Product Details

• Actors: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves
• Directors: Hector Babenco
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, Portuguese
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Polygram Video
• VHS Release Date: November 14, 1995
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630383258X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,884 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #32 in	Video > Mystery & Suspense > Crime > Prison Films
  #41 in	Video > Drama > Gay & Lesbian
  #83 in	Video > Gay & Lesbian

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kiss of the Spider Woman starts out simply enough, hemmed in by the narrow walls of a Latin American prison cell. Molina (William Hurt) is telling his new cellmate, Valentin (Raul Julia), his favorite story. Molina is a delicate homosexual imprisoned for seducing a minor; Valentin is a bearded revolutionary still bleeding from his interrogation. If their film unfolded into the typical prison buddy plot, it'd still be a good movie. But this is a great movie. There are stories twisting within stories, each drawing a new, surprising level of difference between the two heroes: escapism versus realism, romance versus politics, gay versus straight, hero versus coward. As their unstable friendship grows more real, their stories become more vivid--whether Molina's fondly remembered Nazi propaganda noir, Valentin's tortured romantic history, or a tropical island fable told merely to pass the time. (Each substory stars Sonia Braga, a neat bit of casting that further blurs the line between fantasy and reality.) By the end, each man has changed just enough to taste the other's tragedy--a transformation that gives each the strength to define freedom on his own terms, despite the brutality of the prison and the bleak world beyond its walls. --Grant Balfour

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally on DVD, June 26, 2008

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kiss of the Spider Woman (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD)

"Kiss of the Spider Woman"

Finally on DVD

Amos Lassen
I was beginning to lose hope that "Kiss of the Spider Woman" would be released on DVD but new came today that it is being released as a two disk set in mid-July. The film was released in 1985 and is marked by brilliant performances by the three leads, William Hurt (who won the Academy Award for his portrayal of Molina, a homosexual in prison because of immoral behavior), Raul Julia (as Valentin, a political prisoner) and Sonia Braga (in three different roles including the Spider Woman).
The film is about two different souls who turn into each other. The writing is excellent, the acting is exceptional and the story is wonderful. This is a powerhouse of a film which is emotionally draining. From the moment the film begins there is a feeling of frustration and Valentin and Molina who feel this for different reasons send it out to the viewer. They are two ordinary people thrown together by fate in an almost impossible situation and they make the best of it. What was going on around them would have destroyed lesser men as their reality is bleak and yet they find a way to survive. The movie compels despite its slow pace. It is primarily set in a filthy cell in a prison of a never-named Latin American country, Molina, a flamboyant homosexual, shares his escape fantasies with Valentin, an idealistic revolutionary. The stories they tell come from either Molina's vivid imagination or from Valentin's struggling past and all of the stories feature a similar woman. As the relationship between the two men grows our sympathy for them increases. The film is a study of relationships.
William Hurt gives an amazing performance as the campy and gay Molina. Raul Julia is the straight man that comes to love and respect him for the human being that he is and he lets go of homophobic attitude long enough to share a moment of tenderness with a gay man who has both come to love him and who decides not to betray him as authorities had hoped he would.
"Kiss of the Spider Woman" is a wonderful look at how two completely different men come to understand one another and the unselfishness of love and how it can transcend sexual preference. The film is about much more than it first appears. It is obviously a metaphor for any dictatorship as dictators will imprison both political dissidents and homosexuals.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine, Thoughtful Movie, November 15, 2002

By	H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kiss of the Spider Woman [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I remember liking this movie when it came out in 1985 but I had forgotten just how good this movie really is. William Hurt certainly deserved the Oscar he won for his portrayal of Molina, an effeminate sex offender-- he is always in character-- on the other hand, Raul Julia is wonderful as a political prisoner too. This film makes a thoughtful statement about both friendship and what being a man is really all about as well.

I can't remember when I have seen such a realistic film. You can almost smell and taste the awful prison food that these two men eat, for instance. The sex between the two men is handled with great delicacy. This is a really fine movie that troubled me long after I saw it again.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "classic" in every sense of the word!, January 22, 2002

By A Customer

UPDATE!
City Lights Home Entertainment Secures North American Distribution Rights to Academy Award(R)-Winning Indie Classic ''Kiss of the Spider Woman''
Friday May 9, 4:15 pm ET
Available on DVD and Blu-Ray for the First Time
Special Collector's Edition Video Package will include never-before-seen footage and a full-length documentary: Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--City Lights Home Entertainment has acquired DVD, digital and television distribution rights to Academy Award®-Winning Indie Classic Kiss of the Spider Woman. The feature film starring William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sonia Braga, along with a surprising and never-before-seen feature length documentary "Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman", will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and digitally for the first time in North America at a future date to be announced.
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"Kiss Of The Spider Woman", although an emotionally draining film, is a true classic. Right from the first scene, you feel the frustration of Valentin and Molina, both outcasts of society, yet for very different reasons. The acting is nothing short of extraordinary. William Hurt as the lonely homosexual, Molina, the late Raul Julia as the stern, but deeply caring political prisoner, Valentin, and Sonia Braga [who takes on three different roles, including the title role, and plays them all brilliantly], are what make this film so great. Although Hurt deservingly won the Oscar for Best Actor, the same consideration should have been given to Julia and Braga for their contribution, as they were both nothing short of incredible. Why this great film is not out on DVD is a mystery in itself. If you've seen it, see it again....if you haven't, I highly recommend you do.