ALL
THAT JAZZ ($15) is director/choreographer Bob Fosse’s semi
autobiographical musical/fantasy/drama extravaganza (quite a mouthful,
eh?)- and pretty much the crowning achievement of his career in the
cinema. Filled with visual bravado, ALL THAT JAZZ tells the story
of director/choreographer Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), who is a brilliant
and totally driven artist, but a lousy human being. Joe has managed to
screw up every relationship in his life, due to the fact that he is
addicted to work, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and women- although, not
necessarily in that order. Despite everything he has done wrong, there are
four women in Joe’s life, his ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer), his
girlfriend Kate (Ann Reinking), his daughter Michelle (Erzsebet Foldi) and
the seductively beautiful Angelique (Jessica Lange), who is trying to take
Joe away from the other three.
When
we first encounter Joe, we discover that he is a man who is not only
burning the candle at both ends, but in the middle as well. Not only is he
directing a new musical starring his ex-wife, he is also in the midst of
editing and reediting a movie that is overdue and over budget, plus
managing to squeeze in some "private auditions" for dancers in
his upcoming show. Eventually, the strain of overwork and the years of
physical abuse to his body catch up with Joe, which actually leads to the
film into a brilliant and totally unforgettable musical/fantasy climax.
The cast of ALL THAT JAZZ also features Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen,
Michael Tolan, Max Wright, William LeMassena, Deborah Geffner, Keith
Gordon John Lithgow and Sandahl Bergman.
20th
Century Home Entertainment has made ALL THAT JAZZ available on DVD
in truly fine looking 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. Prior to this release, ALL THAT
JAZZ underwent a restoration to bring the film elements back from the
brink of oblivion. The results are quite good, with ALL THAT JAZZ
looking far better than it has in any home video or broadcast version. Of
course, the film still has the less than stunning quality, best associated
with motion pictures shot on seventies era film stocks. The image is
pretty sharp and nicely detailed, although sequences that have filtered
and fogged photography do appear a bit softer. Colors are a bit variable,
as those sequences shot under practical lighting seem to favor earthen
tones, while those shot under more controlled studio lighting appear movie
vibrant and demonstrate strong primary colors. Blacks appear pretty
accurate and the whites are stable. While the contrast is good, it varies
a bit, depending upon an individual sequence’s lighting. The film
element used for the transfer is free from serious damage or blemishes.
Digital compression artifacts remain in check throughout.
ALL
THAT JAZZ comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that decodes to
standard Dolby Surround. The sound design is interesting and effective in
that the movie sounds like a flat monaural mix for much of the film, only
to spring to exuberant life towards the end of the feature, with the
outlying channels seeing some action. The musical numbers are made to
stand out from the "reality-based" sequences, which sound a bit
mundane by comparison. Fidelity is good, but there are some limitations to
these late seventies recordings. Dialogue is sharp and always fully
understandable. A French monaural track is also encoded onto the DVD, as
are English and Spanish subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as some nice supplemental materials. Leading man
Roy Scheider is on hand to provide scene specific audio commentaries for
twenty-three individual sequences. Scheider provides some interesting
details about the production and it is nice to be able access his comments
individually. Vintage interviews with Scheider from the time of the film’s
production have also been included on the DVD, as have snippets of Bob
Fosse from the set. A theatrical trailer and bonus trailers close out the
supplements.
ALL
THAT JAZZ is a terrific movie that has been given a really fine
looking presentation on DVD by the folks at Fox. If you are a Bob Fosse or
Roy Scheider fan, this DVD is a must have. If you have never seen ALL
THAT JAZZ, it is definitely worth acquiring, plus the DVD’s bargain
price makes it really easy to own. Recommended.
ALL
THAT JAZZ ($15) is director/choreographer Bob Fosse’s semi
autobiographical musical/fantasy/drama extravaganza (quite a mouthful,
eh?)- and pretty much the crowning achievement of his career in the
cinema. Filled with visual bravado, ALL THAT JAZZ tells the story
of director/choreographer Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), who is a brilliant
and totally driven artist, but a lousy human being. Joe has managed to
screw up every relationship in his life, due to the fact that he is
addicted to work, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and women- although, not
necessarily in that order. Despite everything he has done wrong, there are
four women in Joe’s life, his ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer), his
girlfriend Kate (Ann Reinking), his daughter Michelle (Erzsebet Foldi) and
the seductively beautiful Angelique (Jessica Lange), who is trying to take
Joe away from the other three.
When
we first encounter Joe, we discover that he is a man who is not only
burning the candle at both ends, but in the middle as well. Not only is he
directing a new musical starring his ex-wife, he is also in the midst of
editing and reediting a movie that is overdue and over budget, plus
managing to squeeze in some "private auditions" for dancers in
his upcoming show. Eventually, the strain of overwork and the years of
physical abuse to his body catch up with Joe, which actually leads to the
film into a brilliant and totally unforgettable musical/fantasy climax.
The cast of ALL THAT JAZZ also features Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen,
Michael Tolan, Max Wright, William LeMassena, Deborah Geffner, Keith
Gordon John Lithgow and Sandahl Bergman.
20th
Century Home Entertainment has made ALL THAT JAZZ available on DVD
in truly fine looking 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. Prior to this release, ALL THAT
JAZZ underwent a restoration to bring the film elements back from the
brink of oblivion. The results are quite good, with ALL THAT JAZZ
looking far better than it has in any home video or broadcast version. Of
course, the film still has the less than stunning quality, best associated
with motion pictures shot on seventies era film stocks. The image is
pretty sharp and nicely detailed, although sequences that have filtered
and fogged photography do appear a bit softer. Colors are a bit variable,
as those sequences shot under practical lighting seem to favor earthen
tones, while those shot under more controlled studio lighting appear movie
vibrant and demonstrate strong primary colors. Blacks appear pretty
accurate and the whites are stable. While the contrast is good, it varies
a bit, depending upon an individual sequence’s lighting. The film
element used for the transfer is free from serious damage or blemishes.
Digital compression artifacts remain in check throughout.
ALL
THAT JAZZ comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that decodes to
standard Dolby Surround. The sound design is interesting and effective in
that the movie sounds like a flat monaural mix for much of the film, only
to spring to exuberant life towards the end of the feature, with the
outlying channels seeing some action. The musical numbers are made to
stand out from the "reality-based" sequences, which sound a bit
mundane by comparison. Fidelity is good, but there are some limitations to
these late seventies recordings. Dialogue is sharp and always fully
understandable. A French monaural track is also encoded onto the DVD, as
are English and Spanish subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as some nice supplemental materials. Leading man
Roy Scheider is on hand to provide scene specific audio commentaries for
twenty-three individual sequences. Scheider provides some interesting
details about the production and it is nice to be able access his comments
individually. Vintage interviews with Scheider from the time of the film’s
production have also been included on the DVD, as have snippets of Bob
Fosse from the set. A theatrical trailer and bonus trailers close out the
supplements.
ALL
THAT JAZZ is a terrific movie that has been given a really fine
looking presentation on DVD by the folks at Fox. If you are a Bob Fosse or
Roy Scheider fan, this DVD is a must have. If you have never seen ALL
THAT JAZZ, it is definitely worth acquiring, plus the DVD’s bargain
price makes it really easy to own. Recommended.
