Album Description

1995 reissue of the soundtrack to director Bob Fosse's acclaimed 1979 musical co-starring Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange. Ralph Burns arranged & conducted all 14 tracks, whichinclude performances by George Benson, Sandahl Bergman and Ben Vereen with Scheider. A Spectrum/ Karussell release. ... Read more

Reviews (87)

FOSSE ON FOSSE
With a typically sardonic and vicious glare, Bob Fosse examines his own obsessive life as a creator/director/choreographer -- and womanizer, drinker, druggie. While this movie has its shamelessly over-the-top qualities (Jessica Lange as Death, for one), the musical sequences are so dazzling that they instantly make this move a must-see, if not must-have, for any Fosse fan. The opening, a wow-you-in-the-gut audition sequence set to On Broadway (Benson's stunning version), does more in four minutes than the film of Chorus Line does in its entire running time to convey the show biz world of Broadway. And the then-gamine Ann Reinking is on hand to literally play herself, as well as dance in that feline way. The musical number Take Off With Us is at once amusing, sparkling, sensual and spectacular, featuring an explosive ensemble of dancers. Fosse's bitter take on his own mortality may slow things down (the Lenny-inspired sequences bore into your brain) a bit, when the music is playing you are in for a revved-up treat.

FLAWED, WEAK TRANSFER of a THOROUGHLY ENGROSSING FILM
"All That Jazz" is a semi-autobiographical recounting of Bob Fosse's life. Directed by the master himself, the film follows Broadway producer, Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider)as he spirals into an oblivion of drug addiction, alcoholism and womanizing while preparing to launch his greatest show yet. Joe is ably pushed to the edge of the great beyond by the lovely Angel of Death (Jessica Lange)who eventually gets her wish. This is perhaps the only time in my viewing experience that a musical film has given me chills. The entire plot functions on the mental anguish of its protagonist and his inevitable demise and the final few moments are truly unsettling.
So is FOX's DVD transfer quality; the image suffers from dated - often muddy - colors, washed out and pasty flesh tones, weak blacks, an excessive amount of film grain and various age related artifacts that generally detract from the visual experience. Edge enhancement and pixelization are big problems in certain scenes but others appear to be free of their frustrating inclusion. The soundtrack is Stereo Surround, well balanced though, on occasion, strident.
EXTRAS: An interview with Scheider while he was making the film that is needlessly divided into chapter stops that don't matter. Ditto for several snippets of Fosse at work on the set. The theatrical trailer is also included.
BOTTOM LINE: If you simply can't live without this film - as I could not (for its brilliant story telling vision and disconcerted charm)then I recommend it highly. The transfer, however, will disappoint - especially for a film of seventies vintage!

A visual feast even for an only lukewarm fan of Broadway
Soon after its 1979 release, curiosity impelled me to see ALL THAT JAZZ. I say curiosity because anything smacking of a film musical didn't then attract my attention much. Not yet an old dog, and apparently still capable of learning a new trick, I remember being impressed. Recently, I saw it presented on the Big Screen once again as part of a classic film revival. I'm reminded what a truly superb production this is.

Roy Scheider, in arguably his greatest role ever, portrays Joe Gideon, a work-obsessed Broadway choreographer and director existing on cancer sticks, booze, sex and uppers. Directed by the preeminent choreographer Bob Fosse, ALL THAT JAZZ was purportedly semi-autobiographical.

Joe is struggling to put together a new dance production and, simultaneously, edit a behind-schedule film, all the while juggling the three principal women in his life: ex-wife, current significant other, and teenage daughter. Talk about stress! In periodic visual sidebars, we watch as Joe rationalizes his self-destructive behavior to a glamorous Angel of Death, coquettishly played by Jessica Lange.

The film's dance sequences, products of Bob Fosse's brilliance, and sets by Phillip Rosenberg and Tony Walton, are visual extravaganzas not to be missed. (Oscars were awarded for Art Direction and Set Decoration.) Perhaps the cleverest is the solo routine performed by the ex-wife character as she rehearses a number to be performed in Gideon's latest production, all the while debating with him the course of their failed relationship. Positively engaging is the "impromptu" number performed for Joe at his apartment by his current mistress (played by the strikingly long-legged Ann Reinking), along with his daughter. Then there's the sexually suggestive "Air Otica/Come Fly With Us" ballet sequence, Gideon's attempt to energize an otherwise stodgy airline commercial. (As one of the airline execs resignedly puts it, "Well, we've lost the family audience.")

