Kansas City (1996) (BLU-RAY REVIEW)
DIRECTED BY: Robert Altman
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte
RATED: R/REGION A/1:78/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Arrow Video
Returning to the city of his birth for inspiration, legendary maverick director Robert Altman helms an evocative, bullet-riddled tribute to the music and movies of his youth in Kansas City, a Depression-era gangster flick as only he could make one. Blondie O’Hara (Jennifer Jason Leigh) resorts to desperate measures when her low-level hood husband Johnny (Dermot Mulroney) gets caught trying to steal from Seldom Seen (Harry Belafonte), a local crime boss operating out of jazz haunt The Hey-Hey Club. Out on a limb, Blondie kidnaps laudanum-addled socialite Carolyn (Miranda Richardson), hoping her influential politician husband can pull the right strings and get Johnny out of Seldom Seen’s clutches.
1996’s is a product of good and solid storytelling. Coming at us with no real bells and whistles, it’s a character-driven story that gets by and keeps you watching based on the characters and the plot. Jennifer Jason Leigh is really good here in the of a kidnapper who abducts the wife of a politician and then uses her as a bargaining chip to try to free her lover from the grip of a local crime boss. While I wasn’t blown away by any means, I did enjoy it for what it was. Harry Belafonte is also really good at playing a coke-addled crime boss who spends most of his time in a jazz bar. As a period film, it does its job, keeping things looking just like they would be looking during this time. All these things make for a solid film and will keep you watching from start to finish if nothing else.
Robert Altman is a director a lot of people hold in very high regard and I can see why. He takes this big undertaking of a plot and turns in a very well made movie that comes with a good environment and a great cast. Even the soundtrack is as solid as they come. It even manages to look good here in HD, which I was expecting from this release if nothing else. It earns its spot on the “Arrow Academy” side of things on this Blu-ray release from Arrow Video. This is just the type of movie that made that line what it is and makes a solid watch if you are into just well-made films that tell a good story but don’t really do a whole lot else on the fancy side of things.
Extras
- Original 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary by director Robert Altman
- Newly filmed appreciation by critic Geoff Andrew
Gare, Trains et Déraillement, a 2007 visual essay by French critic Luc Lagier, plus short introduction to the film narrated by Lagier - Robert Altman Goes to the Heart of America and Kansas City: The Music, two 1996 promotional featurettes including interviews with cast and crew
- Electronic press kit interviews with Altman, Leigh, Richardson, Belafonte and musician Joshua Redman, plus behind-the-scenes footage
- Four theatrical trailers
- TV spots
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio
- First pressing only: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Dr Nicolas Pillai, original press kit notes and an excerpt from Altman on Altman.
Quality of Transfer: 98%
