Kansas City | | Cast : | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte | | Director : | Robert Altman | | Studio : | New Line Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | August 16, 1996 | | DVD Released Date : | February 15, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 28, 2005 | | Summary | Might Have The Best Ending Ever | Content
 | Bottom line, whether you love or hate "Kansas City" will depend on your reaction to Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance. Leigh's character Blondie anchors the story as a desperate wife trying to save her husband from the gangsters he tried to rob. Leigh looks great in this role, she is fit and trim which makes her face that much cuter. The contrast between her almost angelic appearance and her tough persona is intentional because the toughness is an affectation, qualities she has adopted because she loves her husband and they are a turn-on for him.
Her's is the key performance of the film, the twist is her emulation of Kansas City native Jean Harlow ("The Public Enemy" and "Girl from Missoui"). Personally I found it touching, humorous, and inspirational. And her character worthy of the brave heroine hall of fame. But it is almost a caricature and many are put off by this tiny woman talking so tough.
As in "Nashville", there are great songs (but jazz rather than country) throughout the film. It is important to realize that "Blondie's" behavior is intended to mirror the "cutting contests" between the jazz musicians on-stage at the club. Just as the musicians borrow from one another and weave each others stuff into what they are improvising, "Blondie" borrows from the movies and weaves Harlow's tough girl phrases and expressions into her conversation.
Leigh and Miranda Richardson spend most of the film in each other's company. Although Richardson's character is doped up on laudanum (tincture of opium) most of the time, you get the idea that she is taking in a lot more of the situation than she is letting on. It is a fascinating pairing. One of them has lost all restraint, the other has lost everything but her restraint. There is almost a "Thelma and Louise" quality to their relationship, in part because Leigh doing Harlow ends up sounding a lot like Geena Davis doing Geena Davis.
Richardson's character is unexpectedly touching. An emotional bond is subtly forged between the two women as the film proceeds, with Richarson actually becoming protective of her kidnapper. The ending is shocking but you understand the motivation (or you will if you watch it again), then looking back you pick up on the various foreshadowing devices that Altman placed throughout the film. He goes out with a bass duet of Duke Ellington's "Solitude" performed by Ron Carter and Christian McBride.
Like many films with downbeat endings, "Kansas City" is destined to be more appreciated 25 years after its release. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 28, 2005 | | Summary | Someone other than Altman should have cut this film | Content
| There are the makings of a good movie here, but obviously Altman had final cut approval, and his gift was quite off on this one. Belefonte endlessly pontificates nonsensibly, Jason Leigh surpasses her legendary how-annoying-can-she-get Hudsucker Proxy performance, it's long, the jazz performances just make the film drag.
Such a shame - beautifully shot, great actors, shame about the director's inability to look in the mirror and notice the obvious bloat. A dreadful, annoying film. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 09, 2004 | | Summary | Ovelooked and underated American Film Noir Masterpiece | Content
| Robert Altman, one of the foremost filmakers of the last thirty years followed up what many consider to be his magnum, "Short Cuts", with this quietly more ambitious project. "Short Cuts" finished 'place' at the Oscars to "Shindler's List" and helped spawn the career of Juliana Moore (sort of like Sissy Spacek in "Welcome To L.A.") although I personally liked virtually all the other performances better (and there are some great ones in it).
The release of "Kansas City" followed hard upon the heals of the Oscar 'second best', and met with 'mediocre' to 'ok' critical reviews. Thus, the film didn't have much of a run in the theatres, playing to sparsely filled houses, who basically came to see the novelty of Harry Belafonte playing a rip-snorting gangster in an Altman film. Nor was the DVD release much of a hit.
What kept the movie alive basically was the magnificent soundtrack - a group of the best of the new generation of jazz musicians playing Kansas City jazz - well - as well as Count Basie and that guy who invented the jazz saxophone (what was his name?) - oh yeah, Coleman Hawkins, themselves. The CD became a classic, and a few people discovered that Altman had fostered this long time love for Kansas City jazz, and now that he was a bigshot and could finally raise lots of money to make any film he wanted, he decided to act on his long time dream to recreate the Kansas City Jazz scene in the early thirties in a movie.
