Sorcerer

Based on the novel Le Salaire de la pleur (The Wages of Fear) by Georges Arnaud, Sorcerer is the story of four different men in a South American village who take a job to carry a transport cart full of nitroglycerine through the jungles. Directed by William Friedkin and screenplay by Walon Green, the film is a remake of the 1953 film The Wages of Fear by Henri-Georges Clouzot, the film is an exploration into the world of fear and what drives men into taking a dangerous job where they risk their lives for money. Starring Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Ramon Bieri, and Amidou. Sorcerer is a mesmerizing and very dark film from William Friedkin.

The film is about four different men from four different countries who take a job to carry two trucks full of nitroglycerine through the South American jungle in order to defuse an oil well explosion just 200 km from a small town. It’s a film where these four men from very different worlds are forced to work together as they’re putting their lives on the line as well as be well-paid once the job is done. Yet, carrying a truck full of nitroglycerine through 200 km of treacherous South American jungle as well as bad weather and narrow roads through its mountains. Walon Green’s screenplay definitely has an unusual structure where it’s first act takes place in four different locations to establish who these four men are and why they would go to this very poor town in South America. The second act is about these four men where three of them take on different identities as they work through odd jobs against the comfort of the previous lives where they find out about this job where money is the motivation.

For the American Jack Scanlon (Roy Scheider) who is a fugitive for the mob, it’s a chance to remain in hiding while French banker Victor Manzon (Bruno Cremer) is also a fugitive for different reasons as he was forced to leave his wife and quaint life to avoid going to jail. The other two is an Arab terrorist named Kaseem (Amidou) who has fled Jerusalem following a bombing that he took part in while the wild card is an assassin named Nilo (Francisco Rabal) who was supposed to stay in this small town temporarily but ends up staying because he wants the money. Much of the film’s second half is about the journey through the jungle as the stakes become more treacherous where it’s not just about these four men using their skills but also having to work together despite their differences.

William Friedkin’s direction is truly intense from the way he opens the film to introduce the four principle characters all in the span of 24 minutes. All of it takes place in four different locations as well as in shooting styles where Nilo’s line of work in Vera Cruz displays his personality as everything he does is simple and to the point. The activities of Jack and Kaseem are very violent where the former was just a driver for a mob heist that went wrong while Kaseem is forced to watch his friends be killed and captured. For Victor, he is forced to flee France because of a bribery and fraud scandal that he had been accused of as all of his chances for alibis fall by wayside. Much of the direction for these scenes are simple and quaint where there’s a sense of comfort. All of that goes away once the film moves to this very desolate village in South America where much of it is shot in the Dominican Republic as well as some locations in Mexico and New Mexico.

There are moments in the film where Friedkin goes for these entrancing wide shots of these jungles where it’s a world that has a sense of beauty but it’s also unforgiving. There’s also some tense moments in the film where Friedkin makes the journey to be on where men have to trust each other as it includes this very gripping sequence in the rain where the trucks each carrying three boxes of nitroglycerine has to cross this already fragile suspension bridge through heavy rain. It’s a moment in the film where it’s about the sense of unknown and whether anyone will survive or will the bridge break and the truck will fall into the river and blow up. It’s among these moments that Friedkin creates that plays into the suspense as he also adds moments of surrealism in a very famous sequence involving this very strange landscape. Overall, Friedkin creates a very intense yet harrowing film about four men who play with their lives for money.

Cinematographers John M. Stephens and Dick Bush do amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from the use of lighting schemes for the scenes set in the jungles along with some unique lights for some of the stranger moments as well as some darker moments for the scenes set in the rain. Editors Bud Smith and Robert K. Lambert do brilliant work in the editing to create some very unconventional rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense as well as some stylish dissolves for the surrealistic moments. Production designer John Box, with set decorator Robert W. Laing and art director Roy Walker, does fantastic work with the set design from the different places the men live in their previous lives to the suspension bridge as well as the small South American town they live in.

