Kansas City
First screened in Spring 1998 / Most recently screened in April 2016
Director: Robert Altman. Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Dermot Mulroney, Michael Murphy, Steve Buscemi, Brooke Smith, Jane Adams, Tawanna Benbow, Tim Snay, Ajia Mignon Johnson, Albert J. Burnes, A.C. Tony Smith, Jeff Feringa, Martin Martin, Joshua Redman. Screenplay: Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt.

Twitter Capsule: Crime and democracy as jazz duet. Uneven but engaging riffs on money, race, gender. An eerie social order restored.

VOR:   Screenplay and soundtrack suggest a dense, ambitious engagement with musical idioms and social histories intertwining in creative ways. Falls short of its ambitions, but it has them.



Photo © 1996 Fine Line Features

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B

(in Spring 1998: B–)


Awards:
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Supporting Actor (Belafonte)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Music (Hal Willner, music producer)

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