KANSAS CITY [1996 / 2020] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] 1934 The Mob Played Kansas City like Smooth Jazz Riff! Until One Woman Started To Improvise!
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 O'Hara [Dermot Mulroney] gets caught trying to steal from a friend of Seldom Seen [Harry Belafonte], who is a local crime boss operating out of jazz haunt The Hey • Hey Club. Out on a limb, Blondie O'Hara kidnaps laudanum-addled socialite Carolyn Stilton [Miranda Richardson], hoping her influential Democrat politician husband can pull the right strings and get Johnny O'Hara out of Seldom Seen’s clutches.
Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, and featuring a remarkable soundtrack performed live by some of the best players in contemporary jazz, one of Robert Altman’s most underrated and idiosyncratic films finally makes its long-awaited Blu-ray debut.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1996 Cannes Film Festival: Nominated: Palme d'Or for Robert Altman. 1996 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Music for Hal Willner. 1996 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Harry Belafonte.
FILM FACT No.2: The soundtrack was produced by Hal Willner and Steven Bernstein and featured several other contemporary musicians playing the roles of jazz musicians from the 1930’s. For example, Craig Handy plays the role of Coleman Hawkins, Geri Allen plays Mary Lou Williams, and James Carter plays Ben Webster.
Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi, Brooke Smith, Jane Adams, Jeff Feringa, A.C. Tony Smith, Martin Martin, Albert J. Burnes, Ajia Mignon Johnson, Tim Snay, Tawanna Benbow, Cal Pritner, Jerry Fornelli, Michael Ornstein, Michael Garozzo, Joe Digirolamo, John Durbin, Gina Belafonte, Nancy Marcy, Buck Baker, Dorothy Kemp-Clark, Edward Pennington, Robert Elliott, Marlon Hoffman, Patrick Oldani, Philip Trovato, James Carter, Craig Handy, David Murray, Joshua Redman, Jesse Davis, David 'Fathead' Newman Jr., Don Byron, Olu Dara, Nicholas Payton, James Zollar, Curtis Fowlkes, Clark Gayton, Victor Lewis, Geri Allen, Cyrus Chestnut, Ron Carter, Tyrone Clark, Christian McBride, Russell Malone, Mark Whitfield, Kevin Mahogany, Paul Anselmo (uncredited), Glenn Bartlett (uncredited), Michael Chiles (uncredited), Cameron DeVictor (uncredited), Ron Licari (uncredited), David McKay (uncredited), Gerald McWilliams (uncredited), John Pritchett (uncredited), Andrew Patrick Ralston (uncredited), Jason Ray (uncredited) and Tim Wrobel (uncredited)
Director: Robert Altman
Producers: David C. Thomas, James McLindon, Matthew Seig, Scott Bushnell and Robert Altman
Screenplay: Frank Barhydt and Robert Altman
Make-up and Hair Department: Laurie Foglia [Assistant Make-up Artist], Micheline Trépanier [Key Make-up Artist], Vonda K. Morris [Assistant Make-up Artist], Aldo Signoretti [Key hair stylist], Cheryl Eckert [Hair stylist] (uncredited), Ferdinando Merolla [Assistant hair stylist] and Leslie Ann Anderson [Assistant hair stylist]
Costume Design: Dona Granata
Production Designer: Stephen Altman
Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 115 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: mk2 diffusion / CIBY2000 / Arrow Academy
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With this film ‘KANSAS CITY’ [1996] Robert Altman would turn to the place where he was born and spent his formative years, finding fresh inspiration. Set during 1934 when Robert Altman was 9 years-old, the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ provides an evocative tribute to the Depression-era City, with its shady mobster fraternity and boisterous jazz clubs. In these lively venues legendary black musicians including Count Basie, Charlie “Yardbird” Parker and Coleman Hawkins would blast out infectious jazz tunes to adoring audiences, who would dance the night away.
