Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing, enthralling, riveting, disgusting, see it.
Review: If you know what a cinematographer does then watch this movie. If you know what "Mise-en-scene" means in a film watch this.
As another reviewer noted, I have never seen as many people walk out of a movie as this one. The theater was full at start, 1/2 empty at finish. It is extremely disturbing on numerous levels. Visually this is the most stunning movie ever made. Be warned however, eat well before viewing this, you will not have an appetite after viewing. It is 10 plus years since I saw this and it is still unforgetable. If you liked "Pulp Fiction" you will probably like this.
Rating:
Summary: Are you kidding me?
Review: To the reviewer who wrote 'If You Love Good Food, You'll Love This Film' - Are we even talking about the same film?
This movie is not a documentary first of all and one's appreciation of it need not revolve around food. Secondly, you are doing potential viewers a great disservice by not mentioning the very cruel and disturbing scenes in this film. I would suggest readers check out the other reviews and bypass this one.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is truly disturbing, and compelling.
Review: For some reason, the music (boy singing) or the colors or the horror or the humor, this movie has stuck in my mind for years until I finally had to buy my own copy. It is not for the gentle hearted, as the images are often repulsive while still being artistic. The customer who said "if you like good food you will like this movie" was cruel, and I hope nobody takes him seriously. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes to be disturbed and repulsed while watching beautiful art on a grand scale of opulence.
Rating:
Summary: 2313245322332
Review: Disposing of theories about the film's political and philosophical commmentary and allusions/alliterations to art - things I admit are generally over my head -, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is one of the most gorgeous films you will ever see. Every cell of this film is perfectly framed, every camera movement deliberate but completely unobtrusive, and every nuance of color and costume bred to heaven. The movie, you might say, is like a two hour long painting... even the positioning of the characters and the various savageries seem derive from some artistic mash like baroque mannerism.When not being enthralled by the visuals (which alone make this movie worthy of five stars), the content of the movie is still pretty stellar. Although it dragged at times, has some bits that are stomach churning, and is burdened with Gambon's bellicose Speaker (whose voice I garuntee you will be sick of within ten minutes), the story manages to be tense and astute enough to maintain interest. The characters behavior, along with the absurd turns of plot after the first hour, make this movie often humorous (although in a fairly acidic way). If, as many people seem convinced of, this film is founded upon allusions to political and cultural artifacts, contemporary and not, they probably further enchances this movie's triumphs. So, watch The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover if you havn't a weak stomach... and make sure you do so at a theatre or on dvd. It might not make a great purchase though... as the only reason I can invent for multiple viewings is to steep myself in the music and visuals.
Rating:
Summary: If You Love Good Food, You'll Love This Film
Review: This is an excellent film to watch as a group if you're in a cooking club, perhaps a neighborhood ladies' or small church organization that enjoys great food, great food ideas and plenty of jovial comraderie. This documentary examines life behind the scenes in a typical upscale restaurant, in the fashion of an extended Food Channel show, with a variety of glimpses at the preparation and clean-up process for numerous dishes and entres. The film showcases excellent discussions around the use of gas, the over-use of mushrooms, the effects of smoking upon taste, finger and utensile etiquette, novelty foods (e.g. prairie oysters), the employment of refrigerated vehicles for food transport, how to deal in a genteel fashion with accidental regurgitation at the table, and standards for culinary discourse along with behaviorial propriety in a formal dining setting. As with all effective documentaries, this one occasionally departs from the primary subject by offering delightful peeks at the fascinating lives of the principals -- the singing kitchen boy, the nightly patron who reads during every meal, some quick mischief in the restroom, and several side-splitting instances of good old rollicking frivolity in the parking lot out back. Elderly ladies will find this film particularly appealing, as will anyone who really appreciates watching an exemplary old married couple enjoying a good meal together. Additionally, the scenery is fantastic, and you might be inspired to copy much of the decor in your own abode. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may diet!
Rating:
Summary: The Vulgar Will Consume Anything, Everything..Or Will They?
Review: ...or "Ain't No Fun When the Wabbit's..." Oh, you know the rest of that...#2. At first I did not care for the thing, 'cause I get impatient with films where folks have a heavy dialect or broken tongue of some sort and the boy soprano was a bit off-putting to me, initially...but, I kept on looking and saw how certian scenes were like oil paintings and how the director's use of color accented the story telling. Or, in other words, chaps, I got a little more than I bargained for on first sitting and was compelled to watch it again and again. It is a great film that is truly not for everybody, especially if you're expecting a Hollywood style story. The full frontals, the detritus, the dogs, the rotting animal carcases, the dung and the book dust, in my opinion, added realness and robustness to an already over the top story. I will say that if you are not prepared for some rather unsettling scenes and dialog, skip this movie. For the rest of us movie lovers, this is an cinematic experience like no other...
