Kansas City Confidential Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Kansas City Confidential Blu-ray Movie Review

Classic Heist, Take Two

Reviewed by Michael Reuben January 29, 2016

Director Phil Karlson had his biggest success in 1973 with the original Walking Tall, but his most lasting impact has been on crime drama. It was Karlson who directed the 1959 pilot for The Untouchables, bringing to television the efficient, hard-boiled style he had perfected in a series of low-budget "B" pictures. The best known and most influential was Kansas City Confidential, a primary inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and a source for films as diverse as The Thomas Crown Affair (both versions) and The Dark Knight. Released in 1952 by United Artists, the film was an independent production that has since fallen into the public domain, thereby ensuring that no major studio will be willing to invest in a first-rate HD master for Blu-ray.

Five years ago, specialty publisher Film Chest released Kansas City Confidential in a combination Blu-ray/DVD package that, at the time, seemed the best that Blu-ray fans could expect. Now a new version has appeared, restored by The Film Detective, an independent library of classics headquartered in Rockport, Massachusetts. With superior image and sound, this new disc may be the best presentation of this Fifties gem we are likely to get.

Kansas City Confidential starts with an elaborately choreographed robbery of an armored car, but it's far from an ordinary heist. As we watch the mastermind, Tim Foster (Preston Foster), assemble a gang of strangers whose identities will remain hidden from each other behind masks, it becomes clear that Foster is more than just a thief. Indeed, for a time he almost appears to be the hero of the piece, especially in contrast to the desperate thugs he coerces into helping him. The trio is played by actors who would soon become familiar faces on both the large and small screen: Lee Van Cleef, the future Angel Eyes in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; ubiquitous Western villain Jack Elam (Rio Lobo); and Neville Brand, who would re-team with director Karlson in The Untouchables to play Al Capone.

But after the robbery Kansas City Confidential shifts its focus to ex-con Joe Rolfe (John Payne), whose florist's delivery truck is identical to the robbers' getaway vehicle. Falsely accused, Rolfe sets out to find the thieves on his own. The search leads him to Mexico and an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse, as the gang members gather in the small town where Foster has instructed them to await their cut of the money. Mistaken identities, shifting loyalties and the sudden appearance of a pretty young woman (Colleen Gray) with an unexpected connection to one of the gang keep everyone preoccupied. Meanwhile, the location of the stolen money remains a mystery, along with Foster's intentions.

It's not surprising that Kansas City Confidential has appealed to so many later filmmakers. Its script is a model of storytelling efficiency; its dialogue is crisp and to-the-point; and Karlson's visual style is unobtrusively elegant, as his camera follows Rolfe through alleyways, gambling joints, airports and hotel rooms. A former war hero who has struggled to adjust to civilian life, Rolfe unexpectedly finds himself back in the familiar position of battling an enemy, and the experience transforms him from the sad-sack first arrested by the police into a confident man of action. By the end of the film, he's become both hero and everyman.

(For additional thoughts on the film, please see the informative review written by my colleague Jeffrey Kauffman for Film Chest's Blu-ray.)

Kansas City Confidential Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kansas City Confidential was shot by George E. Diskant, a prolific cinematographer of crime films like The Narrow Margin and a staple of Fifties and Sixties television. The film's negative (if it still exists) and any preservation element such as a fine grain master remain locked in MGM/UA's vaults, so that film prints are the only available source. For this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, The Film Detective scanned a 35mm print, to which it then applied extensive digital repair and dirt removal. No noise reduction or other de-graining software has been applied, which distinguishes this version from the disc previously released by Film Chest. The difference is immediately obvious both in the new disc's naturally grained, more film-like appearance and in an increased level of detail that is readily observable in the textures of clothing and the contours of faces, especially ones with beard stubble. In an effort to show the difference, I have chosen screenshots that roughly match those accompanying the previous review (images should be expanded to their full size for comparison). Black levels and densities are impressive throughout, as are fine delineations of gray. In the absence of any extras, The Film Detective has mastered Kansas City Confidential on a BD-25 with an average bitrate of 28.60 Mbps, with what appears to be a careful job of compression. Except for scattered frames that still show some damage (probably at reel changes), Kansas City Confidential can now be seen in a form that approximates a good theatrical projection.

Please note that the video for this Blu-ray has been scored on a curve, with due adjustment for the fact that this is a PD title for which the best elements are not available.

Kansas City Confidential Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike the previous Blu-ray, the new Kansas City Confidential features lossless audio encoding of the original mono soundtrack in DTS-HD MA 2.0, with identical left and right channels. The soundtrack was taken from the 35mm print's optical track, and it has received the same care as the image, with removal of any pops, clicks and other distortion commonly found on decades-old release prints. Dialogue is clear, the dynamic range is appropriate to the period, and the score by prolific composer Paul Sawtell (The Fly and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, among many others) puts exclamation points on the action without overload.

Kansas City Confidential Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The disc has no extras. Film Chest's Blu-ray featured a trailer and a restoration demo.

Kansas City Confidential Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kansas City Confidential is one of those impressive small pictures that people discover and wonder, "Why isn't this better known?" Some films are best known through their imitations, and this is one of them. The Film Detective's Blu-ray represents a significant upgrade. Highly recommended.