The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

The wife of an oafish restaurant owner becomes bored with her husband and considers an affair with a regular patron.

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway

Stars:

Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Bohringer	...	Richard Borst
Michael Gambon	...	Albert Spica
Helen Mirren	...	Georgina Spica
Alan Howard	...	Michael
Tim Roth	...	Mitchel
Ciarán Hinds	...	Cory
Gary Olsen	...	Spangler
Ewan Stewart	...	Harris
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Turpin
Ron Cook	...	Mews
Liz Smith	...	Grace
Emer Gillespie	...	Patricia
Janet Henfrey	...	Alice
Arnie Breeveld	...	Eden
Tony Alleff	...	Troy

Storyline

The wife of a barbaric crime boss engages in a secretive romance with a gentle bookseller between meals at her husband's restaurant. Food, colour coding, sex, murder, torture and cannibalism are the exotic fare in this beautifully filmed but brutally uncompromising modern fable which has been interpreted as an allegory for Thatcherism.

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | food | sex | allegory | murder | 

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Taglines:

Lust...Murder...Dessert. Bon Appetit!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

NC-17

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spica

Filming Locations:

Goldcrest Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$7,724,701 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allarts Cook, Erato Films, Films Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min 98 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dog excrement was actually chocolate mousse.

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Quotes

Georgina: Bon apetit. It's French...

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Connections

Referenced in Melrose Place: The Cook, the Creep, His Lover and Her Sister (1994)

User Reviews

A beautifully filmed, ugly and disturbing film.

I saw this almost fifteen years ago and I still have crystal clear mental images of some of the scenes. The chef at his table in the kitchen, planning his menu: stunning! Put it in a frame, hang it on the wall. In the restaurant scenes, you feel like you're there at the table as the camera pans, without cuts, from one person to another. Our heroes locked in the truck full of rotting meat: horrible, disgusting, perfect. It's a classic purification ritual and it's literally putrid. Greenaway is a genius. My only criticism is a minor one. There is a full frontal nude scene of the wife and her lover, where he is clearly more "relaxed" than he should have been at that moment. I'm a bit disappointed in Greenaway for not showing him at "attention", as he would have been in real life. But then, I guess he would have been accused of making porn. Whatever. This film is not for everyone. My wife didn't see it. I'm sure she would have hated it if she had. For that matter, I can't actually say I liked it, although I consider it a masterwork. But I'm glad I saw it. I'll probably see it again, but not until I can see it on HDTV. Plain old DVD couldn't possibly do it justice. An amazing movie.