Another nice touch for the uninitiated is the revelation that performer selection and training for a polished dance routine is a hard, sweaty, merciless process. The faint-hearted best not show up for the audition.

Perhaps the film's only flaw is its length as it unwinds to its foregone conclusion. Although ALL THAT JAZZ won an Oscar for Film Editing, the Ben Vereen-assisted toe-tapper should have been considerably shortened. However, that said, it must be emphasized that the movie is richly entertaining throughout. Perchance you ever have the opportunity to see it on the Big Screen, don't pass it by. As Gideon so expressively states in front of the mirror each morning after he girds himself (with Dexedrine and Visine) for another grueling day , "It's show time!"

THE JAZZY, SNAZZY, MORBID UNDERBELLY OF SHOWBIZ
What a dazzlingly engaging experimentation with the medium of film as we take an evocative peep into the life of a showbiz-obsessed director Fosse -- the hedonistic man behind the actual stage version of "Chicago."

Apart from being a truly sexy turn-on of a musical, it hits one out of the park as an exploration of an artist at war with himself. Somewhat indulgent, yes, but it is the brutally honest potrayal of the many imperfections (girls, gin, glitz) of a perfectionist, in all his triumphs and trials, that makes this film a very, very endearing experience.

The bleak undertones may scare the faint-hearted but for them there's all the riveting stage action. A wholesome film that belongs in your own collections, not just in your Blockbuster records.

Narcissism On Center Stage
The whole point of the movie is Fosse is a narcissistic (...)and freely admits it. He revels in it. His attitude is not "do or don't do what I do" but, rather, I don't care what you or anyone else does because I'm special and you aren't. Sort of a Barry Bonds of the dance world. Fosse sees the Broadway dance musicals business as fake and silly. Actually, he is the one who is fake and silly and, like all narcissists, in his heart of hearts, he knows it. A rollercoaster ride of drug and alcohol binges and loud garish dance nuumbers. Brilliantly conceived and excellently acted by scheider. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Choreographer-turned-director Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Lenny) turns the camera on himself in this nervy, sometimes unnerving 1979 feature, a nakedly autobiographical piece that veers from gritty drama to razzle-dazzle musical, allegory to satire. It's an indication of his bravura, and possibly his self-absorption, that Fosse (who also cowrote the script) literally opens alter ego Joe Gideon's heart in a key scene--an unflinching glimpse of cardiac surgery, shot during an actual open-heart procedure.

Roy Scheider makes a brave and largely successful leap out of his usual romantic lead roles to step into Gideon's dancing pumps, and supplies a plausible sketch of an extravagant, self-destructive, self-loathing creative dynamo, while Jessica Lange serves as a largely allegorical Muse, one of the various women that the philandering Gideon pursues (and usually abandons). Gideon's other romantic partners include Fosse's own protégé (and a major keeper of his choreographic style since hisdeath), Ann Reinking, whose leggy grace is seductive both "onstage" and off.

Fosse/Gideon's collision course with mortality, as well as his priapic obsession with the opposite sex, may offer clues into the libidinal core of the choreographer's dynamic, sexualized style of dance, but musical aficionados will be forgiven for fast-forwarding to cut out the self-analysis and focus on the music, period. At its best--as in the knockout opening, scored to George Benson's strutting version of "On Broadway," which fuses music, dance, and dazzling camera work into a paean to Fosse's hoofer nation--All That Jazz offers a sequence of classic Fosse numbers, hard-edged, caustic, and joyously physical. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Reviews (87)

FOSSE ON FOSSE
With a typically sardonic and vicious glare, Bob Fosse examines his own obsessive life as a creator/director/choreographer -- and womanizer, drinker, druggie. While this movie has its shamelessly over-the-top qualities (Jessica Lange as Death, for one), the musical sequences are so dazzling that they instantly make this move a must-see, if not must-have, for any Fosse fan. The opening, a wow-you-in-the-gut audition sequence set to On Broadway (Benson's stunning version), does more in four minutes than the film of Chorus Line does in its entire running time to convey the show biz world of Broadway. And the then-gamine Ann Reinking is on hand to literally play herself, as well as dance in that feline way. The musical number Take Off With Us is at once amusing, sparkling, sensual and spectacular, featuring an explosive ensemble of dancers. Fosse's bitter take on his own mortality may slow things down (the Lenny-inspired sequences bore into your brain) a bit, when the music is playing you are in for a revved-up treat.

