More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

This writer can't admit to being a fan of Fosse. I'll applaud his choreography, but his movies have always annoyed me in their overstated blandness. But the sheer bravura of this sequence makes it the perfect lovechild of 70's Hollywood narrative experimentation and the staccato, hyper-real rapidity of 80's pop culture. As dancers gyrate to and fro to the strains of "On Broadway", we're given a look at a culture that seems both alien and incisively familiar. Sure, it takes someone who's tried to make a go at dancing on Broadway to really understand the experience, but the way Fosse frames these opening scenes works two ways. He cheekily plays with the ex-theater director's admittedly rampant ego in a decidedly "Broadway" fashion, but also paints a picture of his protagonist as just another man who wants to succeed in his endeavors: He's an everyman Willy Loman, only coked-up and frenzied. A somewhat fictionalized alter-ego of Fosse's, as Gideon heads toward fulfilling his pleasures of the flesh, he self-destructs on the way, turning what seems at first to be just another Broadway wish-fulfillment story into a downward spiral.

But All That Jazz has almost as many detractors as it has fans, so it remains to be seen whether the film is a misunderstood, classic or merely an above- average pseudo-autobiography by a naturally effusive and unmistakable personality (it will take another twenty years or so to all figure itself out, I think). For me, it falls into that category of filmmaking that is easy to admire but hard to really enjoy. The film won more than its fair share of awards - Alan Heim's editing work received pretty much every prize from all filmmaking camps, and the picture won the Palme D'Or at Cannes (along with Kagemusha) - but as a dramatic film, it leaves a rusty, metallic taste in one's mouth. I'd actually argue that it's a film for filmmakers and theater directors: a movie that treads on a few sections of common ground for filmgoers of all shapes and sizes, but mostly addresses issues that only appeal successfully to the inflated egos and artistic aims of collaborative artists.

Yet All That Jazz really is a must-see film, even if it's not an out-of-the-park classic. Its style is truly ahead of its time, and it houses some great music and wonderful set design. The fact that it's narratively stilted never really makes all that big of a deal - its sadly ecstatic sense of palpable dramatic drive and provocative visual style all but make up for it. Definitely one of a kind.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

This 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks excellent. The print is still a bit worn but in fine form considering its age. Blacks are solid and contrast good, which results in a surprisingly amount of visible detail. More lackluster is the film's somewhat faded color scheme, which is reproduced here with consistency but is never eye- popping. Blues and reds literally dance off the screen and there's minimal muddiness and smearing with even the most highly-saturated hues, but fleshtones are a bit hit-and-miss: sometimes they're nicely contrasted and well-defined, but every once in a while they lack piquancy. All in all, though, All That Jazz looks pretty wonderful here.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby 2.0 surround track here is appropriate to the material if not extraordinary. It seems like a film with this heated of a fan base would have merited an explosive, from-the-ground-up remix, but that isn't the case here. Dialogue is presented nicely if not definitively, and channel separation is only minimally exploited, even if some of the movie's more avant-garde usage of effects and atmospherics are nicely allocated across the front channels. But how nice it would have been had Fox been able to come up with a full-blown 5.1 remix? Ah, well...this is just a good mix, not a great one.

Also included is a French mono track plus English and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The highlight here is Roy Scheider, who provides a new scene- specific audio commentary, if not entirely full-length. While his recollections add an interesting facet to an already-invigorating film, it's not a consistently interesting track. His thoughts on the infamous "cattle call" scene that opens the film as well as the heart attack sequences toward the film's end are candid and illuminating, but much of the time he's either silent or somewhat mundane. (A real nice touch: the commentary is itemized by chapters in the Special Features section, so you can know which scenes has commentary and which don't.

Then we have a few additional interviews with Roy Scheider filmed during the movie's production. They make for an interesting comparison with Scheider's 2001 commentary track: with this role, Scheider seemed hungry, talented and willing to do anything for Fosse. Fascinating. Then we have five short clips of Bob Fosse on set, where we get a behind-the-scenes peek at the Oscar- winning director choreographing the "On Broadway" sequence.

Rounding out the collection are trailers for other Fox Flix: The Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection, Oklahoma, The Rose, The Sound of Music and South Pacific. The film also has a crazy and fascinating theatrical trailer all its own, and it's included here in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts