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The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover Details

1989 Certificate 18
  • 60
  • from 5418 members

Master director Greenaway (THE PILLOW BOOK) outdoes himself with this grisly fairy tale. The thief, Albert Spica, (Gambon) is a gangster, repugnant and boorish, who holds court at the same table in his opulent restaurant every night surrounded by his lackeys (Tim Roth and the late Ian Dury included). When his cultured and .. Read more

Starring Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Richard Bohringer, Alan Howard
Director Peter Greenaway
Genres Comedy, Drama

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The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover

Master director Greenaway (THE PILLOW BOOK) outdoes himself with this grisly fairy tale. The thief, Albert Spica, (Gambon) is a gangster, repugnant and boorish, who holds court at the same table in his opulent restaurant every night surrounded by his lackeys (Tim Roth and the late Ian Dury included). When his cultured and repressed wife Georgina (Mirren) becomes magnetically attracted to a solitary diner in the restaurant, the two begin a secret affair under the nose of her dangerous husband. With the help of the restaurant's chef, the time the lovers share is kept secret from the vicious Albert...for a while. Despite the breathtaking production design and artful camera work, this violent, disturbing and very darkly comic work is not for everyone. Those with the stomach for it, however, will reap generous rewards.

Starring Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Richard Bohringer, Alan Howard, Roger Lloyd-Pack
Director Peter Greenaway
Studio UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK
Run time DVD: 1 hr 59 mins
Certificate Certificate 18
Genres Comedy, Drama
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 10 Nov 2003
Production year: 1989

  • Critics' reviews (3) of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover

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  • 4 stars out of 5

    Avant-garde director Peter Greenaway's most accessible film to date is a truly elegant, shocking and transfixing experience. A Jacobean drama in contemporary clothing, this savage indictment of greed, power and control in today's wannabe society finds Helen Mirren memorably strutting her stuff in another risky, and risqué, performance, while manic Michael Gambon portrays evil personified. Memorably scored by Michael Nyman, Greenaway's stunning “designer dream” is sick, sexy and rude in about equal provocative proportions and totally unforgettable.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006
  • 2 stars out of 4

    Elegant, stylized, painterly and extremely brutal variation on a Jacobean revenge tragedy, though some have seen it as a political satire on our materialistic times.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • Most helpful member's review of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover

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  • 30 out of 31 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    A Unique Vision

    Peter Greenaway is a unique filmmaker and this is one of his most accessible works. He creates films which exist in worlds organised by strange systems: ... more

    Report this review
      • blunderwood from East Sussex
      • Posted 02 Feb 2004 21:49

  • Most recent members' review of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover

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  • 3 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star

    Unpleasant rubbish

    With the actors involved, I was expecting an interesting film, instead I found it unpleasant, in bad taste and pointless. I would not recommend this film to ... more

    Report this review
      • George from Kent
      • Posted 28 Jul 2005 12:35

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      • Master director Greenaway (THE PILLOW BOOK) outdoes himself with this grisly fairy tale. The thief, Albert Spica, (Gambon) is a gangster, repugnant and boorish, who holds court at the same table in ...