Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Kiss of the Spider Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2026

Hector Babenco's "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on it include new program with Jill Levine, biographer of author Manuel Puig; archival documentary; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Not: The text below was first used in our review of French label Carlotta Films' release of Kiss of the Spider Woman, produced in 2011.

Most of Kiss of the Spider Woman unfolds in a prison cell shared by two very different men -- Valentin (Raul Julia, The Addams Family), a passionate Marxist revolutionary, and Luis (William Hurt, Body Heat), a homosexual obsessed with cinema. Initially, the two rarely speak. Valentin fantasizes about freedom and making love to his beautiful lover, while Luis spends his time recalling imaginary great films, nearly all of which are about spies, Nazis, and strikingly beautiful women.

To lift their spirits, Luis begins describing the imaginary great films to Valentin, who gradually becomes intrigued by their stories and stars. However, as their interactions expand and their minds begin drifting away from cinema, Luis is compelled to state the obvious and clarify that he and Valentin are indeed very different. Nevertheless, over time, the two men come to realize that they have plenty in common.

When one of the men becomes seriously ill, their relationship is profoundly reset. Another dramatic development then resets it again, and both men begin reassessing their lives, each looking at the past and future from a different angle.

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.

The narrative does not shy away from various popular stereotypes. However, it does not mishandle them either, which is why the progression of the men’s relationship remains convincing.

A beautiful woman (Sonia Braga, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) has a crucial role in this relationship, but her presence there symbolizes different things. For one of the men, she is a genuine star and the catalyst for his obsession with cinema. For the other, she is the ideal soulmate whom he could not keep.

The bigger story that emerges from Kiss of the Spider Woman is about enduring the ugly reality of the ‘lost decade’, the ‘80s, which crippled Latin America and made many people there feel as disillusioned and miserable as the two men in the prison cell. However, even though politics is prominently featured in it, Kiss of the Spider Woman is not a political film attempting to deliver a big message. It is a borderline absurdist film, with unmisable dark, situational humor, extremely similar to the one that frequently flourished in Soviet cinema.

Cinematographer Rodolfo Sánchez, who also lensed Babenco’s best film, Pixote, gives Kiss of the Spider Woman a handsome, dreamy appearance. The use of light and color in the prison and during the fantasy sequences where the Spider Woman emerges is particularly 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, Kiss of the Spider Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
br> The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this release:

"This new 4K restoration was created from the 35mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original 35mm magnetic 4-track. The original theatrical monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm DME track.

Mastering supervisors: Lee Kline, Giles Sherwood.
Colorist: Michel Hasidim/Resillion, New York.
Audio restoration: Brian Flack, Widget Sound; The Criterion Collection."

The new 4K restoration of Kiss of the Spider Woman is also made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release.

The 4K restoration produces predictably healthy and solid visuals, most of which look pretty impressive on a large screen. However, a closer inspection easily reveals several issues. In our review of the combo pack release, I provided examples demonstrating how some of the restored visuals tend to struggle with and even lose darker nuances that are nicely exposed on this French Blu-ray release, which features a very nice remastered presentation of the film. Additionally, the 4K restoration alters several primaries and supporting nuances, and parts of the film now have an unmissable new, contemporary appearance. The biggest changes affect primary blue and blue nuances, which are now shifted closer to turquoise/teal. This is unfortunate because the overall quality of all visuals is excellent. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections, such as degraining, sharpening, etc. The entire film looks spotless. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A 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 release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film on 4K Blu-ray and late spent time with its 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. The comments below are from our review of the combo pack release.

I chose to revisit the film with the lossless 5.1 track. I liked how it opened various sections of the film quite well. However, the greatest variety is in the final act, where William Hurt's character is released from prison. The original Mono track is very healthy and serves the film perfectly, too. I did not encounter any age-related or encoding anomalies to report in our review.

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

• Suzanne Jill Levine - in this new program, Suzanne Jill Levine, biographer of Manuel Puig, author of Kiss of the Spider Woman, discusses the original material that inspired Hector Babenco's film. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Tangled Web: Making "Kiss of the Spider Woman" - this documentary film takes a closer look at the production history of Kiss of the Spider Woman. 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, with optional English subtitles. (109 min).

• Manuel Puig - an archival program about the author of Kiss of the Spider Woman and the socio-political climate in Argentina before and after the novel was published. In English, with optional English subtitles. (10 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Kiss of the Spider Woman. In English, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring B. Ruby Rich's essay "Revolutionary Transgressions", as well as technical credits.

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

Because some politics permeate its narrative, Kiss of the Spider Woman is easy to misinterpret as a political film attempting to deliver a big, clear message. It is a borderline absurdist film, with unmissable dark, situational humor, extremely similar to the one that frequently flourished in Soviet cinema, when it was scrutinized the most. Some years ago, after it was remastered and released on Blu-ray in France, I picked up a copy of it for my library. Criterion's Blu-ray release presents an exclusive new 4K restoration, which is not as convincing as it should have been because it gives most areas of the film an unusual, contemporary appearance. The 4K restoration is also made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release.