While geography obviously had a lot to do with Kansas City's becoming a major crossroads in the development of jazz, another reason, the film suggests, was the city's corrupt boomtown prosperity at a moment when hard times had fallen on the rest of the country. Under the Tom Pendergast [Jerry Fornelli] political machine, Kansas City thrived as a centre of gambling, prostitution and organized crime.
Playing out against a backdrop of the local elections, the story centres on gangster’s moll Blondie O'Hara [Jennifer Jason Leigh] whose low life hoodlum husband Johnny Flynn [Steve Buscemi] has been snatched by crime boss Seldom Seen [Harry Belafonte] who is a notorious gambling kingpin and underworld entrepreneur, who owns The HEY • HEY Club. Johnny Flynn made the fatal mistake of conspiring with Seldom Seen's chauffeur, “Blue” Green [Martin Martin], to rob a high-rolling gambler named Sheepshan Red [A.C. Tony Smith], and then further offended Seldom Seen by Johnny Flynn donning blackface to pull off the audacious theft.
Don’t be fooled by a name Seldom Seen, Harry Belafonte’s character is rarely off the screen and he is tremendous here too, getting some of the film’s best lines. Even when the dough is returned, Seldom Seen is not backing down, considering his reputation tarnished. This cigar chomping honcho has developed a very low opinion of his white neighbours, especially the ones stupid enough to take from him. On top of everything, it is Election Day eve. The Tom Pendergast organization is about to go into high gear, trucking out-of-city drifters from polling place to polling place to vote for its candidates.
When loyal Blondie O'Hara enquires if she can have her husband back, the cold response is “how do you want him, in a box or a sack?” In desperation Blondie O'Hara hatches a daring plan, which finds our gun-toting heroine kidnapping Mrs. Carolyn Stilton [Miranda Richardson] the wife of an aspiring Democrat politician, hoping that he will use all his influence to get hapless low life scum Johnny Flynn freed.
This strategy might seem like a little doozy (something outstanding or unique of its kind), except that twitchy Blondie O'Hara doesn’t turn out to be the most proficient of kidnappers and Mrs. Carolyn Stilton who is addicted laudanum is a continual liability and often in a state of confusion due to the quantity of what she has been taking. They make for an oddball pairing and the two stars are a joy to watch, their characters often bickering as Blondie O'Hara drags her hostage around the city, waiting for the wheels to turn. At one point this even involves a detour to the local fleapit, so that Blondie O'Hara can watch the latest flick starring her idol Jean Harlow.
The secondary storyline features a 12-year old Charlie Parker [Albert J. Burnes], who, along with his mother, helps a 14-year old pregnant girl who has come to Kansas City to have her baby. As usual in a Robert Altman film has the usual narrative elements eventually dovetail with the primary main plot. There is also a side plot about the vote fraud perpetrated by Tom Prendergast’s corrupt Democratic machine.
Despite the basic storyline seeming a little light and hackneyed, this being a Robert Altman film, it still manages to be far from bland. The script, which he co-wrote with regular collaborator Frank Barhydt, incorporates numerous themes ranging from power, race and class. This leads to some nice little scenes, such as one where abducted Mrs. Carolyn Stilton is taken back to Blondie O'Hara’s very humble little dwelling.
There's nothing uncertain about the jazz sequences, however, because Robert Altman has filmed them from a fan's perspective, and the scenes that take place in Seldom Seen's The HEY • HEY Club during an all-night cutting contest are infused with an energy that's lacking elsewhere. Jazz music aficionados, especially those who appreciate the tunes of the Kansas City's era, will find a great deal to appreciate about the film ‘KANSAS CITY.’ Others, especially those expecting something profound from a Robert Altman feature film, will discover that, though ‘KANSAS CITY’ has its share of arresting moments, the production as a whole is slightly too superficial to be considered amongst the director's best work, which is such a shame, but on the other hand it is still an enjoyable film if you can put up with some really gratuitous unpleasant violence.
