All That Jazz (1979)

Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.

Director:

Bob Fosse

Writers:

Robert Alan Aurthur, Bob Fosse

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking

Won 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Scheider	...	Joe Gideon
Jessica Lange	...	Angelique
Ann Reinking	...	Kate Jagger
Leland Palmer	...	Audrey Paris
Cliff Gorman	...	Davis Newman
Ben Vereen	...	O'Connor Flood
Erzsebet Foldi	...	Michelle
Michael Tolan	...	Dr. Ballinger
Max Wright	...	Joshua Penn
William LeMassena	...	Jonesy Hecht
Irene Kane	...	Leslie Perry (as Chris Chase)
Deborah Geffner	...	Victoria
Kathryn Doby	...	Kathryn
Anthony Holland	...	Paul Dann
Robert Hitt	...	Ted Christopher

Storyline

Joe Gideon is a Broadway director, choreographer and filmmaker, he in the process of casting the chorus and staging the dance numbers for his latest Broadway show, starring his ex-wife Audrey Paris in what is largely a vanity project for her in playing a role several years younger than her real age, and editing a film he directed on the life of stand-up comic Davis Newman. Joe's professional and personal lives are intertwined, he a chronic philanderer, having slept with and had relationships with a series of dancers in his shows, Victoria Porter, who he hired for the current show despite she not being the best dancer, in the former category, and Kate Jagger, his current girlfriend, in the latter category. That philandering has led to relationship problems, with Audrey during their marriage, and potentially now with Kate who wants a committed relationship with Joe largely in not wanting the alternative of entering the dating world again. Joe also lives a hard and fast life, he chain ...

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Plot Keywords:

dancer | cigarette smoking | price of fame | prescription drug abuse | workaholic | 

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Taglines:

Prepare yourself for all that acclaim...

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Musical

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of "Angelique"' was based largely on Bob Fosse's late wife Joan McCracken, who died in 1961 and greatly influenced him in his early career.

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Goofs

Close-up of "Young Joe" with hazel eyes is shortly followed by a close-up of adult Joe with blue eyes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Gideon: To be on the wire is life. The rest is waiting.
Angelique: That's very theatrical, Joe
Joe Gideon: Yeah, I know.
Angelique: Did you make that up?
Joe Gideon: I wish I had. Do you like it?
Angelique: Eh, it's all right.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, only the company credits and the title, which resembles revolving Broadway lights.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's (2009)

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Soundtracks

Sing, Sing, Sing
(1936) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Louis Prima
Performed by Roy Scheider

User Reviews

A couple more pieces of ironic casting

I just saw the movie for the first time since its initial release and was struck by how well it holds up. The casting alone is quite remarkable, the set design is often striking, and the entire roman-a-clef peek inside the life of Bob Fosse remains fascinating.

There are at least two more pieces of "insider" ironic casting that appears to have not been mentioned. One was the casting of Cliff Gorman as the stand-up comedian in the "Lenny"-type movie-within-the-movie (here called "Stand-up"). Gorman originated the part of Lenny Bruce in the original Broadway version of "Lenny," but lost the movie role to Dustin Hoffman.

The other is the casting of Ann Reinking as Gideon's lover. Ann Reinking was Fosse's lover in real life.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

20 December 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

All That Jazz

Filming Locations:

150 55th Street, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$86,229, 25 December 1979

Gross USA:

$37,823,676

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,823,676

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1