Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

dimplet Here, Robert Altman attempts to do for Kansas City what William Kennedy did for Albany, New York. Sort of. Kennedy portrays the indefatigable Albany machine with a mix of cynicism, respect and love. In Ironweed we see more of the underbelly of the city, but even though a dark movie, there is a love for his O Albany. Altman's portrayal of Kansas City is dripping with cynicism, but lacks the love, and only offers the blackest of humor. What's worse, there are few likable characters. We spend most of the time watching two brainless women talking incoherently, one on drugs, the other with her teeth wired together. Yet Kansas City is still worth watching, if you are a serious film buff. Everyone, I assume, loves M*A*S*H (except, perhaps, for the Koreans, who do not have a sense of humor about their own country). Nashville and Gosford Park take a bit more savvy to appreciate, but if you understand them, you will know how to approach Kansas City. These Altman movies take an almost sociological-anthropological approach to their subjects, have strong portrayals of many characters, and more or less lack a plot or center, preferring a more naturalistic unfolding of events. Robert Altman is perhaps the greatest modern slice of life movie director. So don't focus so much on the story line as on the characters and their interactions.However, in Kansas City we are introduced to what we would expect to be more of an action movie, or at least a movie with a Hitchcock type plot. This is not what we get. And the first section consists of cutting back and forth among characters and scenes that do not bear much temporal relationship, which is confusing, and distracts from trying to focus on understanding the characters. Eventually, the movie assumes temporal normality, if not linearity.The music is absolutely outstanding. Much of it seems to accurately reproduce 1930s to early 1940s jazz, and seeing it performed in its natural setting of a nightclub gives you better insight into it than merely listening on a record, which gives it a more cerebral air. However, when truly great musicians like this were really cooking, I think the room would have been quieter, out of respect and interest; that's what I have read in some jazz musician memoirs. I was surprised by the atonality of some of the Count Basie riffs on the piano, not typical Basie style. Silver plated brass instruments would not have been common back then. And Charlie Parker never played a single note in the film, as he was pretty horrible when he was 14.There are no brave heroes in this movie. There was one clueless hero, the elections official, but he lasted for about 15 seconds, before being lines up against the wall and shot (although not realistic, perhaps key to the cinematic message). The musicians are the closest thing to nice guys in the movie, but they stay strictly in the barroom, holding aloof from corruption swirling around them, even while they see much of what is going on, as do most of the blacks. In short, Altman's Kansas City is as devoid of heroes as High Noon would be without Gary Cooper, or It's a Wonderful Life without Jimmy Stewart. Yeah, it's corrupt, but what are you going to do? Make the best of it by joining in, getting a piece of the action. (In reality, not everyone was corrupt, not even all Missouri politicians.)As to the portrayal of the Tom Pendergast political machine, I think Altman over does it. I sincerely doubt a political hack would pull out a gun in broad daylight in front of a polling place and shoot an elections official. Unnecessary and stupid, and sure to make the evening papers. The Pendergast machine was corrupt, but not stupid; the corruption focused on government contracts, from what I have read. The movie's strength is showing the different levels of society and how they interact, black working class, black mob, white political elite, white trash. Its other strength is reproducing the era in astonishingly rich detail. I love movies like this that get it right, and make you feel like you are being transported back in time. The acting is great, especially Harry Belafonte. Jennifer Jason Leigh gets on your nerves, big time, but does so convincingly.Spoiler alert:Near the end, Mrs. Stilton drops her medicine bottle on the ground. Your first thought is it was empty. Or she had decided to break her habit. But I suspect the real meaning, judging from her body language when she tosses the bottle down, is she was faking it, and wasn't so dependent on her "medicine." If you like this movie, try Ironweed, starring Jack Nicholson and Merle Streep. It's a better movie, but Kansas City has better jazz. The jazz, alone, is worth the price of admission.