KANSAS CITY MUSIC TRACK LIST
HOST OF FREEDOM (Written by Karl L. King) [Performed by The Lincoln College Preparatory College Band]
TICKLE TOE (Written by Lester Young)
MOTEN SWING (Written by Bernie Moten and Buster Moten)
INDIANA (Written by Ballard MacDonald and James F. Hanley)
I SURRENDER DEAR (Written by Harry Barris and Gordon Clifford) (Arranged by Craig Handy)
BLUES IN THE DARK (Written by Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing) (Arranged by Steven Bernstein)
I LEFT MY BABY (Written by Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing) (Arranged by Steven Bernstein)
PAGIN’ THE DEVIL (Written by Walter Page and Milton Gabler) (Arranged by Don Byron)
YEAH MAN (Written by J. Russel Robinson and Noble Sissle) (Arranged by Steven Bernstein)
FROGGY BOTTOM (Written by Mary Lou Williams) (uncredited) [credited to John Williams] (Arranged by Geri Allen)
LAFAYETTE (Written by Count Basie and Ed Durham) (Arranged by Craig Handy)
LULLABY OF THE LEAVES (Written by Bernice Petkere) (Arranged by Geri Allen)
SOLITUDE (Written by Edgar De Lange, Duke Ellington and Irving Mills) (Arranged by Steven Bernstein)
QUEER NOTIONS (Written by Coleman Hawkins) (Arranged by Craig Handy)
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – mk2 diffusion, CIBY2000 and Arrow Academy presents us the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ with a 1080p image and shown in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Also ‘KANSAS CITY’ improves by leaps and bounds over the 2005 DVD from New Line. Though the image is often dark and sometimes a bit soft, the High Definition transfer satisfyingly captures all the fine period details of costumes and décor. The nightclubs’ neon lights really pop, and colour saturation overall is far richer than it was on New Line’s DVD. Grain levels are finely resolved. Nice primaries jump from a gloomy aesthetic, allowing for the films era style to stand out, so that means the colour stands firm, at least and this is true even in the darkened The HEY • HEY Club, where lights sit low and shadows dominate. The colour palette offers a variety of period hues, including various greys and greens, as well as bursts of red and blue. Blacks are often deep with contrast and brightness levels are mostly satisfactory, though the presentation appears a couple of degrees too dark and particularly towards the start of the film. But overall it is quite good presentation. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – mk2 diffusion, CIBY2000 and Arrow Academy brings us the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ with a choice of two audio choices, first you have the new 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and alternative you have the 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio and my advice is to stick with the 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio as it pushes thunder and rain away from the centre and this helps with the jazz music also. But with the 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio it spreads the music, giving the club life atmosphere. Overall the audio mix slightly lacks punch however. The bass fails when invigorating the soundtrack, slightly losing the beat while patrons in the club bob their heads. ‘KANSAS CITY’ audio mixes do a first-rate job at delivering the fantastic jazz sounds featured in the film, so it is up to you which one you choose to watch the movie ‘KANSAS CITY.’ Please Note: All of the music performed and recorded live in Kansas City by The HEY • HEY club musicians.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary by Director Robert Altman [Audio only] [1996] [1080p] [1.78:1] [112:11] With this featurette, we get to hear from the late and great director, producer and writer Robert Altman who delivers one of his better audio commentary tracks that really delves into his hometown of Kansas City, which was the motivation for the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and the sweet, sweet jazz music. As the film starts Robert Altman informs us that Frank Barhydt and himself, together were writing for the ‘Tanner 88’ film in 1998 which is a political mockumentary miniseries directed by Robert Altman, and Frank Barhydt and himself were in the editing room together and Robert Altman said to him that he wanted to a film about Kansas City and the Jazz period of the 1930’s and the gangsters especially of that kind of culture, and would of been a slim amount of music in the film and at the time Robert Altman was not planning to go ahead with the project and felt there was no one he could take the project to, but suddenly out of the blue this French company came to