Review of All That Jazz

Introduction

George Benson`s rendition of On Broadway is really the only thing that stands out in this now very dated and over produced extravaganza. Bob Fosse directs some long absent stars of yesteryear such as Jessica Lang and Roy Scheider, in a role that bears no resemblance to his tough-guy turn in Jaws. At over twenty years old the film hasn`t stood the test of time as well as the musical numbers it contains and the plot, about Scheider`s over indulgence in women, smokes and semi- naked power dance routines, is lame and not very interesting. You really don`t have any empathy for any of the principal cast. Oh yes I did say semi-naked, and yes apart from Mr Benson there are some out there who will like the odd bit of not so subtle nudity sporadically placed to spice up this turkey.

Video

This 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is in many ways very similar to the movie. It`s washed out and soft with more grain than a bowl of Shredded Wheat. There`s a large amount of digital artifacting in nearly every scene and the level of contrast detail is very poor. Blacks are never solid and whites are shimmery with alot of haloing and smear. The colours are also very muted and we do get alot of edge enhancement. That said this is an old movie now and may have been bashed out to appease a small minority who have possibly been pleading fox for a release.

Audio

The Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 track is also a letdown. Only the musical numbers again stand out. The mix is terribly harsh with too much background hiss. The center levels are too low and tend to get drowned out by the aggressive front stage. There is also a lack of matrixed bass redirection, which does show very badly on musical numbers.

Features

We get a few bits and bobs here. Firstly you have an interesting scene specific audio commentary with Roy Scheider. This is a bit to self congratulatory and doesn`t offer many good or even funny anecdotal moments. It`s a bit over technical and is often as dull as the movie.

Next are a few clips from interviews with Scheider and about five more with Director Bob Fosse on set. Again these are little more than "look what I`ve done" pieces, and offer little insight into this washout of a movie.

You also get a trailer.

Conclusion

You`ve probably gathered by now that I didn`t much like this movie. It contains some nice set musical and dance pieces, but feels like it was made while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Maybe that`s the point, as it is meant as a semi-autobiographical piece. Fosse just doesn`t give us a plot line or a reason to feel sorry for any of the characters. The disc is average in its production, with a few semi-interesting extras but no effort on the cleanup front.

If you want a decentish dance musical check out the recently released Richard Attenborough directed A Chorus Line give this one a wide birth unless your a fan!