Black Widow

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Black Widow

R

Released Feb 6, 1987

1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Federal agent Alexandra Barnes (Debra Winger) believes that Catherine Petersen (Theresa Russell) is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man (Sami Frey) as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Another pleasant surprise of the year was discovering that I could actually like–as opposed to respect and/or squirm through–a Bob Rafelson movie.

May 10, 2022

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

... it's good to see the director of "Five Easy Pieces" in the saddle again.

Jan 1, 2000

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Black Widow is an interesting movie struggling to escape from a fatal overload of commercial considerations.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Eve Tushnet

Patheos

Don’t let Winger’s mousy-for-Hollywood appearance fool you: This is definitely a game of cat and other cat! It’s silly and mostly notable for the explicit sapphic overtones.

Jan 31, 2023

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a relatively familiar premise that is, for the most part, utilized to better-than-expected effect by Rafelson...

Rated: 3/4

May 12, 2020

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Kathi Maio

Sojourner

The femme fatale [is] brilliantly portrayed by the ravishing Theresa Russell.

Aug 28, 2019

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Roger S

Great 80s suspense thriller.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/24/24

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TeaAnn T

I came for a psycho-thriller, I stayed for the characters and now I'm very invested in them. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/23/23

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Steve D

The actors are good. The film is not.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/02/23

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jon c

What's deadlier than a black widow spider? An actual black widow in-person that marries over and over again losing a spouse under unusual circumstances Theresa Russell and Debra Winger star in a female-driven psychological thriller Federal agent Alex Barnes wants to discover the mystery of Catherine Petersen; she's married several men whom have mysteriously died It's like she disappears then reappears as if nothing happened But getting to the root of it all could be fatal Catherine is a master of blending in with multiple identities and Alex's superiors don't have a shred of evidence to pursue the case So Alex decides to go undercover thinking like Catherine learning her methods Will she succeed hoping this widow slips up? In many respects this movie was "woke" before anyone knew what "woke" was supposed to mean It's all about female empowerment, to both positive and negative ends, and pivots on the challenges women face in a male-dominated environment A fairly feminist picture; it even uses gender politics to enhance its story It doesn't use its story to promote an argument about gender politics Both women work well together even separate although it's more of a slow potboiler Some might find it formulaic and tepid but the film has two strong leading ladies

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Like a Lifetime movie with better lighting. Russell is her usual laughably bad, while Winger acts as if she lost a bet. Unconvincing & far-fetched with nonsensical/hard-to-follow leaps in time & logic. Hawaii looks nice, though. #nitrosMovieChallenge

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/26/22

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marco b

No it's not the Scarlet Johansson superhero flick, but a thriller from the 1980s. It starts out quite interesting, boasting Dennis Hopper in the credits (he dies 2 minutes in), but then gets a bit tedious, I will say there is some great acting between the two leads.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Bob Rafelson

Director

Debra Winger

Alexandra "Alex" Barnes

Theresa Russell

Catharine Petersen

Sami Frey

Paul Nuytten

Dennis Hopper

Ben Dumers

Nicol Williamson

William McCrory

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Synopsis

Federal agent Alexandra Barnes (Debra Winger) believes that Catherine Petersen (Theresa Russell) is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man (Sami Frey) as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.

Director: Bob Rafelson
Producer: Harold Schneider
Screenwriter: Ronald Bass
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 6, 1987, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 24, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.7M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround

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