Robert Altman and said they wanted to do his next picture and what was it, and told them he did not have a next picture lined up, so he then said to them that he wanted to make a film called ‘KANSAS CITY,’ but it is going to have a lot of jazz music of the 1930’s period and that was Robert Altman’s selling point to this French guy and they went for it 100%. Robert Altman now says that one of the criticism about the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and was the character of actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and they thought she over acted in the film, well Robert Altman said that was the point, that this poor little girl was acting like what she had seen in the movies and she was behaving in that manner and she thought she was the actress Jean Harlow and she was in her own kind of “life” of trying to be that Hollywood star character, and had even died her hair blond to try and look like Jean Harlow. Robert Altman says he feels he could not made a better film, and this comprehension of what the society was like, and how the people fit into it and the girl that Jennifer Jason Leigh plays was made up from real movie making magazines, and the other woman character played by Miranda Richardson plays, and Robert Altman says that I took her character from a friend he grew up with and he was from a much richer family and was around the age of 7, 8 or 10 years old and right up to the age of 12 or 14, and Robert Altman would go to this friend’s house and hardly ever saw his mother and she had a woman that looked after the mother and when the mother came down the stairs, she was in her negligee or négligée and was really thin and looked extremely ill and walked not very steady and at the time Robert Altman did not know what was wrong with the mother, but later on found out she heavenly on Laudanum which was an Opium tincture or laudanum was widely used in the 19th century as a pain killer or sleeping aid; it was highly addictive, leading to many of its users forming a drug addiction and was very big in America in the 1930’s and especially for women in particular, and you would have to go to their Doctor for a prescription and get it from a Drug Store and basically again it was Opium. Robert Altman says that in the 1930’s in America especially, there were regular kidnaps and usually got what they wanted with a ransom. Robert Altman now talks about the Central Station they filmed in and before shooting the film, they were going to demolish the building and Robert Altman would visit the building regular when he was a small child and had lots of lovely memories of the building when visiting it, and especially going to meet people with his uncle, because air travel in the 1930’s was very adventurous, and that station was a big part of his life, and by the time they were going to film inside the station, it was very dilapidated and so they went in a spent a lot of money refurbishing part of the station, and after they had finishing shooting the certain scenes they wanted for the film, the City people went and kind of updated the building through a committee, otherwise the station would have been totally destroyed. Robert Altman says that the actor Harry Belafonte is an actor is as good as there is and is also a very good person as he is and feels the actor is one of his closet friend and says the Academy did not even bother to view the film and could not have cared less about the film. Robert Altman now wants to talk about Oliver Stapleton the Director of Photography and Robert Altman and said he wanted to do something reminiscent of the 1930’s period and wanted a certain aspect of that period, and technically what we actually did together was to print the silver and the negative together which we used a lot and gave it a kind of black and white type of look and also a high glow Technicolor muted kind of thing, and trying to get that type of sense of that period in the 1930’s happening now, but also wanted the period of the clothes 100% accurate. Now Robert Altman again talks about his other screenwriter good friend Frank Barhydt and his father Frank Barhydt Sr., and Robert Altman worked for Frank Barhydt Sr. company which was The Calvin Company and was a Kansas City, Missouri-based educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was the largest and most successful film producer of its type in the United States and was founded in 1931 and Robert Altman went to the company just after the war, and really enjoyed his time at the company and helped Robert Altman further his career in the filmmaking business. Robert Altman leans towards his childhood memories of his hometown that made him