The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

Regisseur:

Peter Greenaway

Drehbuchautor:

Peter Greenaway (writer)

Premierendatum:

6. April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Komödie | Drama | Horror

Werbezeile:

Lust...Murder...Dessert. Bon Appetit!

Plot:

The wife of an oafish restaurant owner becomes bored with her husband and considers an affair with a regular patron.

Plot Keywords:

Male Full Frontal Nudity | Long Title | Female Nudity | Food As Sex Metaphor | Female Full Frontal Nudity

Filmpreise:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

Color changes everything!

Besetzung

Richard Bohringer	...	Richard Borst
Michael Gambon	...	Albert Spica
Helen Mirren	...	Georgina Spica
Alan Howard	...	Michael
Tim Roth	...	Mitchel
Ciarán Hinds	...	Cory
Gary Olsen	...	Spangler
Ewan Stewart	...	Harris
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Turpin
Ron Cook	...	Mews
Liz Smith	...	Grace
Emer Gillespie	...	Patricia
Janet Henfrey	...	Alice
Arnie Breeveld	...	Eden
Tony Alleff	...	Troy

Alternativ:

Cuisinier, le voleur, sa femme et son amant, Le (France)
Spica
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Koch, der Dieb, seine Frau und ihr Liebhaber, Der (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

124 Min | USA:98 Min (R-rated version)

Produktionsland:

France | UK

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

2.35 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Dolby

Altersfreigabe:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2005) | Belgium:KNT (original rating) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | India:A | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 (heavily cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | USA:R (video rating) (cut) | West Germany:18

Drehorte:

Goldcrest Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Firma:

Allarts Cook

Dies und das:

The car that Albert Spica drives is listed in the credits as a Valentine Lindsay AT V12. It is in fact a modified early-'70s Dodge Dart Swinger. Valentine Lindsay is the name of a British car enthusiast and racer who works with the V12 Team of Harrier Racing, and most likely loaned the car to the production.

Dialogzitate:

Georgina: Yes! He's a man. He's Jewish and he's from Ethiopia!
Albert: What?
Georgina: His mother is a Roman Catholic, he's been imprisoned in South Africa, he's as black as the ace of spades and he probably drinks his own pee!

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in "The Simpsons: The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer (#18.1)" (2006)

Color changes everything!

The "inside story" of this film is all about color. I noticed that many professional reviewers, with nation-wide media exposure, have missed this underlying story element entirely. I did too, until half way through my first viewing. Once I realized that the colors of the costumes changed, as the characters passed from room to room, I had to go back and see it again. That is how I got hooked.

During the next viewing, I took note of the creativity and effort which went into the design and construction of each costume (several times) as each one had to be rendered in several colors. Next time, I noticed how the color of each room related to the activity which normally took place there, even the outdoor sequences. With the subsequent viewing, I concentrated on the soundtrack.

From that point on, my awareness of all these elements served to enhance my appreciation of the characters and their individual story lines. That is when the much talked about "gross-out" aspects of the story seemed diminished in their ability to shock. In fact, by that point, they seemed to fit together much more naturally, though the "NC-17" rating is absolutely appropriate.

A sumptuous feast for the eyes and ears of intelligent "adult" viewers. Not to be missed.