DVD Review: Decent extras accompany ‘All That Jazz’

There’s no surer sign of Federico Fellini’s influence on American directors than Bob Fosse’s 1979 “All That Jazz.” Others — Woody Allen and the late Paul Mazursky, for a start — also made Fellini-esque autobiographical features, but no one more completely borrowed the structure and concerns of Fellini’s “8 1/2” (not to mention the cinematographer of “Amarcord” and “Fellini Satyricon,” Giuseppe Rotunno).

Roy Scheider plays Joe Gideon — film director, actor, dancer, stage director and choreographer, philanderer, genius, and all-around self-destructive obsessive — that is, a blatant stand-in for Fosse himself. From its famous dazzling opening sequence, set to George Benson’s version of “On Broadway,” to at least the halfway mark, “All That Jazz” is one of the great theater films, all the more impressive when you consider how well Fosse makes non-dancer Scheider look like a professional hoofer. Still, as Gideon works himself closer and closer to his demise and converses more and more with the Angel of Death (Jessica Lange), the film loses some of our sympathy and attention.

Criterion has put together its usual first-rate transfer, together with hours of supplements, including a commentary track by editor Alan Heim and about half an hour of selected-scenes commentary from Scheider. Then there are multiple TV interviews with Fosse, Scheider, Benson, and most interestingly, female lead Ann Reinking and the now 40-something Erzsebet Foldi, who played Gideon’s pre-adolescent daughter. If you have any interest at all in Fosse — who truly revolutionized Broadway choreography and also directed “Cabaret” and “Lenny” — this is a must-have package.

All That Jazz (Criterion, Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, $39.95)

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).