want to write his script. Robert Altman talks about how the production designers reconstructed the era, describes his early exposure to the amazing 1930’s jazz music, and relates some amusing production anecdotes, and gets philosophical about his cinematic and existential influences. This audio commentary with Robert Altman can sometime be hit or miss, but this may be my favourite of his. I suspect this is because of the more personal nature of the track, since Robert Altman grew up in the area the film takes place, during the same time period, so he has a lot of personal recollections, sharing stories about the people and situations that influenced aspects of this film. A lot of these stories also focus around his father, apparently the basis for Michael Murphy’s character in the film, though I don’t believe Robert Altman’s father was a politician, who knew his fair share of gangsters, who would go duck hunting with him. This all leads to him explaining how he wanted to depict the era and the social and cultural divides, specifically between the different black and white cultures. Robert Altman also talks about certain aspects of the film that modern audiences might find offensive, though were not uncommon at the time and especially the use of the N-word, the use of blackface, though in the latter instance it was used in the film more as a plot point to only further enrage Harry Belafonte’s gangster, and he gets into his own thoughts on cinema, where movies were going at the time in 2005, and even talks about his feelings on needing to see films more than once for them to register and how feelings can change overtime. Robert Altman also defends aspects of the film he feels critics got wrong, and he is especially defensive of the actress Jennifer Jason Leigh’s performance, feeling critics didn’t understand her character was imitating what she saw in the movies of the time of actress Jean Harlow being her biggest influence in Jennifer Jason Leigh career. As we get near to the end of the film ‘KANSAS CITY,’ Robert Altman says he feels America has become very mean spirited in the last 20 years or so and America used to be of some importance and Robert Altman feels he has found his audience out there Robert Altman and also feels you have to deliver that to an audience and now we have an audience that has built up with mainly 14 year old males who come to all the Multiplex Cinemas and have a whole social life centred around these establishments. Robert Altman says when you see Miranda Richardson shoot Jennifer Jason Leigh character, Robert Altman feels it is like shooting a seriously wounded dog so to put it out of its misery and suffering, and when her husband Johnny O’Hara was disembowelled by Seldom Seen henchmen, Blondie O’Hara’s life was really over, and that was a mercy killing. Robert Altman now says that America had a strange society at that period in time and there was a lot of that thing going on in the 1930’s and drugs were not out in the open at that time and was mainly in the lower class society, but Laudanum was being used by housewives regular, and says Miranda Richardson was totally terrific. Robert Altman now says that the biggest complaint about ‘KANSAS CITY’ when it got released, is that all jazz aficionados did not care much for the film, and actual jazz musicians who hear the guys blow their instruments, they did not care much about the story aspect of the film, and the movie audiences complained why was there so much music in the movie. Robert Altman says that his Grandson Dana Altman [Film Producer/Director] came in to hustled for the 1930’s cars for the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and Robert Altman had no idea how he got hold of these wonderful old cars and thought maybe from car clubs and feels we had a great wonderful collection of these 1930’s vintage automobiles and thought they were very impressive, and these 1930’s vintage automobiles were very important for that period set in the film ‘KANSAS CITY,’ especially with them driven around the streets of Kansas City and also used for the kidnapping the character of Miranda Richardson by the character of Jennifer Jason Leigh and also having these 1930’s vintage automobiles in the dramatic car chases. At that point this Robert Altman audio commentary comes to an end. Overall, it is a solid audio track, covering the technical details in recreating the era of the 1930’s, the basis of the characters and moments in the film and especially thanks to the many personal stories he shares, and Robert Altman’s own thoughts on making movies. Again, I feel it is Robert Altman’s best audio commentary track I have ever listened to so far.