Costume designer Anthony Powell does nice work with the ragged look of the men with the exception of Nilo who often wears some designer suit. Sound editor Charles L. Campbell, with additional sound design from Aaron Levy for the remastered version of the film, does excellent work with the sound to play into the sense of terror such as the suspension bridge scene as well as the scenes set in the jungle. The film’s music by Tangerine Dream is just incredible as its electronic-driven score plays into the sense of tension and suspense that occurs in the film as it features additional pieces by Keith Javert, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis.

The casting by Louis DiGiamo is superb as it features some notable small roles from Anne-Marie Deschott as Victor’s wife, Friedrich von Ledebur as a bartender at a bar the men often frequent at, Joe Spinell as a friend of Scanlon in South America, Rosario Almontes as a barmaid who would give Victor a cross as a sign of good luck, Karl John as a German friend of Kaseem who was supposed to be the fourth man, and Ramon Bieri as the oil company representative who would pick the men for the job as well as the one who would pay them. Amidou is excellent as an Arabic terrorist who flees Jerusalem to hide from the Israelis as he is efficient in engineering in creating some things as well as having an intense dislike for Nilo. Francisco Rabal is amazing as the assassin Nilo who is a man that can do anything to get what he wants as he has this mix of being a cunning killer who tends to rub everyone the wrong way.

Bruno Cremer is fantastic as Victor as this French banker who becomes disgraced due to accusations of fraud as he is forced to leave his posh life to work in order to survive as he takes the job in hopes to find redemption as he would befriend Kaseem and Scanlon. Finally, there’s Roy Scheider in a marvelous performance as Jackie Scanlon as this former criminal who is hiding from the mob as he is this everyman that just wants the money and the chance to not be in danger from the mob as it’s a very gritty and engaging performance from Scheider.

Sorcerer is a phenomenal film from William Friedkin that features a great leading performance from Roy Scheider as well as strong supporting work from Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou. The film is definitely one of the rare remakes that manages to be as good or as equal as to the original as it isn’t just a worthy homage to The Wages of Fear but also manages to be something of its own. In the end, Sorcerer is a tremendously sprawling and exhilarating film from William Friedkin.

William Friedkin Films: (Good Times) - (The Birthday Party) - (The Night They Raided Minsky’s) - (The Boys in the Band) - The French Connection - The Exorcist - (Brink’s Job) - Cruising - ((Deal of the Century) - To Live and Die in L.A. - (Rampage (1987 film)) - (The Guardian (1990 film)) - (Blue Chips) - (Jailbreakers) - (Jade) - (12 Angry Men (1997 TV film)) - (Rules of Engagement) - (The Hunted (2003 film)) - Bug - Killer Joe

Related: The Wages of Fear

© thevoid99 2014

The French Connection

Based on the book by Robin Moore, The French Connection is the story of two New York City detectives who go on the hunt to bust a French smuggling ring in their city. Directed by William Friedkin and screenplay by Ernest Tidyman, the film is an exploration into how two narcotic officers try to bust a smuggling ring through their own unconventional tactics while dealing with those who are targeting them. Starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco, and Marcel Bozzuffi. The French Connection is a chilling yet entrancing thriller from William Friedkin.

In Marseilles, a criminal named Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) is planning to smuggle a large shipment of heroin to New York City with his accomplice Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi) and a famous French TV actor in Henri Devereaux (Frederic de Pasquale) to help out. Meanwhile, undercover narcotic agents Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) are in Brooklyn watching over a drug transaction as they capture a young man who reveals where the drug connection comes from. Later at a bar, Doyle and Russo eye a man named Salvatore “Sal” Baca (Tony Lo Bianco) and his wife Angie (Arlene Farber) as they were sitting at a table with mobsters as the two follow them where it becomes clear that Baca is operating a business behind their diner. Learning about their criminal records, Doyle is convinced that something is happening as they notice the appearance of famed mob lawyer Joel Weinstock (Harold Gray) with Baca.