FLAWED, WEAK TRANSFER of a THOROUGHLY ENGROSSING FILM
"All That Jazz" is a semi-autobiographical recounting of Bob Fosse's life. Directed by the master himself, the film follows Broadway producer, Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider)as he spirals into an oblivion of drug addiction, alcoholism and womanizing while preparing to launch his greatest show yet. Joe is ably pushed to the edge of the great beyond by the lovely Angel of Death (Jessica Lange)who eventually gets her wish. This is perhaps the only time in my viewing experience that a musical film has given me chills. The entire plot functions on the mental anguish of its protagonist and his inevitable demise and the final few moments are truly unsettling.
So is FOX's DVD transfer quality; the image suffers from dated - often muddy - colors, washed out and pasty flesh tones, weak blacks, an excessive amount of film grain and various age related artifacts that generally detract from the visual experience. Edge enhancement and pixelization are big problems in certain scenes but others appear to be free of their frustrating inclusion. The soundtrack is Stereo Surround, well balanced though, on occasion, strident.
EXTRAS: An interview with Scheider while he was making the film that is needlessly divided into chapter stops that don't matter. Ditto for several snippets of Fosse at work on the set. The theatrical trailer is also included.
BOTTOM LINE: If you simply can't live without this film - as I could not (for its brilliant story telling vision and disconcerted charm)then I recommend it highly. The transfer, however, will disappoint - especially for a film of seventies vintage!

A visual feast even for an only lukewarm fan of Broadway
Soon after its 1979 release, curiosity impelled me to see ALL THAT JAZZ. I say curiosity because anything smacking of a film musical didn't then attract my attention much. Not yet an old dog, and apparently still capable of learning a new trick, I remember being impressed. Recently, I saw it presented on the Big Screen once again as part of a classic film revival. I'm reminded what a truly superb production this is.

Roy Scheider, in arguably his greatest role ever, portrays Joe Gideon, a work-obsessed Broadway choreographer and director existing on cancer sticks, booze, sex and uppers. Directed by the preeminent choreographer Bob Fosse, ALL THAT JAZZ was purportedly semi-autobiographical.

Joe is struggling to put together a new dance production and, simultaneously, edit a behind-schedule film, all the while juggling the three principal women in his life: ex-wife, current significant other, and teenage daughter. Talk about stress! In periodic visual sidebars, we watch as Joe rationalizes his self-destructive behavior to a glamorous Angel of Death, coquettishly played by Jessica Lange.

The film's dance sequences, products of Bob Fosse's brilliance, and sets by Phillip Rosenberg and Tony Walton, are visual extravaganzas not to be missed. (Oscars were awarded for Art Direction and Set Decoration.) Perhaps the cleverest is the solo routine performed by the ex-wife character as she rehearses a number to be performed in Gideon's latest production, all the while debating with him the course of their failed relationship. Positively engaging is the "impromptu" number performed for Joe at his apartment by his current mistress (played by the strikingly long-legged Ann Reinking), along with his daughter. Then there's the sexually suggestive "Air Otica/Come Fly With Us" ballet sequence, Gideon's attempt to energize an otherwise stodgy airline commercial. (As one of the airline execs resignedly puts it, "Well, we've lost the family audience.")

Another nice touch for the uninitiated is the revelation that performer selection and training for a polished dance routine is a hard, sweaty, merciless process. The faint-hearted best not show up for the audition.

Perhaps the film's only flaw is its length as it unwinds to its foregone conclusion. Although ALL THAT JAZZ won an Oscar for Film Editing, the Ben Vereen-assisted toe-tapper should have been considerably shortened. However, that said, it must be emphasized that the movie is richly entertaining throughout. Perchance you ever have the opportunity to see it on the Big Screen, don't pass it by. As Gideon so expressively states in front of the mirror each morning after he girds himself (with Dexedrine and Visine) for another grueling day , "It's show time!"

THE JAZZY, SNAZZY, MORBID UNDERBELLY OF SHOWBIZ
What a dazzlingly engaging experimentation with the medium of film as we take an evocative peep into the life of a showbiz-obsessed director Fosse -- the hedonistic man behind the actual stage version of "Chicago."