Special Feature: Geoff Andrew on ‘KANSAS CITY’ [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1] [25:20] With this featurette, we get a newly video appreciation on the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ with film critic Geoff Andrew and does an in-depth look into the film and Robert Altman’s career. Geoff Andrew goes into the early background of Robert Altman and was born on the 20th February, 1925, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Helen Altman and his father was Bernard Clement Altman, a wealthy insurance salesman and amateur gambler, who came from an upper-class family. Robert Altman also had a career directing plays and operas parallel to his film career. While Altman was employed by the Calvin Company, he began directing plays at the Resident Theatre of the Jewish Community Center, and these plays allowed him to work with local actors. Geoff Andrew now talks about some of the major film he has directed like ‘Countdown’ [1967], ‘That Cold Day in the Park’ [1969], ‘M*A*S*H’ [1970], ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’ [1971], ‘The Long Goodbye’ [1973], ‘Nashville’ [1975], ‘3 Women’ [1977], ‘The Player’ [1992], ‘Short Cuts’ [1993], and ‘Gosford Park’ [2001]. Geoff Andrew also gives an informative discussion on Robert Altman’s style of filmmaking and liked to make films about “real life” and was very critical about the “American Mythology” and the “American Dream” and in particular, heroic characters and is very interested in losers, and failures than success, and tended to go against the convention of most cinema genres and really did transform American filmmaking in interesting ways, and probably the most interesting American filmmaker of the second half of the 20th century and a little bit into the 21st century and Robert Altman more than anybody challenged the whole of mainstream ideas. Robert Altman would have ordinary people in his films who went onto be very good actors who also gave wonderful performances like Sandy Denny, Cher, Karen Black, Tom Waites, Lilly Tomlin and Henry Gibson and Robert Altman would like to encourage people to improvise in a very freeway and this is part of Robert Altman’s drive towards a sort of authenticity of realism and natural acting, but most of all Robert Altman adored actors and gave them a lot of freedom and you can feel it in his films. Another thing Robert Altman loves about his films is the use of music as the soundtrack for his films, and for the film ‘KANSAS CITY.’ Robert Altman also wanted to make ‘KANSAS CITY’ and especially working alongside another screenwriter Frank Barhydt as both were born in Kansas City. But again Robert Altman loved music and was very influenced by the musicians that payed in Kansas City like Bennie Moten was an American jazz pianist and had a Band, Count Basie, Jay McShan the American jazz pianist and vocalist, and Charlie Parker the American saxophonist who actually appeared in the film ‘KANSAS CITY.’ Robert Altman wanted the film to have a story as means of exploring Kansas City he had grown up in and especially as the film is set in 1934, where Robert Altman was 9 years old and of course was not allowed to go into those establishments where the jazz musicians played, but heard a lot about the jazz musicians from his father who the character of Democratic Senator Henry Stilton is sort of based on his father. Geoff Andrew’s says a lot of the locations in ‘KANSAS CITY’ before filming was very rundown, and so Robert Altman refurbished the buildings to look like they were in 1934 and the Central Station we see in the film, before filming started was also very run down and again Robert Altman paid a lot of money to upgrade the building and now looks so much better than it did before shooting the film. Robert Altman shows a lot of corruption in the film that went on in Kansas City in 1934, and showing what these shady criminals who were also getting involved with politicians. We also see in the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ a power struggle with the American Dream which is all about success, fame, money and power and what we see is that bringing together male and female, black and white, poor and rich, weak and powerful, we see that there is a power struggle going on and there is an awful lot of hypocrisy amongst the powerful and the rich people, they are the ones who are pulling the strings and they are often doing it through criminal means. Geoff Andrew also feels the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ has been unfairly overlooked, and Geoff Andrew explains why he feels the film is one of Robert Altman’s best works, covering the many layers, its structure, its music, and the personal nature of it. Geoff Andrew does repeat a number of things Robert Altman mentions in his audio commentary track, but despite this, Geoff Andrew offers an excellent academic slant on the film, and a bigger appreciation for the film ‘KANSAS CITY,’ and while directing this 1996 film Robert Altman had a very serious heart condition and was extremely ill, but to Robert Altman it was very important to direct the film and when he had finished a day’s shooting, would go home and be put on a respirator, but he was determined to make the film ‘KANSAS CITY,’ and Geoff Andrew feels you do not detect that Robert Altman was extremely seriously very ill directing ‘KANSAS CITY,’ and Geoff Andrew feels ‘KANSAS CITY’ is up there with his best work. When the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ was finally released, Robert Altman decided to have a heart transplant operation and got one and went onto make a lot more films, and he got another decade to direct more films, and went onto be America’s all-time greatest director. At that point this Geoff Andrew’s featurette comes to an end. Throughout this featurette, we get to view lots of clips from the film ‘KANSAS CITY.’
