Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 22, 2015

Winner of Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Hector Babenco's "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival featurette; promotional and production stills; the documentary film "Manuel Puig Mini-Documentary: The Submissive Woman's Role"; and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Prisoners

The overwhelming majority of the film takes place in a prison cell shared by two very different men -- Valentin (Raul Julia, The Morning After, The Addams Family), a passionate political activist, and Luis (William Hurt, Broadcast News, Body Heat), a homosexual in love with cinema. Early on, the two rarely talk to each other -- Valentin fantasizes about being free and making love to his beautiful lover, while Luis spends his time remembering his favorite films. These are old films about spies, Nazis, and strikingly beautiful women.

Eventually, Luis begins describing the films to Valentin. He likes them. What he does not like are Valentin’s manners, his attitude and style. Before Valentin gets the wrong idea, Luis makes it clear that the two are indeed very –- very –- different.

Gradually, however, the two men warm up to each other and begin to realize that they might have quite a bit more in common than they had initially thought. They talk about their past and begin speculating about their future.

The film takes an unusual turn when Valentin gets sick and Luis’ mother starts bringing him real food and tea. At one point, Valentin even allows Luis to wash his clothes. When he gets better, Luis gives him a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

Based on the novel by Manuel Puig, Brazilian director Hector Babenco’s Kiss of the Spider Woman is a very unusual film. For a while it seems like its focus would be solely on the relationship between two very different men who come to accept each other and their contrasting philosophies of life. Then it slowly becomes clear that their story is part of a much bigger story.

There are certain stereotypes in the film that are used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the two men. But Babenco does not go overboard with them, which is why the progression of their relationship is so convincing.

A beautiful woman (Sonia Braga, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) plays an important role in the lives of the two men -- Luis is inspired by an actress whom he remembers from the films that made him fall in love with cinema; Valentin is in love with a woman whom he was forced to abandon.

Ultimately, Kiss of the Spider Woman is about escaping and connecting -- for Luis and Valentin escaping the misery of their lives and connecting in a way that would have not been possible had they met outside of the prison, and for Babenco temporarily escaping the ugly reality of the ‘lost decade’, the 80’s, which made many people in South America feel just as miserable as Luis and Valentin do in the beginning of the film.

In 1986, Hurt won an Oscar Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and for once it was an award the Academy gave that was well deserved. He is terrific as the homosexual prisoner who, after spending much of his time remembering and fantasizing, finds a new purpose in life when he befriends his cell-mate. Julia is also very convincing as the passionate and angry political activist who is forced to reevaluate his beliefs.

Cinematographer Rodolfo Sánchez, who also lensed Babenco’s best film, Pixote, has given Kiss of the Spider Woman a beautiful dreamy look. The use of light and color inside the prison and during the fantasy sequences where the Spider Woman is seen is very effective.

Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cruzon Artificial Eye.

The release appears to have been sourced from the same master which French label Carlotta Films accessed when it prepared its Blu-ray release in 2011. There are some minor discrepancies in the brightness settings that also affect color balance, but the basic characteristics of the two releases are practically identical.

The majority of the film looks quite good, but some density fluctuations and very light crushing are visible. The darker footage from the prison in particular could look a bit soft, though detail and clarity remain pleasing (see screencapture #19). When there is plenty of natural light depth is quite nice. Grain is visible throughout the entire film, but it is easy to tell that the master is older and has some limitations. There are no traces of recent sharpening corrections. Colors are stable and appear natural, but some nuances can be expanded. Image stability is very good. A few tiny flecks occasionally pop up here and there, but there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region Free player in order to access its content).

Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English: LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the LPCM 2.0 track. (I've also seen it with the 5.1 track). It has not been recently remastered, but clarity and depth are good. Some extremely light background hiss occasionally tries to sneak in, but it never becomes even remotely distracting. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in our review.

Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Kiss of the Spider Woman. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Photo Galleries - More than 150 images.
  
  1. Costume Gallery. (1 min).
  2. Production Gallery (8 min).
  3. Film and Promotional Stills Gallery (8 min).

• Manuel Puig Mini-Documentary: The Submissive Woman's Role - this archival featurette focuses on writer Manuel Puig and the socio-political climate in Argentina before and after he wrote his famous novel. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Tangled Web: Making of Kiss of the Spider Woman - this documentary film takes closer look at the production history of Kiss of the Spider Woman and its success. Producer David Weisman's comments about Burt Lancaster, who was initially part of the cast, are particularly interesting. Also included are various interviews with William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Hector Babenco, Manuel Puig, etc. In English, not subtitled. (109 min).

• Slide Show Commentary: Transitions from Novel to Film - this archival featurette focuses on the novel that inspired the film as well as the structure of the narrative and its key themes. In English, not subtitled. (37 min).

Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Curzon Artificial Eye's upcoming release of Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman is very similar to the one Carlotta Films produced back in 2011. It appears to have been sourced from the same master the French label worked with, which is quite good, but it has a bigger selection of supplemental features. I like the film a lot. William Hurt and Raul Julia are fantastic together and Rodolfo Sánchez's cinematography is very beautiful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.