Watch All That Jazz For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Arrogant and self-destructive, yet gifted and driven stage director and choreographer Joe Gideon (a terrific performance by Roy Scheider) grapples with his own personal demons and failing health while trying to get a troubled Broadway production off the ground.Director/co-writer/choreographer Bob Fosse's barbed, vibrant, and exhilarating autobiographical love/hate letter to show business exposes all the behind the scenes backstabbing, fierce competitiveness, hedonistic excesses, raging over-sized egos, petty rivalries, irksome squabbling amongst financial backers, and constant womanizing with a bracing and brutal candor that's both poignant and profound in equal measure. Of course, Fosse certainly doesn't skimp on the ol' razzle dazzle: The bravura opening "On Broadway" auditions, incredibly erotic number "Take Off With Us" (Sandahl Bergman positively sizzles here), and the spectacular "Bye Bye Life" closer rate as three of the best and most exciting musical set pieces ever filmed.The splendid acting by the tip-top cast keeps this movie humming: Jessica Lange as seductive siren Angelique, Ann Reinking as Gideon's sweet, but log-suffering girlfriend Kate Jagger, Leland Palmer as Gideon's fed-up ex-wife Audrey Paris, Erzset Foldi as Gideon's precious daughter Michelle, Cliff Gorman as sharp-tongued stand-up comedian Davis Newman, Ben Vereen as dynamic dancer O'Connor Flood, Max Wright as antsy producer Joshua Penn, John Lithgow as smarmy opportunist Lucas Sergeant, and Deborah Gaffner as eager young hopeful Victoria. Giuseppe Rotunno's sumptuous cinematography provides an appropriately glittery look. A total pip.

I wasn't clear what kind of film All That Jazz would be before I sat through it. Would it have the same attitude of a vehicle that features Liza Minnelli throatily singing about how much she loves New York, wrapped in a scarlet feather boa and draped in jewels? Or if it would be the kind of thing The Band Wagon was, only covered in pills and booze? All That Jazz is thankfully neither. Directed by legendary choreographer and director Bob Fosse, All That Jazz is painfully autobiographical; we know it, and so does Fosse. What we receive is a film that is both robust but recklessly uneven, uncompromising in its vision. Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is aging in his long and paramount career. As a man in love with the stage and never willing to invent a normal, strictly crowd-pleasing production, he has become exhausted; he works only with frenetic energy and is willing to stay up hours upon hours to perfect his goals. But all those years of light sleeping, pill-popping, alcohol consuming, womanizing, and smoking have finally caught up with him. Joe can barely handle it.In All That Jazz, Fosse's ideas are fearless, conveyed only in lightning speed. But only about half of them are thoroughly successful. His inhibitions are sometimes extremely dynamic, energetic, even touching, while others remain dynamic and energetic but lack that impassioned stinger. Take the "Take Off with Us" sequence, for example. The scene sees Gideon previewing his planned dance numbers for his upcoming play to executives who are offensively conservative but scared of being, dare I say it, mean. The one that comes before "Take Off with Us" has all of that theatrical ambition of a Fame piece; the executives already have the feeling that they're witnessing moments from their newest blockbuster. But what follows turns the practice studio into a smoking orgy of choreography, dubbed "Airotica," leaving its dancers nearly nude, sweating profusely, and rumbling around in sexual energy. It's one of the best dance sequences I've ever seen in my life. It's the pinnacle of the film. Nothing truly follows it with that same brash excellence.Fosse is a treasure in the world of Broadway and a sporadic genius in the movies. All That Jazz is his 8 1/2, both stylistically and in tone. In style, it's slightly Truffaut, unafraid to jump cut, use "natural" music, and combine the contempts of real life and the joys of fantasy. In tone, it's almost uncomfortable in its self-reflexiveness, as the film mirrors Fosse's life.Yet in the end, All That Jazz is split down the middle between annoying self-indulgence and filmmaking brilliance. Fosse's boldness is easy to appreciate, but there are times when the film's in your face style leaves you with a headache rather than a new lease on life. But Scheider is terrific and so is Fosse's choreography; All That Jazz is the definition of a mixed bag, if there ever was one. Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com