After Doyle’s informant reveals about a large shipment of heroin coming to New York City, Doyle and Russo go to their supervisor Walt Simonson (Eddie Egan) to wiretap and follow the Bacas about what they’re doing. Simonson brings in federal agent Mulderig (Bill Hickman) to the case as he and Doyle have an intense dislike towards one another. With the cops watching Baca, Doyle notices Charnier for the first time as he tries to follow him yet Charnier is fully aware of what is going on as he decides to toy with Doyle. With Baca concerned about the trade as he learns he’s being watched, Charnier decides to make some moves by getting Nicoli to get rid of Doyle. Yet, Doyle learns that he’s being targeted as he and Russo go on the case to follow Baca where they see him switch cars as Doyle believes something is in that car that will help make or break the as he goes after Charnier.

The film is about a couple of NYC narcotic agents trying to discover a smuggling ring led by a French criminal who is masterminding everything. Yet, they deal with all sorts of things as it becomes clear that not only does this mastermind is aware of their every move but he becomes a greater challenge to the police where he would do whatever it takes to make they screw up. For Popeye Doyle, it’s all about trying to stop a drug trade from happening and getting this mastermind and take him to justice. What happens is that he finds himself taking on the greatest challenge of his career.

Ernest Tidyman’s screenplay has a very unique approach to the narrative where its first half moves back and forth from France to New York City where Charnier is planning everything while Doyle and Buddy Russo are doing their jobs and eventually discover about this smuggling ring that’s going to happen. Doyle and Russo are men who are willing to bring down the drug trade as they would also do things that often has fellow cops and other questioning their tactics. Still, it brings in results as they go by instinct as they’re aware that not everything is as simple as it seems. By uncovering this smuggling ring that’s about to happen, they take their time to see how it plays out where things become much more complicated in the second half.

Notably as Charnier finally arrives in the U.S. where he becomes aware that there’s cops following him yet he is someone who is willing to play along and do whatever to piss them off. He knows that the American partners he’s working with are scared yet he is the most calm as he can deal with a situation and is willing to do anything to get rid of the problem. By targeting Doyle, Charnier eventually realizes that he’s facing an opponent that is determined to do whatever it takes to go after Charnier. The film’s climatic scene involving the transaction and the police becomes one of the most chilling moments where it is about a showdown between Doyle and Charnier and who will outwit who.

William Friedkin’s direction is truly mesmerizing in the way he presents the film from the opening scene in Marseilles, France where a cop tries to go after Charnier only to lose and then cuts to New York City to establish what kind of cops Doyle and Russo are. Friedkin starts the film off very slowly to see how Charnier discusses his plans as it then goes to America where Doyle and Russo watch someone to see what he’s doing as they realize something is up. While the film is shot largely on location to maintain a sense of realism through hand-held cameras as it includes a few running chase scenes. It does have this air of intimacy to see how Doyle and Russo work together and the relationship they have where Russo isn’t as aggressive as Doyle while Doyle is more determined making their relationship unique.

The film’s second half is more intense as it involves a lot of following how Charnier and Doyle try to outwit each other in a scene at a subway station. It is one of the most intriguing moments in film that doesn’t require a lot of stylish cutting. Then comes one of the film’s most unforgettable moments where an assassin tries to kill Doyle as Doyle goes after him leading to one of the most gripping and intense car chase scenes ever. It’s all about Doyle trying to go after this train that is above him to capture the killer where it’s all about what Doyle isn’t trying to hit where he would nearly get killed in the process. This would eventually lead to this elaborate presentation where Doyle and Charnier would finally come face-to-face once again yet the results would eventually show something that would be complicated. Overall, Friedkin creates a gripping yet exhilarating suspense film that just refuses to play by the rules.

Cinematographer Owen Roizman does excellent work with the film‘s photography from the sunny look of Marseilles to the more grimy look of early 1970s NYC in its nighttime scenes. Editor Gerald B. Greenberg does brilliant work with the editing to utilize methodical cuts for its slow, suspenseful moments while using more stylish cuts for the film‘s car chase scene. Art director Ben Kasazkow and Edward Garzero do terrific work with the look of Charnier‘s home in France to the look of the hotels he lives in while Doyle lives in a more grimy apartment.

