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Kansas City

Kansas City

1996
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 56m
Robert Altman's jazz-scored film explores themes of love, crime, race, and politics in 1930's Kansas City... (imdb)
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Kansas City

1996
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 56m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 40.4% from 163 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(163)
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Compact view
Rated 22 Mar 2007
55
49th
Not bad.
Rated 16 Jun 2009
74
48th
it's a half and half mix of boring and interesting, but the generally average acting solidifies its generally average score. jennifer jason leigh is only impressive at sporadic intervals, but then again she didn't have much to work with. the ending was decent, but dont expect to be floating on cloud nine.
Rated 24 Nov 2009
54
14th
love jazz, but didn't love this.
Rated 15 Dec 2011
80
37th
Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance is on the border between good and bad, it all depends on how you look at it. Altman's direction is nice and the use of jazz is stellar, plus the period detail is great.
Rated 13 Jan 2014
30
12th
The narrative is largely just a device used to hold up a set of mirrors (including literally) to America in the 1930s, with a clear class-conscious perspective being the overall focus, but the writing is poor, the lead actress is very poor, and generally speaking only the music shows signs of any inspiration whatsoever.
Rated 01 May 2016
80
68th
I really liked this, though the stuff in the jazz club is so good that cutting back to the still-entertaining plot with the two women feels like a letdown every time. It has such a beautiful rhythm and pace to it, though. I don't know why it's so poorly-rated.
Rated 31 May 2017
50
26th
Altman returned to the 1930's to make another crime film, only this time he also pays homage to jazz music, cutting to footage of real professionals in the field playing at a fictional club owned by underworld boss Seldom Seen, portrayed with subtle menace by Belafonte. Altman did a commendable job recreating the period with limited means--although the improvisatory jazz moments are somewhat anachronistic--and it's certainly stylish, but the writing is ordinary and Leigh's performance grates.
Rated 25 Jul 2020
70
43rd
A very personal film for Altman, since he was born and grew up in Kansas City. He based the character of Stilton after his own father. Calling this an exaggerated memory. JJL overacting can with goodwill be seen as intentional, it sticks out as a sore thumb nonetheless. Luckily there is a subdued HB to counter this. While the plot is mostly an excuse to delve into the social settings, it still doesn't help that the plot isn't engaging. Above all this is mostly an excuse to show some great jazz,
Rated 26 Jul 2022
80
79th
I enjoyed this film as a stylish crime drama film with a film noir feel to it, mainly for the music played - the musical performances shown are quite impressive. I particularly enjoyed the what I call 'sax-off'. It has a really jazzy vibe. The plot is interesting too and I liked that one of the main characters was essentially a female gangster - cool stuff.

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