It's showtime, folks. Director/choreographer Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical All That Jazz (1979) offers up one of the more sobering parables on the perils of being a workaholic. Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is a driven man, working around the clock to choreograph and select the dancers for a Broadway musical while also editing a feature film. Living on pills, cigarettes, coffee, and women, Gideon is--as his private angelic vision (Jessica Lange) seems to suggest--looking for a coronary (and he finds it during one of the show's signature pieces--a graphic and surreal sequence in which song and dance meets open heart surgery). Garnering Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Actor (Scheider), and taking home Oscars for Editing, Costume Design, Music, and Art Direction-Set Decoration, All That Jazz remains a treat for the eyes and ears (the opening number "On Broadway" is a visual and aural tour de force) nearly a quarter century after its debut. While the DVD's anamorphic widescreen transfer here is decent, the limited Dolby surround soundtrack (as opposed to full-bodied 5.1) is a bit disappointing. The disc also features an indexed scene-specific commentary track by Scheider, five clips (six minutes total) of Fosse directing the "cattle call" sequence, and three brief clips of Scheider responding to interview questions. Timed to coincide with the release of Chicago (based on a Fosse musical), this very affordably-priced classic is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Apr. 3, 2007—Fox, 123 min., R, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1979's All That Jazz (Special Music Edition) features a solid transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include audio commentary by editor Alan Heim, a 23-minute “Portrait of a Choreographer” production featurette, “Perverting the Standards” (8 min.), a “making-of” on the song “On Broadway” (4 min.), a “Movie-Oke” sing-along for “Take Off with Us,” and a “Music Machine” feature that lets you jump to any song in the film. Bottom line: the extras on the original release have, unfortunately, been dropped for the new ones, but with the Dolby Digital surround track bumped up to 5.1 this is the better version of Fosse's excellent autobiographical film.][DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Sept. 9, 2014—Criterion, 123 min., R, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray/DVD Combo: 3 discs, $39.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray and latest on DVD, 1979's All That Jazz features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 3.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras include audio commentary by editor Alan Heim, select scene commentary by star Roy Scheider (35 min.), a new conversation between costars Ann Reinking and Erzsebet Foldi (34 min.), a 1980 clip from the TV talk show Tomorrow featuring director Bob Fosse and choreographer Agnes de Mille (32 min.), Fosse interviews from 1981 on The South Bank Show (27 min.) and with Gene Shalit in 1986 (26 min.), the 2007 featurette “Portrait of a Choreographer” (23 min.), a 2014 interview with Heim and Fosse biographer Sam Wasson (21 min.), a 2014 interview with Heim (15 min.), set footage (12 min.), a 2007 soundtrack segment (8 min.), a making-of look at the song “On Broadway” featuring singer George Benson (4 min.), a trailer, and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Hilton Als. Bottom line: a contemporary classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]
All That Jazz
Fox, 123 min., R, DVD: $14.98 Volume 18, Issue 5
All That Jazz
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