Apart from being a truly sexy turn-on of a musical, it hits one out of the park as an exploration of an artist at war with himself. Somewhat indulgent, yes, but it is the brutally honest potrayal of the many imperfections (girls, gin, glitz) of a perfectionist, in all his triumphs and trials, that makes this film a very, very endearing experience.

The bleak undertones may scare the faint-hearted but for them there's all the riveting stage action. A wholesome film that belongs in your own collections, not just in your Blockbuster records.

Narcissism On Center Stage
The whole point of the movie is Fosse is a narcissistic (...)and freely admits it. He revels in it. His attitude is not "do or don't do what I do" but, rather, I don't care what you or anyone else does because I'm special and you aren't. Sort of a Barry Bonds of the dance world. Fosse sees the Broadway dance musicals business as fake and silly. Actually, he is the one who is fake and silly and, like all narcissists, in his heart of hearts, he knows it. A rollercoaster ride of drug and alcohol binges and loud garish dance nuumbers. Brilliantly conceived and excellently acted by scheider. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Shows what a master craftsman can do on a small budget
The five stars are more in appreciation of the limits of big budget. On pocket change Mr Kubrick knocked off a clever liitle film that acts as a " prequel " to the astonishing things to follow. It's interesting to watch this again after the seminal Eyes Wide Shut. Mr Kubricks world view never deserted him. Love the goldfish bowl shot, the street buskers and the mixed up rendevous in the street, the fight in the fashion dummy factory shows that even then Mr Kubrick could ellicit astonishingly real performances. Great little movie. Don't miss it.

Killer's Kiss on DVD
Being an avid Stanley Kubrick fan, I was very frustrated to find there were no copies of "Killer's Kiss" for sale or rent where I live. The day I bought my DVD player I found a copy of it on DVD, and I had to have it.

"Killer's Kiss" is the so-so film noir tale of a boxer who loses a fight and is ready to return to his home, where his family is, until he gets entangled with the dark life of a dance-hall girl. Through falling in love with this girl, he gets caught up with her jealous ex-lover, a crime king-pin. The story and the dialogue here are weak, but the film is redeemed by its own quirkyness and the beautiful black-and-white camera work.

The DVD of "Killer's Kiss" has only one extra feature... A trailer of the film. It's nothing special, but it is somewhat interesting for historical purposes. The redeeming quality of this DVD ends up being the clarity of the picture, which, I feel is very good for an obscure 1955 film.

It all really comes down to don't buy the "Killer's Kiss" DVD unless you love Kubrick, or have seen the movie and know you like it. You really have to wonder if this was the "Pi" or "Being John Malkovich" of its day.

DESPITE ITS NON-KUBRICK ENDING, A BRILLIANT FILM
I doubt most self-confessed Kubrick fans have seen this movie.

It's just over an hour long and even so we have the trademark Kubrick opening, where he takes his own sweet time in letting us know what the film is about but somehow draws us in all the same. The denouement is famously infamous for being a tad hollow, but this doesn't prevent it from being involving while it lasts.

Kubrick once again demonstrated the he could point a camera at anything at all and make it interesting - the images are amazing, yet entirely functional. The movie is B&W, which I am not usually a fan of, but you'll love this on DVD. It's also a masterpiece of violence-without-violence, if you know what I mean.

Give it a try, it's a brilliant piece of cinema. Kubrick in his element even in 1955.

Kubrick's beginnings
Considering this film is only around an hour long,it's strange how long it seems.It is lacking in plot,the acting isn't all that great and the sound editing is distractingly bad.But,what would you expect from a baby-faced kid from New York only working on his second feature and doing practically everything by himself?
"Killer's Kiss" isn't important for it's content,but it is very important for the insight it provides.The insight of a young Stanley Kubrick transforming from a photographer to a filmmaker.Indeed,there are some amazing shots that stick in your mind.For example,there is a shot of two goons creeping up on an unsuspecting soul in a case of mistaken identity.All three figures are in silohouette and the contrast with a brick wall background is striking.Very little is seen,but the implied action is truly tragic.And then you see one of the goons,still in silohouette,combing his hair.Just like a classic Hollywood thug,more worried about his hair than ending another man's life.
But,I digress."Killer's Kiss" should been witnessed,but only with knowledge that it's director was a work in progress.

