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Kansas City

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Kansas City (1996)

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59 %
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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 20

Rotten:14

Average Rating: 5.9/10

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Robert Altman's hometown gets the director's signature treatment in this jazz-infused mobster tale set in the 1930s. KANSAS CITY takes place in the jazz-drenched, depression-era milieu of the eponymous city, focusing on a 24-hour... Robert Altman's hometown gets the director's signature treatment in this jazz-infused mobster tale set in the 1930s. KANSAS CITY takes place in the jazz-drenched, depression-era milieu of the eponymous city, focusing on a 24-hour relationship between two extremely different women. Trashy, brassy and uneducated Blondie O'Hara (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is desperately searching for her equally lowlife husband Jack (Dermot Mulroney) who has been captured by the vicious Seldom Seen (Harry Belafonte) after attempting to rob one of his casino's greatest losers. In a move typical of her off-kilter personality, Blondie kidnaps Carolyn Stilton (Miranda Richardson), a rich, unhappy, drug-using socialite, and drags her around town as she searches for Jack. The experience these disparate women endure provides insight into themes Altman often explores in his films, including class differences, and the hypocrisy and delusion he finds extant in American culture. As in Altman's prior films--notably NASHVILLE and SHORT CUTS--he includes a terrific musical backdrop to add depth to the story. Assembling a who's who of modern jazz greats, KANSAS CITY captures perhaps some of the most invigorating musical performances that have been committed to celluloid, including an unforgettable tenor saxophone duel between James Carter and Joshua Redman. [More]

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi, Craig Handy, Joshua Redman

Director: Robert Altman

Director: Robert Altman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Kansas City

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
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A minor work in Altman's oeuvre that can't bridge the gap between its larger issues--sharp inequality, American political process--and the two women at its center that are not interesting as characters or actresses (Jason Leigh and Miranda Richardson)

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/21/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
07/15/06
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly
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Robert Altman brings us an effective, if minor, crime film filled with the jazz sounds of Count Basie and Lester Young.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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Altman looks back at his hometown in an unsentimental, hard-nosed way.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/04/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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No review available.

comment Comment
07/22/05
Jimmy O
Film Snobs
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No review available.

comment Comment
07/18/05
John Larsen
Light Views
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No review available.

comment Comment
06/14/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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No review available.

comment Comment
08/27/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
N/R

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Full Review Source: TheFilmJournal.com (Ohio) | comment Comment
08/18/04
Dan Jardine
TheFilmJournal.com (Ohio)
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Altman gets so caught up in the jazz music that he forgets to concentrate on the story

comment Comment
04/23/04
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
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No review available.

comment Comment
01/13/04
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
09/26/03
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
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Robert Altman having fun, and it features a performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh that has to be seen to be believed.

comment Comment
01/29/03
Blake Davis
KFOR Channel 4 News
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No review available.

comment Comment
01/24/03
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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No review available.

comment Comment
09/06/02
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
Ratings Image

Another spunky film in a series of Robert Altman portraits of the failure of the American Dream.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/27/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
Ratings Image

The film moves with the slowness of an opium daze, and it transmits its plot information with the incremental dit-dot-dash of a wire message.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Kim Williamson
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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