20 Favourite Films of the 20th Century #2

All That Jazz

(Directed by Bob Fosse; Written by Robert Alan Aurthur and Bob Fosse; Starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, and Leland Palmer; 1979)

The line I most associate with this film: "It's showtime, folks!"

 One of the most brilliant musicals ever made, from one of my favorite directors: Bob Fosse. I absolutely love Cabaret, the other great masterpiece from Fosse, but All That Jazz is simply something out of this world. We follow a fictional version of Fosse himself, under the name of Joe Gideon (played by Roy Scheider, in his best performance ever), as he goes through auditions, rehearsals, love affairs, and drugs. We see a man spiraling into self-destruction, physical, psychological, and socially, being seduced by the Angel of Death (played by the beautiful Jessica Lange) with whom he has surrealist and existentialist conversations. This is such a crazy ride through the troubled life of an egomaniacal artist. This is an amazing introspective work from one of the most brilliant artists of the 20th century. It's impossible not to be blown away by this musical masterpiece.