Special Feature: Luc Lagier: With this featurette, we get to view to two special features and they are as follows:
Introduction [Audio only] [2007] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:49] With this featurette, we get the French audio voice of Luc Lagier [Film Critic] does a short introduction talking about the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and the director Robert Altman and this was originally produced for the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ 2007 French DVD release and has English subtitles, and is basically an introduction to the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and we get to see a much edited presentation of the 1996 film and is more like a very long Original Theatrical Trailer.
Gare, Trains et Déraillement [Audio only] [2007] [480i] [1.37:1] [15:56] With this featurette, we have a really excellent piece that is well worth reading the English subtitles while watching this featurette and is a visual essay by French film critic Luc Lagier who brings a new level of enjoyment to the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ from his visual essay and again it was originally produced for the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ 2007 French DVD release. Luc Lagier also goes over Robert Altman’s early career, and his 1990’s resurgence, after kind of falling into obscurity for the director and how the ‘KANSAS CITY’ film has been unfairly overlooked. Luc Lagier essay examines the ‘KANSAS CITY’ film’s time and place, contextualising it to the Great Depression, and looking at how the film represents jazz music and musicians of the time. Luc Lagier also looks at how the film defies genre conventions, a common Robert Altman technique as he shows by commentating on the Robert Altman films such as ‘M*A*S*H’ [1970], ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’ [1971], and ‘The Long Goodbye’ [1973]. French film critic Luc Lagier might get a little too arty in his own way, but it’s still nicely put together and does a really good job at looking at the ‘KANSAS CITY’ film’s unique and strong aspects of a certain genre.
Special Feature: Electronic Press Kit: With this featurette, we get to view four featurettes and they are as follows:
Robert Altman Goes to the Heart of America [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [8:45] With this featurette, we get to view a short promotional film from 1996, and includes interviews with Robert Altman and the cast that appeared in the 1996 film ‘KANSAS CITY.’ The narrator David C. Krebs explains the basic plot of the film ‘KANSAS CITY and what Robert Altman observed when he was brought up in Kansas City in his early childhood. This featurette is also well worth watching to see director Robert Altman who gets really excited about the amazing American jazz musicians in the film. Robert Altman also talks about the music of the era of the 1930’s and how it was recreated for the film ‘KANSAS CITY.’ As an added bonus, we get to view quite a few clips from the 1996 film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and also a lot of behind-the-scene filming. Contributors include: David C. Krebs [Narrator], Robert Altman [Director/Producer/Writer], Jennifer Jason Leigh [Blondie O’Hara], Miranda Richardson [Carolyn Stilton] and Harry Belafonte [Seldom Seen].
Robert Altman’s ‘KANSAS CITY’ The Music [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:20] With this featurette, we get to view a short 1996promotional film and it focuses on the ‘KANSAS CITY’ unique jazz music soundtrack and includes interviews with Robert Altman, Harry Belafonte, Craig Handy and Joshua Redman. Once again, we get to view a few clips from the 1996 film ‘KANSAS CITY,’ and as an added bonus we get to view behind-the-scene filming in The HEY • HEY Club. Contributors include: Robert Altman [Director/Producer/Writer], Harry Belafonte [Seldom Seen], Hal Willner [American Music Producer], Craig Handy [American Tenor Saxophonist] and Joshua Redman [American Saxophonist and Composer].
Special Feature: Interviews: With this featurette, we get to view these five rare interviews and they are as follows:
Robert Altman [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:23] With this featurette, we get to meet Robert Altman [Director/Producer/Writer] and is asked the following questions: How does jazz relate to the dynamic style of ‘KANSAS CITY;’ Growing up in Kansas City, how much do you remember od the period?’ and What was it like working with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson and Harry Belafonte?
