The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Directed by Peter Greenaway
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. In this courageous and challenging classic, writer/director Peter Greenaway has created nothing less than a cinematic feast for the senses.
When the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.
Cast: Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Tim Roth
Member Reviews
Wow! Shocking examination of cruelty, gluttony, and vulgarity contrasted with tender moments of compassion, purification and, ultimately, justice. Very unsettling and powerful!
Love this movie... great style!
This movie seems pretty well liked here on Shudder. I had to check it out before they took it down. Here's what I'll say is the best thing about this movie: the theatrical style of it. This movie is actually, very reminiscent of Kubrick for me. The camera work (rolling, tracking shots across large sets), the use of coloring, the music, and the themes are all quite similar to "Eyes Wide Shut," "The Shining," "Barton Fink," and "A Clockwork Orange" to me. This movie is all about decadence. It contrasts gluttony, lust, and wrath all together, splicing together images of cooking, sex, and violence. The ending scene has them all together at once. This movie is about the senses, for sure. It's interesting to see the actor who plays Dumbledore in this. The long, sideways-moving sets are really interesting. It makes it feel like a play. Artistically, this is an interesting movie. It's a bit too long and no horror begins until about an hour into it.
Amazing, haven’t seen this movie since it was in theaters and it def holds up. Gorgeous, detailed and deep. The few characters really give stellar performances and the costumes, sets and lighting really suck you in. If you liked Hannibal (the series) you should enjoy this.
I can't imagine the Yelp reviews this restaurant would get today.