This is probably Peter Greenaway's most famous (or infamous) film, which first shocked audiences at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and then on both sides of the Atlantic. A gang leader (Michael Gambon), accompanied by his wife (Helen Mirren) and his associates, entertains himself every night in a fancy French restaurant that he .. Read more
| Starring | Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Richard Bohringer, Alan Howard |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Greenaway |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
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This is probably Peter Greenaway's most famous (or infamous) film, which first shocked audiences at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and then on both sides of the Atlantic. A gang leader (Michael Gambon), accompanied by his wife (Helen Mirren) and his associates, entertains himself every night in a fancy French restaurant that he has recently bought. Having tired of her sadistic, boorish husband, the wife finds herself a lover (Alan Howard) and makes love to him in the restaurant's coziest places with the silent permission of the cook (Richard Bohringer). Though less cerebral than Greenaway's other films, featuring deadly passions reminiscent of Jacobean revenge tragedies of the early 17th century, the picture still offers the director's usual ironic and paradoxical comments on the relations between eating and sex, love and death. The film is at once funny and horrific, and those who are not used to Greenaway's peculiar style might be even disgusted or shocked; however, one might mention Sacha Vierny's brilliant camerawork, Jean-Paul Gaultier's gaudily stylized costumes, and Michael Nyman's somber, pulsating music, which will haunt the viewer long after the film's end.~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
| 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 |  |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 1989 To Rent: DVD: 10 Nov 2003 |
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.
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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: ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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'Amidst Life we are in Death'
To Mr. Greenaway,the world is just a shiny surface which covers all the rottonness; food,once live, goes through the system and ends up as filth or decaying ... read more »
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food and rot and ... death
Peter Greenaway made one brilliant film and you can guess which one. Helen Mirren shows off unashamedly and Tim Roth is preparing for Reservoir Dogs. Other than... read more »
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Stunning on every level
This is extraordinarily good. Beautifully shot, acting from one of the very best casts I've seen in a film for a long time, and wonderful music. As a fan of... read more »
Now that school's out for summer, and Harry Potter and chums are growing up, we thought it was about time to turn the tables and file a report card on the teaching staff at Hogwarts. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are beginning to branch out for themselves into the Muggles' world. If they're serious about making the grade in movies, how do the esteemed British thespians they've been studying with these past few years measure up as role models? Tom Charity tom.charity@lovefilm.co Read more
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