Costume designer Joseph Fretwell III does nice work with the costumes from the street clothes of Doyle and Russo to the more refined suits of Charnier. The sound work of Theodore Soderberg and Christopher Newman is fantastic to play out the suspense from the intimacy of the conversations to the chaos that occurs in the chase scene. The film’s music by Don Ellis is wonderful for the way it plays off its suspense with its piano and low-key orchestra to build things or to take charge in the intense moments.

The casting by Robert Weiner is amazing for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Benny Marino as Boca’s cousin, Ann Rebbot as Charnier’s wife, Patrick McDermott as the drug chemist testing the heroin, Harold Gray as mob lawyer Joel Weinstock, Arlene Farber as Boca’s wife Angie, Frederic de Pasquale as the French actor who works with Charnier unaware of what he’s carrying in the car, and Eddie Egan as Doyle and Russo’s superior Walt Simonson. Bill Hickman is excellent as the federal agent Bill Mulderig who criticizes Doyle and Russo’s tactics as he often goes into blows with Doyle. Marcel Bozzuffi is wonderful as Charnier’s hitman Nicoli who is aware of how things go wrong while Tony Lo Bianco is very good as the low-level criminal Sal Boca who deals with phone taps and other issues that he feels could jeopardize the deal.

Fernando Rey is superb as Alain Charnier as a man who is the mastermind behind the smuggling ring as he finds a worthy opponent in Doyle as he does whatever he can to outwit in the most charming of ways. Roy Scheider is great as Buddy Russo who is the more professional of the two detectives as he tries to keep Doyle in tact while backing him up when he knows something isn’t right. Finally, there’s Gene Hackman in a magnificent performance as Popeye Doyle as a detective whose unconventional tactics has gained him the ire of some people yet he always bring results as he faces his greatest challenge in Charnier while doing whatever it takes to do what is right.

The French Connection is an outstanding film from William Friedkin that features incredible performances from Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, and Fernando Rey. The film is definitely among one of the great suspense-thrillers of the genre that features one of the most unforgettable chase scenes in cinema. It’s also a thriller that doesn’t play by the rules while keeping the audiences intrigued by everything that is happening. In the end, The French Connection is a tremendous film from William Friedkin.

William Friedkin Films: (Good Time) - (The Birthday Party) - (The Night They Raided Minsky’s) - (The Boys in the Band) - The Exorcist - Sorcerer - (Brink’s Job) - Cruising - (Deal of the Century) - To Live and Die in L.A. - (Rampage (1987 film)) - (The Guardian (1990 film)) - (Blue Chips) - (Jailbreakers) - (Jade) - (12 Angry Men (1997 TV film)) - (Rules of Engagement) - (The Hunted (2003 film)) - Bug (2006 film) - Killer Joe

© thevoid99 2013

Naked Lunch

Based on the famed William S. Burroughs novel, Naked Lunch tells the story of an exterminator whose addiction to a mysterious substance has him becoming a spy at an Islamic port called Interzone. Written for the screen and directed by David Cronenberg, the film is more a mixture of Burroughs’ own novel and Cronenberg’s own ideas with surrealism. Starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, and Roy Scheider. Naked Lunch is a stylish yet strange film from David Cronenberg.

It’s 1953 as William Lee (Peter Weller) is an exterminator whose job hasn’t been going well because his wife Joan (Judy Davis) has been stealing his insecticide for drug use. With Lee starting to hallucinate and see a big bug talking to him about an assignment, Lee starts to question his own drug use as well as his wife. When he turns to a specialist named Dr. Benway (Roy Scheider) for help, Benway gives him a special powder which only increases his hallucinations where something bad has happened. With help from his literary friend Martin (Michael Zelniker), Lee flees the U.S. and ends up at a strange Islamic port called Interzone.

