City Lights offers Spider Woman in Amazon exclusive
1985 Oscar winner available for download, on DVD and Blu-ray
By Cheryl Cheng -- Video Business, 6/25/2008
JUNE 25 | In a deal with City Lights Home Entertainment, online retailer Amazon will offer Hector Babenco’s 1985 Oscar-nominated film The Kiss of the Spider Woman exclusively to rent or own on several platforms.
The film is available now on Amazon’s Unbox as a full-length download, priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to own, and will arrive on DVD ($25.99) and Blu-ray Disc ($27.95) on July 22.
Related documentary Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman also is available now as a download ($2.99 rental, $9.99 to own) and on DVD ($16.98).
To mark its exclusive deal, Amazon has created a Kiss of the Spider Woman page, Amazon.com/kotsw.
“Amazon customers have asked for Kiss of the Spider Woman for many years. By making it available in so many mediums on Amazon.com, independent film fans can rediscover a classic that has not been seen in theaters for more than 23 years and has not been available on video for more than 15 years,” said Peter Faricy, Amazon VP of movies and music. “The wonderful thing about producing in the new media landscape is that we are able to bring classic films like Kiss of the Spider Woman directly and instantly to customers’ living rooms via Amazon Unbox, DVD or Blu-ray.”
Adds Sal Scamardo, president of City Lights, “As one of the most sought-after motion pictures by major studio home video distributors, City Lights is thrilled to have the opportunity to market and distribute Kiss of the Spider Woman on Amazon.com. It is no accident that an award-winning feature film that changed the industry against all odds and symbolizes the pure spirit of independent filmmaking is now being made available in such a groundbreaking innovative fashion. As an emerging major independent film and video studio, we’re excited to preserve and promote that spirit and satisfy consumer demand across multiple home entertainment platforms.”
Based on Manuel Puig’s novel, Kiss of the Spider Woman follows two men with opposite views about life and stars William Hurt, who won an Oscar for his performance.