tnrcooper Having read all the reviews and seen the rating given this film by even more viewers, it would seem that many viewers are not au courant with the style of Jean Harlow and/or do not have the patience necessary to appreciate some films which do not move along at a quick clip. This would seem to be Altman's tribute to his hometown and to the period when he was a kid-he would have been 9 in 1934.Altman's take on the outre political corruption in Kansas City at that time would seem to be of a sort with the corruption facilitated by the Pendergras machine of the time. His depiction of black characters as autonomous, strong characters is refreshing. Harry Belafonte's mob boss Seldom Seen has to be one of the most ruthless characters seen on celluloid in recent years. Belafonte is at the top of his game, his smoky baritone all the more ominous for his low-key manner. Belafonte really deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance in this movie. One of the many aspects to recommend this film is the music that lit up Kansas City at that time-jazz. The music, featuring Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and even a very young Charlie Parker before he was a musician, is electric. The musicians-played by world-class musicians like Joshua Redman, David 'Fathead' Newman, and Christian McBride, electrify the scenes they are in, particularly in one duel which continues until daybreak. The musical scenes are truly magical and electric. We get a sense of the energy and vibrance in the Kansas City music scene at that time.Altman also tweaks notions of race by having white Johnny Flynn (an almost silent Dermot Mulroney) attempting to knock off a mob underling while wearing blackface. Altman considers race and is not afraid to depict and play around with it. The very fact that he is willing to consider its existence and status in society is interesting in itself. There are many black characters, many given great depth and range. Altman adds depth to our understanding of race and fleshes out depiction of people of color in ways that the vast majority of directors do not even acknowledge or consider. This makes the film valuable in and of itself.The film's plot revolves around the kidnapping of the Missouri governor's wife Caroline Stilson (Miranda Richardson) who is kidnapped to pressure the Governor to release Blondie's husband (Dermot Mulroney's Jonny Flynn) who has been caught after trying to rip off one of Seldom Seen's mob lieutenants. Blondie thinks that taking the governor's wife hostage will cause the governor to take the release of her husband more seriously.Some people don't like Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance in this movie, suggesting that it is difficult to understand her. I think that was intentional on her part-an effort to pay tribute to the work of Jean Harlow who was from Kansas City and who we see in a movie that Caroline and Blondie are watching. It's clear that Jean Harlow was attempting to depict a tougher veneer than she really had, as we see as Blondie's tough outer shell collapses as the movie progresses. I found it a very original, Oscar-worthy, performance. Miranda Richardson's depiction of a depressed, drug-addled, lonely political wife who ultimately turns out to know more than she lets on is very compelling. The chemistry between her and Leigh is electric and Richardson's role is very interesting. She delivers an excellent performance in an unusual role.Altman interweaves story lines-those of Seldom Seen and Jonny Flynn on the one hand, and Caroline Stilson and Blondie on the other-expertly-linking them effortlessly. This is one of Altman's greatest strengths-tying in disparate story lines and making connections where they might be less obvious to most filmmakers. Altman makes connections among figures where most directors wouldn't see them.I don't think this film is on the level of his tours de force in Gosford Park, Short Cuts, The Player, MASH, and Nashville, but Altman was always more about depicting a milieu and setting a scene and if his story did not have the pyrotechnics of some of many films in theaters at the time, he didn't care. This film smolders quietly, suggesting a city rotting from the inside out as evidenced by the political and criminal malfeasance which are so brazen in the picture. Altman tells rich, colorful stories and this one is no exception.