Jennifer Jason Leigh [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:50] With this featurette, we get to meet the actress Jennifer Jason Leigh [Blondie O’Hara] and is asked the following questions: Why is Blondie so obsessed with Johnny O’Hara, her husband?; What was it like acting with Miranda Richardson? and What’s Robert Altman like?
Miranda Richardson [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:34] With this featurette, we get to meet the actress Miranda Richardson [Carolyn Stilton] and is asked the following questions: Why is Carolyn taking laudanum, which was legal and addictive drug in the 1930’s?; How does your relationship with Blondie change? and What was it like working with Jennifer Jason Leigh?
Harry Belafonte [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:33] With this featurette, we get to meet the actor Harry Belafonte [Seldom Seen] and is asked the following questions: Do you think ‘KANSAS CITY’ will create a greater awareness of jazz?; How did you come to terms with playing the villainous Seldom Seen, whose view of humanity is diametrically opposite yours? and What do you think audiences will take away from ‘KANSAS CITY’?
Joshua Redman [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:06] With this featurette, we get to meet Joshua Redman [American Saxophonist and Composer] and is asked the following questions: What was it like in period in front of the camera? and How do you think ‘KANSAS CITY’ will affect jazz?
Special Feature: Behind The Scenes [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:00] With this featurette, we get to view some very rare behind-the scene filming of the 1996 film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and we get to view the following B-Roll Behind-the-scenes footage which looks totally chaotic, but we see the filming of the jazz musicians in The HEY • HEY Club and of course see the director Robert Altman giving instructions on what he wanted filmed.
Special Feature: Trailers and TV Spots: With this featurette, we get to view the following five different Original Trailers for the film ‘KANSAS CITY’ and they are as follows:
International Trailer [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:25]
US Trailer [1996] [480i] [1.78:1] [2:27]
French Trailer [1996] [480i] [1.78:1] [1:38]
German Trailer [1996] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:37]
US TV Spots [1996] [480i] [1.78:1] [1:06]
Special Feature: Image Gallery [1996] [1080p] [1.37:1] [4:20] With this featurette, we get view 26 wonderful colour and black-and-white imaged related to the 1996 film ‘KANSAS CITY,’ plus we get to view some images of film posters and an ‘KANSAS CITY’ soundtrack album.
PLUS: Beautiful reversible printed cover sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio [Freelance Artist and Illustrator].
BONUS: FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Beautiful 36 page illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Dr Nicolas Pillai entitled DREAM BOOGIE: VISIONS OF THE PAST IN ROBERT ALTMAN’S ‘KANSAS CITY.’ Plus Cast and Crew; Original Production Notes; ‘KANSAS CITY’ and Its Jazz; Robert Altman; Altman On Altman by David Thompson’ About The Transfer; Production Credits and Special Thanks. Plus: some colour publicity photos from the 1996 film ‘KANSAS CITY.’
Finally, ‘KANSAS CITY’ [1996] is a very enjoyable film, but at the same time the film is not perfect, I do feel the film is highly underrated and deserving of a new appraisal from critics and film lovers all round. The film was largely criticized for being too bleak, but in a time where our society is constantly examining the structures that divide the powerful from the weak the film feels prescient and possibly just a little ahead of its time. ‘KANSAS CITY’ competed for the 1996 Palme d’Or at Cannes, ultimately losing out to Mike Leigh’s ‘Secrets and Lies.’ It remains one of Robert Altman’s lesser known films and, while not showing the director at the top of his game, there is still much to admire. The production design by Robert Altman’s son Stephen Altman is gorgeous, and there’s plenty of sharp dialogue to savour and, of course, there is that fabulous soundtrack. Arrow Academy has done a really great job of providing a healthy-looking transfer and some good supplement featurettes. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
