Random Musing: Kiss of the Spider-Woman

Just as I and many other film buffs were losing hope (I had even considered purchasing a region-free copy from some foreign market on eBay), the 1985 classic, "Kiss of the Spider-Woman," has been released on DVD. I just happened to be searching for the film on Amazon.com the other day when I discovered this surprising circumstance. In building my Oscar-nominated film collection, "Kiss of the Spider-Woman" was one of the first films I bought, but I purchased it on VHS a few years ago just as the format was becoming obsolete, mostly because the film had not found a release through DVD at that time. According to my research, the film was released on July 22nd, 2008, and only through Amazon (with a Blu-ray edition to be released in mid-August, to boot!).

In the film, flamboyant statutory rapist William Hurt befriends his cellmate, political prisoner Valentin Arregui (Raúl Juliá), and comforts him with vignettes featuring the story of a sensuous woman from one of his favorite films. Seems simple, right? The film itself is inherently complex and certainly one that everyone (and any respectable film buff) should study. I suppose now you understand why I am concerned enough about this film's release to inform the public... Nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay and the winner of Best Actor for Hurt as the flamboyant Luis Molina, "Kiss of the Spider-Woman" is simply a film no collector should be without.

For a link to buy the DVD, click here. I certainly will.