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The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

  • 1989
  • X
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
40K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,667
52
Helen Mirren in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer1:09
2 Videos
56 Photos
CrimeDrama

At Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shockin... Read allAt Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.At Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.

  • Director
    • Peter Greenaway
  • Writer
    • Peter Greenaway
  • Stars
    • Richard Bohringer
    • Michael Gambon
    • Helen Mirren
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    40K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,667
    52
    • Director
      • Peter Greenaway
    • Writer
      • Peter Greenaway
    • Stars
      • Richard Bohringer
      • Michael Gambon
      • Helen Mirren
    • 213User reviews
    • 84Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 11 nominations

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:09
    Watch Official Trailer
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
    Trailer 1:09
    Watch The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

    Photos56

    Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Richard Bohringer, and Alan Howard in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    Helen Mirren in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    Helen Mirren in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Richard Bohringer, Ron Cook, and Alan Howard in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    Helen Mirren in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    Helen Mirren in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Bohringer
    Richard Bohringer
    • Richard Borst
    Michael Gambon
    Michael Gambon
    • Albert
    Helen Mirren
    Helen Mirren
    • Georgina
    Alan Howard
    Alan Howard
    • Michael
    Tim Roth
    Tim Roth
    • Mitchel
    Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds
    • Cory
    • (as Ciaran Hinds)
    Gary Olsen
    • Spangler
    Ewan Stewart
    Ewan Stewart
    • Harris
    Roger Ashton-Griffiths
    Roger Ashton-Griffiths
    • Turpin
    • (as Roger Ashton Griffiths)
    Ron Cook
    Ron Cook
    • Mews
    Liz Smith
    Liz Smith
    • Grace
    Emer Gillespie
    Emer Gillespie
    • Patricia
    Janet Henfrey
    Janet Henfrey
    • Alice
    Arnie Breeveld
    Arnie Breeveld
    • Eden
    Tony Alleff
    • Troy
    Paul Russell
    • Pup
    Alex Kingston
    Alex Kingston
    • Adele
    Ian Sears
    • Phillipe
    • Director
      • Peter Greenaway
    • Writer
      • Peter Greenaway
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Writer and director Peter Greenaway uses specific colors to represent each set of this movie. The exterior of Le Hollandais is predominantly blue. The kitchen is mostly green. The seating area of the restaurant is red, and the restrooms are stark white. The color of Georgina's (Dame Helen Mirren's) dress and the sashes that Albert (Sir Michael Gambon) and his associates wear change to match this scheme as the characters move from room to room. The color of Georgina's cigarettes also changes to match the color of the set as she moves. The interiors of Michael's home are mostly brown, like the blazer he wears throughout the story.
    • Goofs
      When Albert (Michael Gambon) goes into the ladies' toilet and starts throwing women out of the cubicles, the second one has, as you would expect, her underwear around her knees. But her skirt rides right up, revealing that she is still wearing her underwear, and that the ones below are a prop.
    • Quotes

      Georgina: Try the cock, Albert. It's a delicacy, and you know where it's been.

    • Crazy credits
      Closing credits epilogue: "And a special thanks to those very many people who patiently & repeatedly performed as patients & nurses in the hospital ward, and as diners in the Hollandais Restaurant."
    • Alternate versions
      An edited, R-rated version is available on video.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: I Love You to Death/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Cry-Baby/The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover/Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Memorial
      Written by Michael Nyman

      Performed by The Michael Nyman Band

    User reviews213

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    An unforgettable piece of total cinema
    First of all, I have to say that this film is one of my personal favorites, and that it is one of those things one must see during his or her lifetime.

    Truthfully, however, I first got into this film after hearing clips of the soundtrack on the Japanese version of Iron Chef, during a time before it was acquired by the Food Network. This film score, composed by the great post-minimalist Michael Nyman, is still one of the most haunting and soul-stirring scores in my opinion, if not the one of the most impressionable bodies of musical work ever. I still listen to the album on a weekly basis - it gets under your skin that way.

    The film itself is a piece of total art, as others have said. The sets are saturated with their singular color schemes (blue for the restaurant's exterior, green for the kitchen, white for the restrooms, and red for the main dining hall) , and people who have any sort of artistic training have valued and will continue to value this film as a character study of color. In this present age where most films present their interpretations of visual thrill through costly CG and SFX technologies, this film is a testament to how color can be a driving influence behind effective set design and cinematography.

    The principal actors, including the always amazing Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon, are first rate. Helen Mirren's Georgina is a truly heart-wrenching character, especially in the face of Gambon's portrayal of Albert Spica, a poor excuse for a human being and one of cinema's cruelest villains. The cook and lover are merely catalysts, serving to instigate the final act that is the undoing of Albert's overreaching tyranny.

    I suppose the anti-Thatcher sentiment is highly applicable to this film, but since I am not a British citizen, I feel that I cannot comment on this. However, I think the film's allegory can also be applied to other scenarios where a brutish figure uses violence and exploitation as a way to control others whose primary fault is only residing in the same physical/social/legal domain as the brute.

    In short, a masterpiece.
    helpful•42
    11
    • onionhasayoyo
    • Nov 7, 2007

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    FAQ7

    • What is the correct way to formulate the title of the film?
    • What is the name of the restaurant in the film?
    • What's on the menu?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 6, 1990 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Netherlands
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Dutch
    • Also known as
      • Der Koch, der Dieb, seine Frau und ihr Liebhaber
    • Filming locations
      • Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • Allarts
      • Elsevier-Vendex Film Beheer
      • Allarts Cook
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,724,701
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $252,223
      • Apr 8, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $8,523,994
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 4 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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