Search - Kiss of the Spider Woman on DVD

A Fine, Thoughtful Movie

H. F. Corbin | ATLANTA, GA USA | 11/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Finally on DVD

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 06/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""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.
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A "classic" in every sense of the word!

H. F. Corbin | 01/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

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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."

Incredibly moving and poignant story

Laura J. Lendman | 06/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Based on the classic play this film tells the story of friendship, fantasy, love, loss, and betrayl. Set in a foreign prison. Two individuals--a gay man (William Hurt) and str8 man (Raul Julia)form a bond that opens the world of the mind and fantasy to escape the physical realm of their prison walls. Sadly this bond is just a facade to illicit government espionage and secrets.

This film was surely a head of it's time. Some might compare this to a "Brokeback Mountain" style of film. If you are squemish about a film dealing with homosexual aspects this film is perhaps not for you. Even though the film and the story is more mulit-layerd with drama and subtext to be labeled a "gay" film.

The acting performances are incredibly powerful and heart wrenching. Sadly, Raul Julia is no longer alive, but this is a fantastic example of his dramatic ability, when so many are familiar on a larger scale of viewer with his performance as Mr. Addams in ADDAMS FAMILY and ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES. William Hurt does not portray a "typical" gay man for laughs or mocking purposes or explotation. His performances goes much deeper than that.

This film explores how we all can be manipulated by kindness and love when are at our most low and vulnerable place in our life. We all have a choice to merciful and kind, or deceptive to reach our own means. Which eventually backfire on us in eventual time.

I highly suggest reading the play before seeing this film. It might help in understanding.

This is an Oscar winning film and very much so.

Buy it and await the visit and fatal KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN. Will be one to enter this web of complex dimensions. Devout film lovers take note, this should be on your list."