All That Jazz

While any Fosse film would suit the series, it is his autobiographically inspired film that brings the most dizzying range in depicting perspiration under pressure. The life of successful theater director and choreographer Joe Gideon unfolds in a kind of manic symphony of auditions, seductions, pill-popping, and artistic brilliance, until all of the sex, smoke, and stress—their alluring stench practically emanating from the screen—sends him hurtling towards a burn out. From dealing with the hard reality of opening night to more fantastical visions like Joe’s flirtation with the angel of death, or his Ben Vereen-hosted fever dream from a damp hospital bed, Fosse’s expert composition of movement between performers and camera brings his protagonist’s bursting psyche to life.

Featuring an introduction by series programmer Farihah Zaman preceding the screening on Saturday, August 17.