Writing reports for the Interzone company, he would meet various characters including Hans (Robert A. Silverman), Kiki (Joseph Scoren), and a charming man named Yves Cloquet (Julian Sands). With his typewriter that is also the bug he confers to, Lee would create material through the use of powder where he would meet another important writer named Tom Frost whose wife looks like Joan. Lee is intrigued by Frost’s wife, who is also named Joan, as they later have an affair while Frost lends Lee his typewriter. Yet, Lee learns that from his typewriter bug about something where things go wrong after he meets a mysterious woman named Fadela (Monique Mercue). When Joan goes missing and Lee is in trouble with Frost, Martin and Hank (Nicholas Campbell) come to help out reading the material he has written.

With Kiki offering to help Lee by fixing Frost’s typewriter and use it as an exchange to get his own typewriter back. There, Lee learns something is up as well as what Interzone is trying to do as he hopes to save Joan from whoever is running Interzone and its intentions.

While there are elements of William S. Burroughs’ novel in the film as the character of William Lee is writing the titular book. It’s really a surreal yet fictional account about a man in the 1950s trying to write this revered book through strange hallucinations as he deals with his own addictions in a world where it’s about the power of writing. What David Cronenberg does is deconstruct Burrough’s novel by infusing a lot of his own ideas by creating a noir-style film where Lee is Burroughs set into this very dark yet surreal world filled with talking bugs serving as typewriters.

Cronenberg also creates a world that has noir-like feel in the character of Lee who is pretty laid back and always trying to keep himself in check despite his addictions. The Joan characters are essentially a characterization of Burrough’s own wife where Cronenberg brings some of Burrough’s own real-life stories into the film. The complexity of the story that is a mix of noir, drama, surreal comedy, and Cronenberg’s own provocative take on technology is one that isn’t easy to tell. It does start off slowly as audiences who are familiar with the book would realize that this is not going to be a conventional adaptation.

Cronenberg’s direction is truly hypnotic for the way he creates the world of 1950s America as well as the world of Interzone which is really a take on Tangiers. There is a very rich quality to the way Cronenberg made the film which is miles away from his early yet grittier films of the 1970s and early 1980s. The compositions are more striking as the way he allows the surrealistic elements to be more lively and humorous. At the same time, Cronenberg is a filmmaker who is never afraid to get his hands dirty and play with expectations. One key scene is a conversation between Lee and Frost where Frost reveals dialogue that isn’t spoken is that he is saying something while his mouth aren’t saying something much different.

It’s Cronenberg being a trickster in order to play off the ideas of conventional cinema since he is not telling a conventional film. Some of the effects scene such as the typewriters as well as the bugs and such do create something is very creepy. It’s also disturbing but in a fun way because he’s not trying to be absolutely scary but rather make it OK for the audience to laugh at these creatures. Overall, Cronenberg creates a film that isn’t just eerie but also entertaining as it’s a great take on Burroughs’ novel.

Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky does an amazing job with the film‘s stylish cinematography from the more gritty yet dark look of the scenes in the U.S. in both its exterior and interiors to the lush yet vibrant look of the Interzone port scene with its bright, yellow colors for the daytime exterior settings. Editor Ronald Sanders does a great job with the editing as he adds some wonderful, rhythmic cuts for some of the suspenseful moments of the film while keeping it straightforward for a large portion of the film.

Production designer Carol Spier, along with set decorator Elinor Rose Galbraith and art director James McAteer, does a brilliant job with the look of the apartment Lee lives in along with the lavish world that the people at Interzone live in along with the eerie factory towards the end of the film. Costume designer Denise Cronenberg does an excellent job with the costumes to play up the 1950s film noir style with the suits the men wear to the different array of clothing that the two Joans wear. Sound mixer Bryan Day does a fantastic job with the sound work to capture the chaos of the Interzone port as well as the small, cluttering noises of the typewriter bugs.

