I had a debate with some people on Twitter this week when I noted the next movie in my Neglected Cinema series would be All That Jazz. “You have a different definition of neglected than I do,” one person commented. Another reminded me that it won four Oscars and was universally praised when it came out 1979.
Yes, it was showered with accolades upon its initial release, and many cinemaphiles are passionate fans of the film (it’s extremely well-reviewed on Amazon). But unlike other seminal films released in the 1970s, All That Jazz has faded from our collective pop culture consciousness. It’s seldom rerun on television, it hasn’t gotten a lavish blu-ray restoration, and you can find copies of the DVD on the cheap at discount stores. Finally, it has all but disappeared from critical discussions of classic films… when you look at books on the subject, it’s rarely brought up at all.
That is how I define “neglected.”
Bob Fosse was a hugely successful Broadway director and choreographer, best known for the musical Chicago. He was also a womanizer, heavy drinker and smoker, and a noted director (I’ll be revisiting one of his earlier films, Lenny, for this series at a later date). After several heart-related health problems took its toll, Fosse decided to write and direct a movie about… himself. All That Jazz is that film, and it’s a challenging film to watch. It’s unique approach of being a semi-autobiographical musical/drama with very dark moments makes it hard to classify, and has many moments that are fairly… no, completely self-indulgent.
Roy Scheider plays Joe Gideon, the movie’s “stand-in” for Fosse, who shares all of Fosse’s bad habits and affectations. Gideon is an arrogant control-freak, and often an asshole… again, very much like Fosse was known to be. He’s not very sympathetic as a character, except for the fact that he is played by Roy Scheider. Scheider’s natural charisma and likeability makes Gideon approachable, and it’s hard to imagine any other actor of the time playing the part as well as he does.
The plot of the film involves Gideon working two jobs, choreographing a new show during the day and editing a movie about a controversial comic during the day, all while trying to maintain a solid relationship with his daughter from a previous marriage and a rocky relationship with a young dancer. It’s pretty much a retelling of Fosse’s life when he was working on his movie Lenny and the musical Chicago, and it’s a fascinating look at how Fosse “saw” those events from his perspective.
Rounding out the cast is the beautiful Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer as Gideon’s ex-wife (no relation to Laura’s father), a very young John Lithgow, the great Ben Vereen, and Jessica Lange as… well, if you haven’t seen the movie I’ll let you discover who she plays when you do.
Musicals are a hard “sell” to today’s moviegoers, and it’s a genre that is still alive through shows like Glee and Smash. All That Jazz doesn’t help such a sales pitch, especially when a scene late in the movie shows an actual open heart surgery being performed. Death is a constant presence in the film, and All That Jazz is unflinching in exposing how final it is. Hardly the typical subject for a song and dance film.
But as dark and unapproachable All That Jazz often is, it’s still a brilliant piece of filmmaking, a egotistical romp from a very talented man. It’s worth watching, and rewatching, and celebrating.