Underrated independent noir
I keep going back to this picture to revisit a more humanistic (and very young) Stanley Kubrick. I think I even prefer this short film to "The Killing," his next feature. Extraordinary lighting and interesting performances and sequences with Irene Kane, aka, Chris Chase, Frank Silvera, and an intriguing dream/ballet scene with Kubrick's second wife, Ruth Sobotka. When you watch this with EWS, you realize that perhaps Kubrick completed the circle of his career but his world view never really changed. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Shows what a master craftsman can do on a small budget
The five stars are more in appreciation of the limits of big budget. On pocket change Mr Kubrick knocked off a clever liitle film that acts as a " prequel " to the astonishing things to follow. It's interesting to watch this again after the seminal Eyes Wide Shut. Mr Kubricks world view never deserted him. Love the goldfish bowl shot, the street buskers and the mixed up rendevous in the street, the fight in the fashion dummy factory shows that even then Mr Kubrick could ellicit astonishingly real performances. Great little movie. Don't miss it.

Killer's Kiss on DVD
Being an avid Stanley Kubrick fan, I was very frustrated to find there were no copies of "Killer's Kiss" for sale or rent where I live. The day I bought my DVD player I found a copy of it on DVD, and I had to have it.

"Killer's Kiss" is the so-so film noir tale of a boxer who loses a fight and is ready to return to his home, where his family is, until he gets entangled with the dark life of a dance-hall girl. Through falling in love with this girl, he gets caught up with her jealous ex-lover, a crime king-pin. The story and the dialogue here are weak, but the film is redeemed by its own quirkyness and the beautiful black-and-white camera work.

The DVD of "Killer's Kiss" has only one extra feature... A trailer of the film. It's nothing special, but it is somewhat interesting for historical purposes. The redeeming quality of this DVD ends up being the clarity of the picture, which, I feel is very good for an obscure 1955 film.

It all really comes down to don't buy the "Killer's Kiss" DVD unless you love Kubrick, or have seen the movie and know you like it. You really have to wonder if this was the "Pi" or "Being John Malkovich" of its day.

DESPITE ITS NON-KUBRICK ENDING, A BRILLIANT FILM
I doubt most self-confessed Kubrick fans have seen this movie.

It's just over an hour long and even so we have the trademark Kubrick opening, where he takes his own sweet time in letting us know what the film is about but somehow draws us in all the same. The denouement is famously infamous for being a tad hollow, but this doesn't prevent it from being involving while it lasts.

Kubrick once again demonstrated the he could point a camera at anything at all and make it interesting - the images are amazing, yet entirely functional. The movie is B&W, which I am not usually a fan of, but you'll love this on DVD. It's also a masterpiece of violence-without-violence, if you know what I mean.

Give it a try, it's a brilliant piece of cinema. Kubrick in his element even in 1955.

Kubrick's beginnings
Considering this film is only around an hour long,it's strange how long it seems.It is lacking in plot,the acting isn't all that great and the sound editing is distractingly bad.But,what would you expect from a baby-faced kid from New York only working on his second feature and doing practically everything by himself?
"Killer's Kiss" isn't important for it's content,but it is very important for the insight it provides.The insight of a young Stanley Kubrick transforming from a photographer to a filmmaker.Indeed,there are some amazing shots that stick in your mind.For example,there is a shot of two goons creeping up on an unsuspecting soul in a case of mistaken identity.All three figures are in silohouette and the contrast with a brick wall background is striking.Very little is seen,but the implied action is truly tragic.And then you see one of the goons,still in silohouette,combing his hair.Just like a classic Hollywood thug,more worried about his hair than ending another man's life.
But,I digress."Killer's Kiss" should been witnessed,but only with knowledge that it's director was a work in progress.

Underrated independent noir
I keep going back to this picture to revisit a more humanistic (and very young) Stanley Kubrick. I think I even prefer this short film to "The Killing," his next feature. Extraordinary lighting and interesting performances and sequences with Irene Kane, aka, Chris Chase, Frank Silvera, and an intriguing dream/ballet scene with Kubrick's second wife, Ruth Sobotka. When you watch this with EWS, you realize that perhaps Kubrick completed the circle of his career but his world view never really changed. ... Read more