The music by Howard Shore is phenomenal with its array of eerie orchestral score to play up the film‘s dark mood and suspense. With additional contributions from Ornette Coleman, Shore is able to use Coleman’s music to help play up the feel of the 1950s literary world that is booming at the time. The overall score is among one of the film’s highlights.

The casting by Deirdre Bowen is terrific as the cast includes some notable appearances from Sean McCann as a detective, Robert A. Silverman as the sly Hans, Joseph Scoren as the sensitive Kiki, Michael Zelniker as the bookish Martin, Nicholas Campbell as the fun-going Hank, and Peter Boretski as the voices of the creatures. Other memorable performances include Monique Mercure as the creepy Fadela, Julian Sands as the charming but dangerous Yves Cloquet, and Roy Scheider in a wonderful cameo as Dr. Benway. Ian Holm is great as Tom Frost, a version of novelist Paul Bowles as Holm brings a calm intensity to a dark character who is obsessed about great, foreign typewriters.

Judy Davis is wonderfully captivating in the dual performance as the two Joans. In the role of Lee’s wife Joan, Davis brings a troubling yet stupor physicality to a woman heavily-addicted to insecticide powder. For the role of Frost’s wife, there is a woman who is far more stranger as Davis brings something more entrancing and seductive to a woman who falls for Lee. Finally, there’s Peter Weller in a mesmerizing performance as William Lee. Playing a version of William S. Burroughs, Weller brings a very understated yet chilling performance as an exterminator who is haunted by his own hallucinations. There is a calmness to Weller’s performance in the way he reacts to the situations he’s in while he manages to create a character that is very intriguing over the things that is happening to him.

Naked Lunch is a disturbing yet hypnotic film from David Cronenberg that is led by a exhilarating performance from Peter Weller. Fans of Cronenberg will no doubt see this as one of his finest films for the way he deconstructs William S. Burroughs’ famed novel. Anyone seeking a straight adaptation of that famous novel will be disappointed though could be intrigued by how Cronenberg takes that story into a stylish noir film. Naked Lunch is truly a film that is one-of-a-kind as it could only be made from some as unique and as daring as David Cronenberg.

David Cronenberg Films: Stereo - Crimes of the Future - Shivers - Rabid - Fast Company - The Brood - Scanners - Videodrome - The Dead Zone - The Fly (1986 film) - Dead Ringers - M. Butterfly - Crash - eXistenZ - Spider - A History of Violence - Eastern Promises - A Dangerous Method - Cosmopolis - Maps to the Stars - Crimes of the Future (2022 film)

The Auteurs #26: David Cronenberg Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2011

2011 Cannes Marathon: All That Jazz

(Co-Winner of the Palme D’or w/ Kagemusha at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival)

While Bob Fosse’s name is synonymous with dance and theater, his work as a film director has been one of the most celebrated in his prolific career. With musicals such as Sweet Charity and Cabaret, Fosse moved away from the musical with 1974’s Lenny about the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce. In 1979, Fosse would make a semi-biographical picture that mixed the dazzling musicals he’s known for with a gritty outlook on life entitled All That Jazz.

Directed by Bob Fosse with a script co-written with Robert Alan Arthur, All That Jazz follows a choreographer/film director whose workaholic lifestyle is spinning out of control. Struggling to get a new musical play going and finishing a film, he is visited by an angel of death as his health begins to take a toll. Based on Fosse’s own life, the film is a study of creativity and the toll it takes on its creator. Starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer, Ann Reinking, John Lithgow, and Ben Vereen. All That Jazz is spectacular yet hypnotic musical-drama from the late Bob Fosse.

Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is a brilliant artist who is known for making great Broadway shows and movies that he’s directed. Yet, Joe’s life is going out of control as he is trying to work on a new musical while finishing up a film about a standup comedian that is still in its rough cut. Every day, Joe chain-smokes and pops up various pills to get himself going as he’s under numerous deadlines while often forgetting to do other things in his life like spending time with his daughter Michelle (Erzsebet Foldi) much to the ire of his ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer). Joe also spends his time sleeping with other women much to the dismay of his girlfriend Katie (Ann Reinking).

