Product Details

• Actors: Debra Winger, Theresa Russell, Sami Frey, Dennis Hopper, Nicol Williamson
• Directors: Bob Rafelson
• Writers: Ronald Bass
• Producers: Harold Schneider, Laurence Mark
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: June 6, 1995
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300249867
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,186 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The black widow spider mates to kill--and so does the femme fatale of this noir thriller. Catharine (Theresa Russell) makes quite a glamorous living by marrying well and then carefully murdering her devoted husbands after ensuring that her name's on the will. No one suspects that the beautiful and affluent widow is actually a killer, as she hides her tracks well, using undetectable poisons. But her luck turns when federal agent Alexandra Barnes (Debra Winger) takes a closer look into the case and suspects she's found a serial killer. Soon Barnes books a flight to Hawaii, where Catharine's doing her mourning in the sun, and discovers that the widow has already gotten her claws into a highly successful hotel tycoon. However, Barnes quickly becomes obsessed with both her alluring subject and with the sophisticated businessman--a situation Catharine is sure to exploit.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Two Person Noir, June 26, 2005

By 

Bobby Underwood "starlighthotel" (Manly NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Black Widow (DVD)

You can just about forget everyone else in this film other than Debra Winger and Theresa Russell. This sexy film is basically a two person film noir shot in bright colors, some of it in Hawaii. It is filled with excitement and seduction. Both the leads are wonderful to watch, their chemistry magnificent in this Bob Rafelson (Man Trouble, Five Easy Pieces) film.

Debra Winger is Alex Barnes, bogged down in a government desk job dealing with statistics. But when she sees a pattern of deaths that lead to Theresa Russell, a dangerously beautiful woman with ice in her veins, she becomes obsessed with catching a killer. Theresa Russell, who has used more names than Jason Bourne, is just as smart as she is sexy, and almost the entire film is one long seduction scene as Russell spins her web around Alex.

It seems a lot of rich men have suddenly died on Russell and Alex knows why. She is what is called a Black Widow, a woman who mates and then kills. No one has found any evidence to prove it, however, and Alex's attempt to catch her at it becomes murky as a seduction begins to take place.

The locations and the stars are beautiful and as Winger and Russell circle each other in this game with deadly stakes you can't take your eyes off them. Winger's Alex is smart and determined, but vulnerable, and Russell gives a flawless and sexy performance as a smart and icy beauty with a heart full of venom.

The electricity between the two characters jumps off the screen. The pool scene where they first meet gives us an indication of what is to come as Alex attempts to get close to Russell, with some unexpected twists. The formost of these is a scene when Alex gives Russell a Black Widow pendant, a spider who mates and kills its lover. Russell's response plays with the fragile but determined Alex as she begins to doubt herself.

You don't want to miss this one. It's gorgeous to look at and has two riveting performances from Winger and Russell. You can't find a better one than this.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, attractive suspenser, November 27, 2001

By 

C. Ebeling "ctlpareader" (PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Black Widow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Okay, the story is preposterous and technologically dated, and some of the dialogue is melodramatic in a retro kind of way. That said, BLACK WIDOW still makes good viewing because it remains true to itself and the premises it has set up, and Debra Winger and Theresa Russell do a smashing job on their characters. It also has an interesting style, managing a noir atmosphere even while filming a considerable portion of the story in the bright sunshine of Hawaii and dressing the leads in the blues and red-oranges of '80s fashions.

Debra Winger plays a bright young unattached woman in a drab, stultifying life as a statistics accountant for the federal government. She does not openly indulge in self pity, but when she identifies a wisp of a possible crime in the statistics she compiles, she sells all her possessions and quits her job to pursue the case on her own. The case surrounds Theresa Russell's character who Winger believes marries older men and somehow precipitates their deaths to reap their inheritances, what is called a black widow. This is all established with swift efficiency, as is the guilt of Russell's character. The suspense lies in if and how Alex will corner her black widow, who is equally intelligent. The two make a sensational pairing, circling around each other, getting closer and closer.

Leonard Maltin's movie guide says the film doesn't deliver the big pay-off. That depends upon what kind of pay-off you are looking for. I happen to think it did deliver.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She mates and she kills..., April 11, 2005

By 

jon sieruga (Redlands, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Black Widow (DVD)

Fiesty Federal Investigator is hot on the trail of a husband-killer, but to catch her she has to think like the killer thinks and play her game...I would love to see a rematch of these two dynamite femme stars, Debra Winger and Theresa Russell. The movie world needs them. Russell, as an actress, generally lacks Winger's inner-fire, but some of her close-ups are more revealing than her dialogue anyway(watch for the scene on the beach after the scuba diving accident). In 1987, this was considered a modest hit which got generally good reviews(Roger Ebert panned it, however). So it's fair to say the movie is highly underrated and should be seen by anyone who loves a good mystery or a great acting match between two top-flight stars. Supporting performances are also very good, and the direction is tricky & tight right up until the final scene(which seems a little rushed). Great cinematography, suspenseful music by Michael Small, incredible Winger & Russell!