The Cook the thief his wife & her lover

United Kingdom, 1989

Film
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The setting is a restaurant, La Hollondais, where the chef prepares a lavish menu every night. Among the regular customers are Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) a loud-mouthed, violent gangster who dines with his entourage of seedy men, and his bored, beautiful wife, Georgina (Helen Mirren). At another table each night sits Michael, a quiet man who’s always reading. He and Georgina soon begin a series of secret rendezvous, where they make passionate love. Eventually Albert discovers his wife’s infidelity and takes violent revenge, triggering a more unusual retaliation from her. This film is a parable about love, revenge and most of all greed, it is both funny and horrifying. Sacha Vierny’s cinematography and Greenaway’s use of colour are superb. Also stars Tim Roth, Richard Bohringer and Alan Howard.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Peter Greenaway

producer

Kees Kasander

production company

Films Incorporated

Erato FIlms

Allarts Cook

Duration

02:00:00:00

Production places
United Kingdom
Production dates
1989

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

304228

Language

English

Audience classification

R (18+)

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Wikidata

Q661202

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/83048--the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-her-lover/ |title=The Cook the thief his wife & her lover |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=22 September 2023 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}