1979 Cinematic Masterpiece, Named the Decade's Best, Told the Story of a Brilliant Artist Pushed to the Edge
A 1979 film telling the story of a brilliant artist pushed to the edge topped the list of the decade's best movies.
All That Jazz was co-written by choreographer extraordinaire Bob Fosse. Additionally, he choreographed all the scenes and directed the film.
The movie tells the story of Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), an overworked Broadway director and choreographer. In the film, Gideon is simultaneously trying to put on a new show, edit a film, and juggle family life, which includes an ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer), daughter Michelle (Erzsebeth Foldi), and mistress Katie (Ann Reinking).
He comes to realize that he is dying. In these moments, Gideon imagines a stage show that tells the story of his life and passing.
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Indie Wire ranked All That Jazz at the pinnacle of its list of the 100 Best Movies of the '70s. The honor highlights the film's bold style and enduring influence on musical filmmaking.
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Indie Wire writes, "In the dying moments of the 1970s, Bob Fosse re-centered American cinema on the personal and hyper-subjective with All That Jazz, shattering the end of a decade whose movies had been fiercely preoccupied with the fractiousness of the social order. Here, in his penultimate film and greatest masterpiece, Fosse's personal demons are on full, dazzling display, as the jazz dance legend electrifyingly fictionalized how his various addictions reached a fever pitch while editing Lenny at the same time as he tried to mount Chicago on Broadway."
It continues, "All That Jazz blends fantasy and reality - memory and delusion - to create a celluloid autobiography that remains unparalleled for its raw emotional honesty and proximity to its subject, with Scheider boldly and beautifully embodying Fosse's alter-ego Joe Gideon. The film also doubles as a sensational, shaggy backstage docudrama about the makings of Fosse's song and dance - the script with its pierced, venomous heart co-written by Robert Alan Aurthur, with Fosse choreographing the film himself."
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In an interview with Don Shewey, Scheider said Joe Gideon was an amalgamation of himself and Fosse. The actor blended elements of both into one unforgettable on-screen figure.
He explained, "The movie started off being sixty percent Fosse, forty percent Scheider. Then it went to fifty percent Scheider, fifty percent Fosse. But after a while, it became seventy percent the character of Joe Gideon, which was a creation of both of us."
The actor concluded, "You don't want to be yourself in every film. You want to create something more interesting than yourself. Which is one of the reasons why you become an actor, right? You want to create something more interesting than what you've got."
All That Jazz was nominated for nine Oscars at the 52nd Academy Awards. It took home four trophies in the categories of Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, and Music (Original Song Score and its Adaptation or Adaptation Score). Additionally, it was nominated for Actor in a Leading Role (Roy Scheider), Cinematography, Directing, Best Picture, and Writing.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:27 AM.