In the Ladies and Gentlemen Welcome to Airotica segment of Take Off with Us there are BOY-BOY and GIRL-GIRL (in addition to heterosexual) greetings as “the passengers” are boarding the “airplane.”
All That Jazz (1979), Bob Fosse’s semi‑autobiographical musical drama about a brilliant but self‑destructive director/choreographer, is modeled after Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece “81/2”, and Fosse used the maestro’s cinematographer, Giuseppe Rotunno, to do the lensing, with fantastic results.
Joe Gideon (superbly played by Roy Scheider, in an Oscar‑nominated role) is a Broadway director and choreographer, clearly modeled on Bob Fosse himself. Gideon is simultaneously staging a new Broadway musical (NY/LA) and editing a film (The Stand‑Up), mirroring Fosse’s real‑life juggling of Chicago and Lenny.
He is a chain‑smoking, pill‑popping workaholic, a womanizer, and an alcoholic. His daily ritual includes popping Dexedrine, blasting Vivaldi, and staring into the mirror while muttering, It’s showtime, folks!
Gideon pushes himself to the brink, ignoring health warnings and pleas from loved ones. His compulsive lifestyle leads to a heart attack, after which he undergoes surgery. In the hospital, he hallucinates elaborate musical numbers that blend past, present, and fantasy.
Leland Palmer plays his ex‑wife and star performer, based on Gwen Verdon.
Ann Reinking plays his girlfriend, a character similar to her own in real life.
Erzsebet Foldi plays his teenage daughter, who struggles with his neglect.
Jessica Lange is a spectral figure representing death, with whom Gideon flirts throughout the film.
Cliff Gorman plays the “Lenny Bruce” character in the movie that Gideon is editing.
There are three stunning musical sequences: the opening On Broadway which manages to incapsulate all of A Chorus Line into ten minutes of screen time, the rehearsals for Take Off with Us which lets us into the little-known secret that, with the right choreographer (read Fosse) even a crappy song can be transformed into a dazzling musical number and the then there is the big Bye Bye Life finale, one, if not the most thrilling musical experience ever to grace the Big Screen, staged as Gideon’s farewell to existence.
THE MOVIE’S TITLE COMES FROM THE JOHN KANDER AND FRED EBB SONG ALL THAT JAZZ FROM THE 1975 MUSICAL CHICAGO, WHICH BOB FOSSE BOTH DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED. THE SONG, HOWEVER, IS NOT SUNG OR PERFORMED IN THE MOVIE.
SONGS
- On Broadway
- Take Off with Us
- Everything Old is New Again
- There’s No Business Like Show Business
- A Perfect Day
- After You’ve Gone
- There’ll Be Some Changes Made (You Better Change Your Ways)
- Who’s Sorry Now
- Bye Bye Life
NOW STREAMING ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, APPLE TV+, AND YOUTUBE