Joe’s workaholic schedule is starting to take his toll as he’s imagining talking to an angel of death named Angelique (Jessica Lange) about his life and the fact that he a schmuck. With Joe trying to find ideas for his show while being under pressure from collaborators and backers including Jonesy Hecht (William LeMassena) trying to get him to finish. Thanks to some prodding from Audrey, Joe gets an inspiration for his show though it would alienate his backers as he continues to work on his varied projects where it would finally take a toll on his health. After finally suffering chest pains, Joe is sent to the hospital as a cardiologist (Michael Tolan) suggests that Joe should relax.

Instead, Joe continues to play with death in his ways at the hospital while learning about the reviews over his film which he knew wasn’t finished. While Jonesy and other financiers try to figure out how to salvage the show with its expensive production by even turning to another Broadway director in Lucas Sergeant (John Lithgow). Joe starts to realize his own faults as his perception of reality is blurred through his own imagination featuring the people in his life as he starts to face his own mortality.

While the film is based partially on Bob Fosse’s own life at the time he was trying to finish his 1974 film Lenny, some of it is definitely inspired by the works of Federico Fellini. Particularly 8 ½ which was about a film director’s life that is unraveling by his writer’s block and the women in his life. In this film, it’s about a man whose lifestyle and antics finally takes a toll on him in a lot of ways. His personal life is becoming messy due to his womanizing while professionally, he is uninspired and having a hard time getting or finishing projects. This would eventually lead to him facing mortality in the guise of a beautiful angel who would have him see parts of his own life.

The character of Joe Gideon is essentially a scumbag and he knows it. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with his daughter though doesn’t mean to hurt her. He sleeps around with other women much to the chagrin of his ex-wife Audrey and current girlfriend Katie. He likes to flirt around with death by drinking, chain-smoking, pill-popping, and fucking every piece of ass out there as if it was his last day. Yet, he knows that he couldn’t help himself in doing these things as a way to cope with his own work as he is his own worst critic. He wants to do something great but has a hard time trying to please himself and others. The fact that he’s taking much longer to finish a film because of a long monologue that he’s cut over and over again.

The script that Fosse and Robert Alan Arthur create is an intriguing study on art and how artists tend to suffer for their work literally. Yet, it’s also about how the world of Broadway works as there’s a bit of a subplot when Joe’s financiers try to salvage the play they’re working by figuring out how to make money if things go bad while getting another director involved. Fosse and Arthur’s dialogue is phenomenal for its humor as well as the way characters respond to each other and their actions.

Fosse’s direction is truly magnificent in its ambition and presentation by creating a film that is gritty and stylish. For many of the musical sequences that is early in the film, he shoots it on location in the stages or rehearsal halls. Yet, there is something very real to the look and the rough presentation as he allows the staging of these numbers to make it seem intense with sweat dripping on the dancers, musicians, and Joe himself. At the same time, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything that is happening when people are rehearsing as the scene where Joe is looking for dancers. What he shows is everything from people are on time and have rhythm to the lone dancer who is lost in the shuffle knowing he or she won’t make it.

Fosse’s look of the fantasy sequences is truly mystical in the way it plays off to Joe’s messy head as it’s filled with decayed objects and such along with memories including a young Joe (Keith Gordon) dancing around. One of the film’s great moments is a montage of images that play up to the way Joe opens his day to the music of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in G as it always feature Joe saying “It’s show time folks”. If Fosse’s staging of the musical and smaller dramatic moments are wonderful, it’s also the way he frames those scenes where he definitely gets a wide depth of field of what is happening along with allowing the camera to soak in the atmosphere. Using tracking shots and steady hand-held work to allow Joe to be followed along with the intensity of the dance numbers that is choreographed by Fosse himself. The overall work in Fosse’s direction is mesmerizing and masterful as he creates what is truly an engaging yet entertaining film.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does a phenomenal job with the film‘s photography in bringing a sense of realism with atmospheric lighting to some of the rehearsal scenes. In the fantasy sequences, Rotunno goes for that same kind of grit along with a ghostly look as the film while the dance sequences late in the film are filled with dazzling lights that brings a lush yet seductive look to Rotunno’s camera. Editor Alan Heim does a superb job with the editing in not just creating amazing rhythmic montages to Joe’s daily routine but also to the dance numbers and dramatic moments in the film. Heim’s work is really the technical highlight of the film for the way he plays off Joe’s intense lifestyle with its frantic cutting as well as playing to the repetition of Joe’s day that includes a slow half-frame speed.

