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Kansas City (film)

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Kansas City
Directed byRobert Altman
Written byFrank Barhydt
Robert Altman
Produced byRobert Altman
StarringJennifer Jason Leigh
Miranda Richardson
Harry Belafonte
Michael Murphy
Steve Buscemi
CinematographyOliver Stapleton
Edited byGeraldine Peroni
Production
company
Ciby 2000
Distributed byFine Line Features
Release date
  • August 16, 1996 (1996-08-16)
Running time
116 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million
Box office$1,356,329

Kansas City is a 1996 crime film, directed by Robert Altman and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy and Steve Buscemi. Kansas City is also notable for its musical score being 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

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 Mrs. Stilton, the wife of a local politician, played by Michael Murphy; Mrs. Stilton 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. 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

Reception

Kansas City received mixed to positive reviews from critics, as it holds a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was produced by Hal Wilner and Steven Bernstein and featured several contemporary musicians playing the roles of famous jazz musicians from the 1930s. For example, Craig Handy plays the role of Coleman Hawkins, Geri Allen plays Mary Lou Williams, and James Carter plays Ben Webster.

References

  1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Kansas City". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
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