Kiss Of The Spider Woman (1985) 4K UHD - The Criterion Collection

Featuring indelible performances from Raul Julia and Academy Award-winning William Hurt, Kiss of the Spider Woman is a work of radical compassion that boldly expands notions of love, gender, and revolution. Directed by Hector Babenco following his international breakthrough with Pixote and adapted from the novel by the iconoclastic writer Manuel Puig, the film follows Valentin and Molina, a militant leftist activist and a queer, cinema-obsessed window dresser, imprisoned together under a repressive military dictatorship. As the two gradually forge a bond, their relationship transforms the way they understand politics, sexuality, and masculinity. Blending raw realism with Molinas imaginative escapes into sumptuous movie fantasy, this searing human drama offers a powerful vision of personal liberation embedded within broader political struggle.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

Alternate uncompressed monaural soundtrack

One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

Tangled Web Making Kiss of the Spider Woman (2008), a feature-length documentary

Interview with Suzanne Jill Levine, biographer of Kiss of the Spider Woman author Manuel Puig, about the adaptation

Short program on Puig

Trailer

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Plus An essay by critic B Ruby Rich

New cover by Greg Ruth