The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
First screened in the late 1990s / Most recently screened in September 2025
Director: Peter Greenaway. Cast: Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Michael Gambon, Richard Bohringer, Tim Roth, Ciarán Hinds, Liz Smith, Emer Gillespie, Paul Russell, Ron Cook, Gary Olsen, Ewan Stewart. Screenplay: Peter Greenaway.
In Brief:
Bold, triggering study of power's abuses, if not without its own tyrannical impulses.
VOR:⑤
Stunning new forays into sex, sadism, set design, and score on screen. A milestone in lewdness debates and in film's integration with other arts.
Grade:B+
(in October 2000: C–, though as an affective experience, F)
Awards:
Chicago Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Film
