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

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway (writer)

Release Date:

6 April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Food | Allegory | Sex | Cannibalism

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Le cuisinier, le voleur, sa femme et son amant (France)
Spica
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

Runtime:

124 min | USA:98 min (R-rated version)

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2005) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Belgium:KNT (original rating) | India:A | Iran:18+ | USA:Open (rating surrendered: 1990) | Australia:R (sexual references/scenes) | France:X (original rating) | USA:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 (heavily cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | USA:R (video rating) (cut) | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Goldcrest Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Allarts Cook

Trivia:

The four title characters are named for the actors writer-director Peter Greenaway originally wanted to play them. Richard (The Cook) is for Richard Bohringer, the only one of Greenaway's original choices retained in the final film. Albert (The Thief) is named after Albert Finney, while Georgina (His Wife) is for Georgina Hale. Michael (The Lover) is named, interestingly enough, for Michael Gambon, whom Greenaway eventually re-cast as Albert.

Quotes:

Georgina: Yes! He's a man. He's Jewish and he's from Ethiopia!
Albert: What?
Georgina: His mother is a Roman Catholic, he's been imprisoned in South Africa, he's as black as the ace of spades and he probably drinks his own pee!

Movie Connections:

References Death in the Seine (1988) (TV)

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.