Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Kiss of the Spider Woman (re-release)
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
view
per page
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Bob Graham
    100
    Don't be too quick to jump on Hurt with complaints of old-fashioned gay stereotyping. Only with a development well into the movie will the audience realize the layers he brought to Molina's role-playing.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: F. X. Feeney
    90
    Leonard Schrader adapted the screenplay from the novel by Manuel Puig, and his fearless willingness to explore every corner of human nature serves what is greatest and sweetest in the performances of William Hurt and Raul Julia.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    Tells one of those rare and entrancing stories where one thing seems to happen while another thing is really happening.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    88
    Each man winds up owing the other -- and the enormity of the sacrifices they make on one another's behalf are quite moving and have not been duplicated in the movies since.
  5. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    80
    Some will find him (Hurt) mesmerizing, others artificially lowkeyed.
  6. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Gregory Weinkauf
    80
    Powerful, sensuous and thematically hokey transsexual adventure.
  7. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    One of the most intriguing prison dramas ever put on film.
    All this critic's reviews
  8. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    It packs an emotional punch despite shortcomings of story and style.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Leslie Camhi
    70
    Appears strangely dated, and its unspecified location seems existentially hokey.
  10. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    70
    The film's theme of acceptance is undercut considerably by Hurt's overcalculated performance.
prev next
Page:
  • 1

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. InesR.
    10
    Excellent movie based on the novel by Manuel Puig. Further study of the novel and film will reveal the great performance of Hurt, if we take into account the novel was written in 1976. The novel itself is an amazing insight of the characters and political and genre problems.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »