Kiss of the Spider Woman

"Once upon a time... in a tropical island far away, there lived a strange woman…"

1985 2h 0m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 355

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

“Once upon a time... in a tropical island far away, there lived a strange woman…”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

William Hurt
Luis Molina
Raúl Juliá
Valentin Arregui
Sonia Braga
Leni Lamaison / Marta / Spider Woman
José Lewgoy
Warden
Milton Gonçalves
Pedro
Miriam Pires
Mother
Nuno Leal Maia
Gabriel
Fernando Torres
Americo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Héctor Babenco
Writers: Leonard Schrader
Languages: English, Italian, German, Portuguese, French
Countries: Brazil, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $17M — a 13.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Italian, German, Portuguese, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Brazil, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Héctor Babenco, shot by Rodolfo Sánchez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nando Cordeiro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mauro Alice shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Héctor Babenco directs. Rodolfo Sánchez behind the camera. Nando Cordeiro scores. Mauro Alice cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Brazil, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, German, Portuguese, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $17M — a 13.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Italian, German, Portuguese, French.
5International production across 2 countries: Brazil, United States of America.
6Directed by Héctor Babenco, shot by Rodolfo Sánchez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Nando Cordeiro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Mauro Alice shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9William Hurt and Raúl Juliá and Sonia Braga carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Once upon a time... in a tropical island far away, there lived a strange woman…".
11IMDB entry: tt0089424 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 8 themes, including "prison", "based on novel or book", "politics", "homophobia".