And what an incredible recreation it is! There is even a separate one + hour film which Altman made of simply the bands (as recreated by the contemporary musicians playing all the tracks in the film and on the CD and more, and nothing else!) This film evokes an amazing, dreamlike experience and ranks with any performance of twentieth century music currently on DVD, and I wish they would release it when they release the director's cut, which I predict they will (my 30 year track record is pretty good).
Simply put, "Kansas City" is a noir masterpiece. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives an incredibly complex, brilliant performance and which is only to be matched by her foil, Miranda Richardson. One of the great "two chick" flicks of all time, one wonders why Altman seems to be the only director who sees Leigh for what she is: the best American actress of her generation. Belafonte and the rest of the cast are up to the searing standards demanded by these lead performances, and the script and the almost superhuman attention to detail evidenced in the sets, editing, and every frame, make one wonder what exactly the critics had in mind when they watched this film for the first time.
But the music . . . the bands themselves take on a certain personification and become characters participating in the action of the story.
I believe "Kansas City" is due for a re-evaluation and may go down as the greatest venture of both Leigh and Altman, and that's saying a lot. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 09, 2004 | | Summary | Ovelooked and underated American Film Noir Masterpiece | Content
| Robert Altman, one of the foremost filmakers of the last thirty years followed up what many consider to be his magnum, "Short Cuts", with this quietly more ambitious project. "Short Cuts" finished 'place' at the Oscars to "Shindler's List" and helped spawn the career of Juliana Moore (sort of like Sissy Spacek in Welcome To L.A.) although I personally liked virtually all the other performances better (and there are some great ones in it).
The release of "Kansas City" followed hard upon the heals of the Oscar 'second best', and met with 'mediocre' to 'ok' critical reviews. Thus, the film didn't have much of a run in the theatres, playing to sparsely filled houses, who basically came to see the novelty of Harry Belafonte playing a rip-snorting gangster in an Altman film. Nor was the DVD release much of a hit.
What kept the movie alive basically was the magnificent soundtrack - a group of the best of the new generation of jazz musicians playing Kansas City jazz - well - as well as Count Basie and that guy who invented the jazz saxophone (what was his name?) - oh yeah, Coleman Hawkins, themselves. The CD became a classic, and a few people discovered that Altman had fostered this long time love for Kansas City jazz, and now that he was a bigshot and could finally raise lots of money to make any film he wanted, he decided to act on his long time dream to recreate the Kansas City Jazz scene in the early thirties in a movie.
And what an incredible recreation it is! There is even a separate one + hour film which Altman made of simply the bands (as recreated by the contemporary musicians playing all the tracks in the film and on the CD and more, and nothing else!) This film evokes an amazing, dreamlike experience and ranks with any performance of twentieth century music currently on DVD, and I wish they would release it when they release the director's cut, which I predict they will (my 30 year track record is pretty good).
Simply put, "Kansas City" is a noir masterpiece. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives an incredibly complex, brilliant performance and which is only to be matched by her foil . One of the great "two chick" flicks of all time, one wonders why Altman seems to be the only director who sees Leigh for what she is: the best American actress of her generation. Belafonte and the rest of the cast are up to the searing standards demanded by these lead performances, and the script and the almost superhuman attention to detail evidenced in the sets, editing, and every frame, make one wonder what exactly the critics had in mind when they watched this film for the first time.
But the music . . . the bands themselves take on a certain personification and become characters participating in the action of the story.
I believe "Kansas City" is due for a re-evaluation and may go down as the greatest venture of both Leigh and Altman, and that's saying a lot. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 16, 2002 | | Summary | confusing and stupid plot | Content
| I rented this movie because I like period stories, especially those that take place in the 1920s and 1930s. This movie was about as dim-witted as its main character Blondie. The story was hard to follow because it made little sense, the diaglog really dull,and the movie moved at a snail's pace. And what was with the pregnant black girl? What purpose did that serve and how did it fit into the story? This is one to skip. |
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