Okay. I'm on a roll. I was so irritated by the first movie I went to see today (day off - Tammy) that I had to write a review. Then I followed it by a review of another current movie out which I loved (Maleficent), which brings me to my all time favorite movie, All That Jazz, and I promise you, after I get done with with this one, I will pack it in for the night until something else sends me over the edge. This is a film that never ever fails to disappoint. I think I've seen it maybe - at last count - and still counting - 20 twenty times. This movie holds up so well, so beautifully, it gets me every time and every time I am just as moved and taken as I was when I first saw it. Roy Scheider is brilliant, but he's nothing compared to Ann Reinking or Leland Palmer. I could sit and watch this movie without sound, the costumes that Wolsky did are so superb and spectacular, if you've never seen this movie again, don't read another word and watch it. It's the most classic of all classic Bob Fosse, with a sense of what is waiting for him that makes one want to believe in something more. The dance number - and no, this is not a spoiler and won't ruin it - is the number between Ann and the kid. Tell me you can see that just once. When I've had a bad day and don't know what's next, I YouTube that and everything is right in the world again. Again, I'm not going to offer any spoilers, but the movie only gets better with time and a frequent number of viewings. Jessica Lange never looked better. In fact, I'm not sure if any of them ever looked better and this movie - not any of the others - is what made me fall head over heels in LOVE with Bob Fosse. If you love dance, movement, relationship s**t, self realization, good writing - no great, writing, introspection, creativity - please see this movie and get back to me. I actually judge people on whether or not they got it, it's so good and worthy of anything I could possibly say. Okay. I hated Tammy with a passion. I hated the people that put that s**t out into the world,so I just made up for it by writing two review on movies that offer redemption for all the crap that's out there. You do have to have an IQ over 140 to really get this movie, though, so don't blame me if you watch and leave, saying, "Huh?" If that's what happens to you, go back to the farting fat jokes.

This film is about an EXTREMELY manic Broadway producer (Roy Scheider) who burns the candle at both ends--pushing himself in such an extreme and unhealthy way that eventually he has a heart attack in the midst of a production. Will he survive? Well, while waiting to find out, the film takes an amazing turn. Up until the heart attack, it's a SOMEWHAT conventional film about the making of a play. BUT, after the attack, it suddenly becomes VERY surreal--with many song and dance numbers that explore death! In this sense, the film really is a lot like Fellini's "8 1/2"--but with song and dance numbers! I could say more...but don't want to spoil what happens next. Just hold on...the final scene is one of the most amazingly stunning in film history!!"All That Jazz" is one of those rare films that I didn't particularly enjoy BUT I really respected what it tried to do. While it is similar, in some ways, to a few other films (such as "42nd Street"), the total package is wholly unique--and for that reason alone it deserves to be seen. But, I am warning you, it's very possible you won't like a lot of the film because the leading man is pretty awful--drinking to excess, using drugs to excess, using women to excess--heck, doing EVERYTHING to excess! Interestingly, the film's director, Bob Fosse, intended this as a sort of autobiography--so I assume Fosse was a very talented but incredibly screwed up man...AND, he welcomed the world to see this!! This was either a case of incredible narcissism or perhaps a cry for help or understanding--I have no idea which the case might be! I mentioned how "All That Jazz" is a lot like "42nd Street". This is because in "42nd Street" (the film), Warner Baxter is in many ways the manic Broadway producer that Scheider is in "All That Jazz"--and, in the end, he burns himself out and dies--all for the sake of the show. As far as "8 1/2" goes, it's much more likely you've seen that and it's a very strange film that explores a film director whose life is VERY hectic and he retreats into fantasy and day dreams to cope with his out of control life. All these films are well worth seeing and would make a great triple-feature.By the way, less than a decade after "All That Jazz", Fosse really DID die of a heart attack at age 60. Talk about art imitating life!! NOTE: This film has many adult themes, language and nudity. Think twice before showing this to your mother or kids.