Back to trending
Kansas City

Kansas City

Drama · Crime · 1996

A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.

Movie details

Kansas City

“Kansas City, 1934. Anything could happen here. One night it did.”

1996 Drama · Crime 1h 56m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Kansas City?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Sunchaser

The Sunchaser

Drama · 1996

A young half-Navajo convict dying of cancer forces a yuppie doctor to drive him to a magic healing lake.

Cry of the City

Cry of the City

Crime · 1948

Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?

The Big Combo

The Big Combo

Drama · 1955

Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.

The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man

Crime · 1956

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

The Mask of Dimitrios

The Mask of Dimitrios

Crime · 1944

A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.

The Asphalt Jungle

The Asphalt Jungle

Crime · 1950

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.

King Creole

King Creole

Drama · 1958

Delinquent Danny Fisher flunks out of high school, quits his job as a nightclub busboy, and one night gets the chance to perform. Success is imminent and local crime boss Maxie Fields wants to hire him to perform at The Blue Shade. Danny declines, but Fields won't take no for an answer.

Marlowe

Marlowe

Crime · 1969

Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.

A Perfect World

A Perfect World

Drama · 1993

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

John Q

John Q

Drama · 2002

John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Altman

Written by

Robert Altman · Frank Barhydt

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Blondie O'Hara

Miranda Richardson

Miranda Richardson

Carolyn Stilton

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte

Seldom Seen

Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

Henry Stilton

Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney

Johnny O'Hara

Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi

Johnny Flynn

Brooke Smith

Brooke Smith

Babe Flynn

Court is in session

Put Kansas City on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.