at the beginning of each chapter stop, after which
one should employ the 'Next Chapter' button to jump to his next bit
of commentary. He recollects how he became involved with the project,
and talks a lot about working with Fosse and about the physical challenges
the role faced him with. It's a good track, though it is annoying to
have to guess when a silence is considered long enough to safely skip
to the next chapter stop for more.
The other extras are interesting but rather raw archival material: a
bare three minutes of Roy Scheider interviews were conducted
on-set (you can hear the cast and crew working and applauding in the
background), and his answers to three questions certainly don't add
anything substantial to the much more in-depth discussion in his commentary.
There are also five clips of footage showing Bob Fosse directing
the opening 'cattle call' sequence, which may be interesting for Fosse
fans desperate to sneak a quick peek at their hero, but which are repetitive
and add little to the package. Finally, the theatrical trailer
is also on board.
It's really too bad, especially given the autobiographical nature of
this film, that no documentary on Bob Fosse has been included on this
release, as it could have added substantially to one's appreciation
of the film. Other extras delving into the film's famous set design,
cinematography, editing or choreography could also have had enormous
added value, so in that respect, this DVD release is a wasted opportunity.Menu
screens are static and easily navigated.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on All
That Jazz!.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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