tieman64 "You know what I didn't do today? I didn't vote." – Carolyn StiltonI absolutely hated "Kansas City" upon first viewing. Its pace seemed strange, its flashbacks seemed oddly placed, its camera seemed to dwell on unimportant details and none of its characters seemed to exist to propel any clearly defined story forward. In other words, though I'd seen virtually every other Robert Altman film, "Kansas City" still left me in a state of bewilderment.But as is often the case with Altman, "Kansas City" began to make sense - in so far as Altman desires to make sense; his films seem to embrace a certain chaos - upon second viewing. Filled with loving shots of jazz musicians, the film is itself a jazzy tone poem, Altman coming at the audience from odd angles, asking us to pick up on his shifting rhythms of plot and character, themes of race, politics, violence and money. Consider the subtle juxtapositions Altman weaves into the film...A poor white man (Johnny O'Hara) paints his face black and robs a wealthy black man. Seeking assistance, the black man visits a powerful black crime boss called Seldom Seen. Seldom agrees to help, kidnaps Johnny and kills him.In contrast, Johnny's wife (Blondie O'Hara) kidnaps a wealthy white woman (Carolyn Stilton) while she applies a white beauty mask. Carolyn is married to Henry Stilton, a powerful politician. Blondie wants Henry to negotiate with the crime lord so that she may get her husband back. Blondie is eventually killed by Carolyn Stilton. While this drama is unfolding, other characters enter the mix. A young Charlie Parker, years away from musical fame, finds a pregnant black girl. He takes her to a maternity ward. Meanwhile, we learn that Blondie had her baby aborted because Johnny didn't want kids.Similarly, a poor black cab driver (who helped Johnny stage his robbery) is taken to a back alleyway and killed by Seldom and his gang. In contrast, Henry Stilton's goons kill a white man in broad daylight because he was hampering their efforts to falsify local election ballots.And so on and on it goes, Altman juxtaposing his jazz notes, "Kansas City" less a linear narrative than a series of contrasting sequences or oppositional musical riffs, some obvious, some subtle, but all revolving around class, race and gender. Blackface paint is mirrored to white beauty cream, black crime lords are mirrored to corrupt white politicians, political thugs are mirrored to violent gangsters, abortions are mirrored to pregnancies, loving marriages are mirrored to loveless couples, poverty is mirrored to power, underground gambling joints and brothels are mirrored to above ground poll booths and ballot stations.Blondie O'Hara, the young kidnapper, is herself contrasted with Carolyn Stilton, the woman she kidnaps. Blondie loves her husband and would do anything for him. Mrs Stilton, in contrast, is constantly doped up on opium and has long given up on her marriage. Furthermore, Blondie is constantly emulating Kansas City native Jean Harlow, an actress whom she idolises. This notion of "narrative emulation" is itself intended to mirror the "cutting contests" between the jazz musicians sprinkled throughout the film. Just as the musicians borrow from one another and weave each other's material into what they are improvising, Blondie borrows from the movies and weaves Harlow's tough girl phrases and expressions into her conversation. But Blondie's toughness is all a facade, a suit of armour used to compensate for her petite size and coarse environment. While Blondie gives up her child and is constantly subservient to her husband, it is Carolyn Stilton who possesses true strength. Despite her permanently doped up state, Carolyn constantly gives the impression that she knows more than she's letting on, always absorbing information and assessing her surroundings. Her final line, "I didn't vote", itself lets us know that she has long cut herself off from a venal world which she refuses to legitimize.And so with "Kansas City" - a film which ends with a crime lord counting money in the dark corners of a jazz club - Altman has abstracted the politics of power and persuasion, threat and privilege. Everything in the film hinges on social power, Altman drawing a clean line between those violent people who wield power and all those pathetic dreamers who try to grab it but never succeed in doing so for more than a fleeting moment.The political corruption of the city's democratic machine (the country was built on voting fraud and rigged elections; practises common even today), and the expanding influence of Hollywood (and the power of film to seduce and destroy people such as Blondie), is as important to Altman as the racial segregation that produces Kansas City's two worlds: the white world, dominated by the Stilton's, and the inverted black world of Seldom Seen, a vampiric world of music which seems to only come to life long after the surface world has gone to sleep.The film is also unique in the way it offers jazz music an unprecedented role within the diegetic world. This music is constantly "seeping into" he story, providing a kind of tapestry for the characters to perform against. The result is that the jazz music seems to become intertwined with the very social climate that influences it. Altman himself has said that it was his intention that jazz be the structure of the entire film. Whilst a typical song lasts 3 minutes, a jazz tune lasts as much as 17, the effect being that many of the film's scenes are elongated and purposefully stretched out. "Seldom Seen is like a brass instrument," Altman says, "when it's his turn to solo, he does long monologues and riffs. But the discussions of the two women are like reed instruments, saxophones having duets."8/10 - Best appreciated as a kind of cinematic jazz, the plot lethargically frustrating as it intrigues.

jcnsoflorida I basically concur with sws-3 from Albany, though I don't give it a 10-star rating. 'Kansas City' is a period piece from Altman's childhood. Having said that, don't expect it to brim with nostalgia. The director's trademark gentle cynicism is very much in evidence. Of course there is no 'message' but the depiction of race relations is certainly of interest. The whole film is inspired by jazz and could even be viewed as a kind of visual jazz, (with some nasty wallpaper). The ensemble cast is wonderful. Some reviewers complained that the Jason Leigh and Richardson characters did not develop a rapport, but I disagree. People who have liked other Altman films should consider giving this one a chance.