FAQ for
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Kiss of the Spider Woman can be found here.

Yes. Kiss of the Spider Woman is a 1976 novel by Argentinian writer Manuel Puig [1932-1990].

The title comes from a part in the book where Molina asks Valentin for a kiss before he is paroled. Valentin (Raul Julia) asks Luis Molina (William Hurt) whether he's afraid that he'll turn into a panther woman (as in the first film Molina tells Valentin, where the panther woman kills when she is kissed). Valentin says he is not the panther woman but the spider woman, hence Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Yes. In 1993, eight years after the release of the movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Musical opened on Broadway and won 7 Tony Awards.

Kiss of the Spider Woman was one of the first independant hit movies. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, a first for an independant film, and won an Oscar for William Hurt. Hurt's performance also marked the first time an actor had received an Oscar for playing an out homosexual.