Black widow

A fascinating reworking of the film noir genre, with Teresa Russell performing the femme fatale Reni, who seduces then murders a string of unsuspecting men, and Debra Winger taking on the role of the unsatisfied FBI agent Alex. Alex’s investigation is complicated by her increasing obsession with Reni and the sexual tension between the two, which threatens to bring about the downfall of both. A gripping and intricate film that raises interesting questions about love, desire and death.

How to watch

Stream, rent or buy via Just Watch Logo

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Bob Rafelson

producer

Harold Schneider

production company

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Duration

01:37:00:00

Production places

United States

Production dates

1987

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

302900

Language

English

Audience classification

MA

Subject categories

Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers

Courtroom, Crime, Espionage & Thrillers → Film noir

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Gay and lesbian studies

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Homosexuality in motion pictures

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Seduction

Feature films

Feature films → Feature films - United States

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/81779--black-widow/ |title=Black widow |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=31 March 2023 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

United States, 1987

Please note