Having not seen it since it came out in 1979, when I cast my eye upon the DVD for sale in the supermarket, I had to go for it. It was the first film I paid to see more than once. In the span of two weeks I saw it three times. I was overwhelmed by the raw energy, anger, honesty, layered meanings and rich design.
A lot of it held up for me. As is the case with any work you first experience in youth, the piece means something different to me now. I’d totally forgotten some of the bit parts- cch pounder as the nurse at the end, Tiger Haynes as the hospital employee who keeps Gideon busy till the Orderlies arrive by singing with him, Ben Vereen delivering a harsh almost Step’n Fetchit caricature of his own persona from many Fosse productions, notably Pippin. There’s Keith Gordon of “Christine” fame, playing the young Joe Gideon.
There’s so much to it. Having seen “American Beauty”, there are moments in “All That Jazz” that feel like “American Beauty” in terms of the harshness of personal relationships. Some of the dialogue is brutal.
The big production number, Gideon’s death, was filmed at the newly (at that time) opened Theatre D on the SUNY Purchse campus in Westchester County NY. When I went for my college interview/audition, I got a tour of the theatres (since that was to be my major) and they were very proud of their participation in the film
Wow. I was 13 when I saw that and I loved it, I haven’t even thought about it in years. I’ll have to look around for it. Is it as sexual as I remember? I was thinking my kids would probably like it, but I’m not sure they’d want to watch it with me in the room.
I saw it in the theatre, which considering I was 11 at the time amazes me in retrospect. I liked it well enough for the soundtrack to be the first album I remember buying with my own money after getting a new stereo for my birthday. Although there was quite a bit of it that went well over my head. I remember for years thinking Gideon had wet his pants at the strip club gig. I remember “Take Off With Us” being hotter than it was, or maybe by the time I saw it again I was just jaded. Haven’t seen it for a while; maybe I’ll go rent it this week.
The thing I remember (having seen it in the theater while at college) was in spite of the vain self-absorbtion, it made no apologies or excuses for itself. I found it everything that cartooniverse did except I see no parallels between it and “American Beauty.”
In addition, I thought the performances were powerful, espescially Schneider and Vereen.
I may go seek out that DVD just to see how well it has held up for me.
Yeah it really is as sexual as you remember. ( I just mis-typed that and wrote, " yeah it really is as asexual as you remember. ). He’s quite the lover.
Ah, that opening sequence. First of all, a tour de force of editing, pre-MTV. I do not know if I’d ever seen editing that rapid-fire until I saw All That Jazz. There are beautiful moments in that sequence- including the heartbroken yet brave faced last auditioner, who is told ( silently, to us ) that he didn’t make the cut. He is grateful for the shot, and yet crushed. And remember, the guy in the black tights pants during the more crowded “early audition” moments? He’s ** so completely clueless** and out of step, that Gideon’s Ex and daughter are hilarious watching him? I was rooting for that guy. Sixty dancers swing their arms up to the right and turn, his hands BOUND up to the left.
That’s theatre. You’re up, you’re down, you’re relishing all of it. As a performance/theater kid in Jr High and H.S., the movie articulated things I’d been feeling for years. Probably why I loved it so much.
IMDB says in the Trivia area that Anne Reinking had to audition more than once for the role she played, which Fosse based on… Anne Reinking. It smells very Urban Legend-ish to me. I happen to be very fond of Ms. Reinking, I had a wonderful professional encounter with her about 4 years ago.
). He’s quite the lover.