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Kiss Of The Spider Woman is one of those films released many moons ago which I’d never got round to watching on its release. Then again, in 1985 I would have been 13 at the time this came out. It’s now a 15-certificate – which had not long taken over from the AA rating at that time, so I would’ve passed for the right age, since I remember seeing The Supergrass in 1984, aged 12.
The film mostly features two cell mates in a South American jail, Luis (William Hurt), who’s transgender and is in the clink for having paedophiliac tendancies, while Valentin (Raul Julia) is a political prisoner, and whilst in there they can see new politicial prisoners being brought in from time to time, through the slits of light above their steel door (although I couldn’t figure out why some prison cells had those opened during the day whereas theirs were shut. Okay, so those that were open had lots of prisoners in, so it’s going to get crazy warm during the day, but that didn’t explain why the main one just had the two leads in it.
It takes a while to get going as we learn more about what led to them both ending up in there, and then something happens and the film opens up a bit more , but I won’t divulge any more than that. It’s very much like the third season of Prison Break when Michael found himself in the lawless jail where anything goes, and if you can still be alive by the end of the day, you’re lucky. Human rights go out of the window, in this place. As well as the chances of wearing shoes, it seems.
Naturally, the incarceration gets to them, but for Luis, there’s also the imprisonment of being trapped in the wrong body. However, he tries to escape by retelling the plots of movies he’s seen, some of which comes out of his own imagination – or maybe it all does. It’s at least one way of making the time go by slightly more quickly for both of them. One of these involves a woman trapped by a spider’s web, hence the title.
One thing I’ll add, which I’ll entrap in a web of spoiler heading…
The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high definition and it has a decent sharp print during the prison scenes, but the movie Hurt is describing is in very soft focus. Maybe that’s the intention but it’s not readily apparent. I’m watching this on a 50″ Panasonic Plasma TV.
The audio is in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, with a LPCM Stereo option, but while it has a wonderful score from Nando Carneiro and John Neschling, the film was shot in mono and there’s nothing spectacular in the audio department in terms of sterep separation.
The extras are as follows, and are superb, echoing the sort of attention to detail we normally only get from the wonderful Arrow releases:
- Tangled Web: Making Kiss Of The Spider Woman (108:34): This is a wonderful and fascinating documentary from 2008, presented in 4:3, which runs almost as long as the film itself, showing that Burt Lancaster was originally considered for the role of Luis, as production began in 1982, on the back of him having a comeback in 1980’s Atlantic City, directed by Louis Malle.
There are 9 chapters breaking it up. I’d like more, but generally with extras, if you get ANY chapters, it’s a plus. They’re spread out every 10-15 minutes, rather randomly in their placing, but it’s better than none.
- Theatrical Trailer (2:38): A new trailer from the Independent Cinema Restoration Archive, in the original theatrical ratio. It’s so rare that we get a trailer that’s been restored, or indeed, created brand new. Enjoy this delight while you can.
- Manuel Puig Mini-documentary: Secrets of the Spider Woman – The Submissive Woman’s Role (9:07): This is in part a piece about the author, and in part what led to the ideas for the novel.
- Slideshow Commentary: Transition from novel to film (36:08): A talk through some of the changes from a novel that’s mostly dialogue to the movie that cannot, obviously, just be purely dialogue.
- Photo Galleries: For costumes (0:52), production (7:05) and film & promotional stills (7:12), now… it’s time for the gallery.
Sadly, there’s no subtitles (why?), so there’s the occasional word I can’t make out. The menu has some subtle ‘spider web’ animation and just 12 chapters.
Kiss Of The Spider Woman is out now on Blu-ray and DVD, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
8 9 7 6 |
| OVERALL | 7.5 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 120 minutes
Year: 2015
Cat.no: ART175BD
Released: January 25th 2016
Chapters: 12
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, LPCM Stereo
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1 (Spherical)
Disc Format: BD50
Director: Hector Babenco
Producer: David Weisman
Screenplay: Leonard Schrader (based on the novel by Manuel Puig)
Music: Nando Carneiro and John Neschling
Cast:
Luis Molina: William Hurt
Valentin Arregui: Raul Julia
Leni Lamaison/Marta/Spider Woman: Sonia Braga
Warden: José Lewgoy
Pedro: Milton Gonçalves
Mother: Miriam Pires
Gabriel: Nuno Leal Maia
Americo: Fernando Torres
Greta: Patricio Bisso
Werner: Herson Capri
Michele: Denise Dummont
Leader of Resistance: Nildo Parente
Clubfoot: Antônio Petrin
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.