All That Jazz: The Filmography of Bob Fosse

A Look at the Movie Career of Bob Fosse

When looking at the history of American Musical Theatre, Bob Fosse is one of the most influential figures. Fosse pushed the boundaries of dance as a storytelling tool. He gained success on Broadway right when the theatre landscape was changing. While choreographers Jerome Robbins of West Side Story and Agnes de Mille of Oklahoma! created groundbreaking dance numbers influenced by ballet, Fosse’s choreography was rough around the edges. Fosse was interested in the grit and grime of the burlesque halls, and his choreography represented that. During the 1950s and 1960s, as Fosse rose through the ranks, he wanted to mix the techniques of high art and low art.

Even though he is a massive figure within the Broadway pantheon, Fosse’s film career has gone mainly unnoticed over the years. While his contemporaries like Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg John Cassavetes, Peter Bogdanovich, and Stanley Kubrick have been discussed and analyzed for years, Fosse rarely is mentioned with them. Since he died in 1987, Fosse’s theatre work and influence have greatly overshadowed his masterful work as a filmmaker.