All That Jazz versus Chicago

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F ck Chicago.

http://projectionbooth.blogspot.com
Strange, what love does.

I'll walk instead of jumping on the bandwagon.

Chicago 10/10
All That Jazz 6/10

"I don't like so much freedom down there. It makes me tingle in my giblets."

I guess you're going to find a biased audience here since this is the "All That Jazz" forum; having said that I will say that I walked out on "Chicago" about a third of the way through. My reasons: 1) the dancing was not even real dancing, just kind of gyrating and grinding to the music. 2) the music--my complaint with the Broadway show--the music just isn't that compelling, which leads to the 3) plot, which is the least compelling of all. I found the Broadway production boring, the film, intolerble and pretentious.

All That Jazz, is, to me, a masterpiece of both film making, dance, and choices of music. The cast couldn't have been better.

Um...not close.

Hmmm...comparing apples and oranges...I haven't seen All That Jazz for a number of years, but it was amazing (though confusing, as I saw it when I was relatively young when it was first released)

I am very fortunate to have seen Chicago in it's original stage version (actually starring Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera) back in the 70's. It included all Fosse's original choreography and was a fabulous production. At around the same time, All That Jazz was also released. I was around 12 or 13 at the time. I certainly did not understand the underlining stories in either production, but the visuals (and dance numbers) of both were enthralling.

The movie version of Chicago was not that bad. It actually did a good job of presenting the musical numbers (so that they were the daydreams of Roxey) - Because (ultimately) what Fosse presented in Chicago had not changed - and it still hasn't. That, we (as a society) make celebrities out of criminals, and criminals out of celebrities. The press tries the court cases before the jury is chosen and opening arguments begin. And that the more likeable and charismatic the criminal is, the more likely that the case will become entertainment. The characters of Chicago were not suppose to be likeable, merely entertaining.

I can't say I like one film better then the other - sometimes I'm in the mood for an orange, and sometimes I feel more like a nice crisp apple.

I'm with you. I really loved Chicago and think it deserved the accolades it received; but comparing to an actual Fosse Film and it pales. The story and the numbers in "All That Jazz" are the absolute pinnacle of the genre, i.e. there may never be a better musical comedy, on film anyway. I still watch it several times a year and whenever someone tells me this or that musical is the best they've ever seen, I have to sit them down and make them watch "All That Jazz" and it has never failed to amaze. If you're into dance or theater at all you'll have to agree, hands down.



...Guess What S1m0ne! We have now entered an age where we can manufacture fraud faster than our ability to detect it

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I would definitely give the edge to "All That Jazz". Fosse was scheduled to make a movie of "Chicago" before his death
and no doubt would have made a better version. But Rob Marshall's direction and choreography owe a debt to Fosse's
for the original Broadway show. You're reaction to the show's cynicism is similar to the original Broadway audience's.
The show was not a hit.