Kansas City (film)
| Kansas City | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Robert Altman |
| Written by | Frank Barhydt Robert Altman |
| Produced by | Robert Altman |
| Starring | Jennifer Jason Leigh Miranda Richardson Harry Belafonte Michael Murphy Steve Buscemi |
| Cinematography | Oliver Stapleton |
| Edited by | Geraldine Peroni |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19 million |
| Box office | $1,356,329 |
Kansas City is a 1996 American crime film directed by Robert Altman and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, and Steve Buscemi. The musical score of Kansas City is integrated into the film, with modern-day musicians recreating the Kansas City jazz of 1930s.
The film was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Plot[edit]
A kidnapping goes down in 1934 Kansas City. Blondie O'Hara's (Leigh) petty thief husband Johnny is taken by gangster "Seldom Seen" and held prisoner at the Hey Hey Club, one of the hot spots of the Kansas City jazz scene. Blondie herself kidnaps the wife of a local politician, Mrs. Stilton, who is addicted to laudanum (an opium liquid) and has secrets of her own. Blondie's plan is to blackmail Mr. Stilton into helping to free Johnny.
Despite the risk to his re-election campaign, Mr. Stilton does everything he can in order to free his wife by saving Johnny, including using his connections to the Tom Pendergast political machine. Meanwhile, Mrs. Stilton comes to befriend Blondie. She is impressed by Blondie's devotion to her husband, contrasted to her own loveless marriage.
A subplot concerns political fixer Johnny Flynn (Buscemi) paying vagrants and addicts to vote in the upcoming election and sway the outcome.
Cast[edit]
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Blondie O'Hara
- Miranda Richardson as Carolyn Stilton
- Harry Belafonte as Seldom Seen
- Michael Murphy as Henry Stilton
- Steve Buscemi as Johnny Flynn
- Dermot Mulroney as Johnny O'Hara
- Brooke Smith as Babe Flynn
- Jane Adams as Nettie Bolt
- Martin Martin as 'Blue' Green
- Frederick Louis Richardson as club dancer (extra)
Reception[edit]
Kansas City received mixed to positive reviews from critics, as it holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews. Roger Ebert gave it three stars for Altman's "originality and invention", saying the story is "fairly thin" but "Altman gathered some of the best living jazz musicians, put them on a set representing the Hey Hey Club, and asked them to play period material in the style of the Kansas City jazz giants (Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Jay McShann, Lester Young, etc.). He filmed their work in a concert documentary style, and intercuts it". He praised the period recreation of colors and looks of the clothes, cars, and advertising and was reminded of Altman's other 1930s gangster movie, Thieves Like Us (1974).[2] Harry Belafonte won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Soundtrack[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
The soundtrack was produced by Hal Willner and Steven Bernstein and featured several contemporary musicians playing the roles of jazz musicians from the 1930s. For example, Joshua Redman plays the role of Lester Young, Craig Handy plays Coleman Hawkins, Geri Allen plays Mary Lou Williams, and James Carter plays Ben Webster.
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Soloist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blues in the Dark" | James Carter & Joshua Redman | 4:54 | |
| 2. | "Moten Swing" |
| Jesse Davis & James Carter | 3:43 |
| 3. | "I Surrender Dear" | James Carter, Nicholas Payton & Cyrus Chestnut | 6:02 | |
| 4. | "Queer Notions" | Coleman Hawkins | David Murray, Russell Malone & Cyrus Chestnut | 5:40 |
| 5. | "Lullaby of the Leaves" | Jesse Davis, Clark Gayton & Geri Allen | 4:26 | |
| 6. | "I Left My Baby" |
| Mark Whitfield, David Newman, Craig Handy & Curtis Fowlkes | 7:24 |
| 7. | "Yeah, Man" | Craig Handy & Joshua Redman | 5:00 | |
| 8. | "Froggy Bottom" | Mary Lou Williams | Geri Allen, David Newman & Mark Whitfield | 6:20 |
| 9. | "Solitude" | Joshua Redman | 6:02 | |
| 10. | "Pagin' the Devil" | Don Byron, Olu Dara & Clark Gayton | 5:27 | |
| 11. | "Lafayette" |
| Nicholas Payton, James Zollar & Olu Dara | 4:04 |
| 12. | "Solitude (Reprise)" |
| Don Byron, Christian McBride & Ron Carter | 4:05 |
| Total length: | 63:07 | |||
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[4] | 6 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Kansas City". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (August 16, 1996). "Kansas City". Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Yanow, Scott. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
External links[edit]
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
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