Production designer Philip Rosenberg, along with set decorators Gary J. Brink and Edward Stewart, does an amazing job with the art direction in the creation of the fantasy sequences from the decayed look of Joe‘s world with Angelique to the dazzling stage setting for the many of the film‘s dance sequences in the latter part of the film. Costume designer Albert Wolsky does a great job with the costumes from the all-black clothes that Joe wears to the lush dress that Angelique wears along with the fantasy dance sequences in the film. Makeup artist Fern Buchner does a nice job with the make-up for some of the dance fantasy sequences that play up to the Felliniesque elements of the film.

Sound editor Maurice Schell does a fantastic job with the sound work to capture the feet on the floor to the atmosphere of rehearsals and the meetings. Notably a scene where Joe is in a meeting with all of these people and all he can hear are sparse sounds as it’s one of the highlights of the film. The music by Ralph Burns is superb for its creation of some amazing music pieces that are played for the film including rehearsal music and stuff that’s made up in the scene. The soundtrack includes Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in G plus George Benson’s On Broadway and a snazzy cover of Bye Bye Love sung by Ben Vereen. The soundtrack is another of the film’s highlights as it’s an important part of the film.

The casting by Howard Feuer and Jeremy Ritzer is brilliant for its large ensemble that features early appearances by actors who would go on to bigger things such as Sandahl Bergman as a principal dancer, C.C.H. Pounder as a nurse, Wallace Shawn as an accountant, Keith Gordon as the young Joe Gideon, David Margulies as a financier, and John Lithgow as a rival Broadway director. Other notable small roles include Ben Vereen as a singer whom Joe likes to watch, Deborah Geffner as a dancer Joe sleeps with, Cliff Gorman as the actor in Joe’s standup comedy film, Michael Tolan as the cardiologist, and William LeMassena as a financier who tries to help Joe with his play while protecting his investment.

Erzsebet Foldi is great as Joe’s teenaged daughter Michelle who adores her father despite his absence as she always try to get him to slow down while has a few great dance numbers including one with Ann Reinking at an apartment as it’s a fun performance to watch. Ann Reinking is excellent as Joe’s girlfriend Katie, a woman who has a hard time dealing with Joe’s womanizing while trying to ground him. Leland Palmer is superb as Audrey, Joe’s ex-wife and Michelle’s mother who is also a former dancer as she tries to pull him back to real life while dealing with his workaholic persona. Jessica Lange is wonderful as Angelique, an angel of death who is a seductive woman but also quite terse in how she makes Joe confess his own faults.

Finally, there’s the late Roy Scheider as Joe Gideon in what is his best performance of his career. Scheider brings a sense of charm and weariness to a character that is at times, a schmuck but also knows the fact that he is a schmuck. Yet, Scheider makes Joe Gideon into a fascinating figure who is willing to do great things for his art while is willing to accept criticism knowing that the critics could be right. It’s a very fearless yet entertaining performance from the great actor.

All That Jazz is a brilliant yet entertaining musical from Bob Fosse featuring a remarkable performance from Roy Scheider. Featuring great supporting work from Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer, and Ann Reinking, it is definitely one of the best musicals that strays away from the idea of what a musical is. Even as Fosse makes it personal and engaging as it’s one of his greatest films in his short filmmaking career. In the end, All That Jazz is a marvelous film from the late, great Bob Fosse.

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