Rating: 
Summary: Greenaway's Bestiary
Review: I watched this movie last night and I guess I must be too big a Philistine, or something, but I just didn't enjoy it. Not that "enjoyment" is the right word here, nor is it what Greeanway is after. It really held my interest for about the first two thirds. Then it just got silly. Sensationalism for the sake of sensationalism. I always love Gambon's work. Yet here he is even more over the top than is Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast, and that's saying something. Not exactly a believable character, outside of Baghdad (that bad boy Urday!). Mirren is sexy and very good in her role. That little albino choir boy is incredibly annoying. I wanted something bad to happen to him, myself, just to get him to stop that nail on a blackboard noise! I hear there is a pretty climactic ending. I'll never know as I didn't watch the last 15 minutes. I'm generally willing to readily suspend disbelief, but in this film, it just drifts way too far into the realm of the absurd to hold my interest. Not that absurdity in itself is necessarily a bad thing (I'm a big Beckett fan). But if you're making an artistic decision, you must decide, one way or the other, and the work must maintain its vision and inner logic (no matter how illogical). A case in point, Bunuel's Un chien andalou. The given reality that forms the backdrop for this picture dissolves as the movie progresses. If that was Greenaway's intent (he wrote the screenplay as well as directed), to portray some sort of human devolution, that's fine. I suppose he could justify it also as a kind of Brechtian distancing from the audience, aiming for some sort of artistic statement or other. That's generally enough to get the attention and approval of viewers of a certain mindset. We all want to think that we are more aware, open and discerning than the ordinary Joe who wanders into the theater by mistake. Our self image is reinforced when Joe walks out of the theater in disgust or because he is too dim to comprehend the significance of the genius on display, that is so easily perceived by the cognoscenti. Once in a while art is just bad art, however. When an artist falls in love with his imagination and gives in to his excessive tendencies, as is the case here, the result can be rather ugly. BEK
Rating:
Summary: "Tell me what you saw."
Review: Passion, violence, and revenge--all the essential elements of a Peter Greenaway film are found--in abundance--in "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover." The film is set in and around an exclusive restaurant, Le Hollandais, owned by an unflappable and infinitely discreet French chef named Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer). Outside of the restaurant, packs of wild dogs gorge on raw meat as they savage one another amidst the spoils. Inside the restaurant, the thief, Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) reigns supreme with his pack of wild humans--fellow thieves who dress like buccaneers, burp loudly, harass, torment and intimidate other restaurant customers while making utter nuisances of themselves. Collectively, they belong in a cess pool or some remote dungeon, but as ill-luck would have it, Albert Spica declares that Le Hollandais is his favourite restaurant, and he (along with his gang) dines there every night. Accompanying the thief each night is his remote, elegant wife, Georgina (Helen Mirren)--the one civilised human being in the Spica entourage. Albert is a revolting, brutal, cruel felon, but Georgina has class and panache. Everyone in the restaurant pities and admires Georgina. She appreciates the menu, and the atmosphere of the restaurant, and she seems to be an unlikely wife for the disgustingly crude and cruel Spica. Georgina serves both as a prize for Spica and as a vessel for his brutality. Spica must spoil and squash anything that is good, innocent or intelligent. Every night, the cook witnesses Spica's cruelty towards Georgina, and this can range from busting in on her while she is in the toilet to beating her savagely for the slightest 'transgression'. While many customers leave due to the ugly nightly displays within the restaurant, one solitary man quietly continues to eat his meals and read his books. Mild-mannered bookseller, Michael (Alan Howard) begins to attract the attention of Georgina, and they consumate their relationship in the restaurant in between courses. The film is best viewed in the widescreen version if possible. Note the look of the kitchen--hardly the perfect, efficient version of the modern kitchen. A great deal of the action takes place in the restaurant's kitchen which resembles some sort of castle kitchen pre-banquet scene. As usual, the cinematography of this Greenaway film is created by Sasha Vierny whose unique visuals act as a personal signature-note the film's use of colour. The film also has a magnificent soundtrack by Michael Nyman (another member of Greenaway's team ). People either love or hate Greenaway films. "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover," is in my opinion, his best film, and co-incidentally the first Greenaway film I ever saw. It's important to watch the film with the idea that "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover" is modelled on the style of the Jacobean Revenge Tragedy. Each re-watching of the film still gives me goosebumps, and it remains a very powerful film to watch. The acting is superb. Helen Mirren is one of my favourite actresses and she is exquisite in this film. She is completely believable as a woman who suffers brutality and serves it back to the man who taught her all she ever wanted to know about debasing another human being. Michael Gambon as the disgusting, cruel, base Spica creates possibly one of the most vile figures in film. This film contains violence and sexuality, and some may find it a bit extreme. Tim Roth as Spica's special protege, Mitchell, is marvellous, and keep an eye open for the character of gang member Terry Fitch played by rocker Ian Dury of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ("Hit me with your rhythm stick")--displacedhuman.
Rating:
Summary: Le plate du jour
Review: Peter Greenaway isn't for the masses. And with this status he is able to dare in all the ways he wants to. He knows his works have a specific audience, and these are the people he wants to 'please'. In 'The Cook, the tief, his wife and her lover' is why people who like 'regular' movies should stay far from his. It has a quite simple plot. Everyday a tief goes to the same French restaurant with his wife and his buddies. His wife starts to develop a crush on a bookeeper who's there everyday too. The begin a love affair, and the only place where they can meet is in the kitchen while her husband is having dinner and won't suspect of something. It is the French chef and his crew who helps them to decive the husband --mostly because he is a bad man, and want him to be decived. So the story goes, food, sex, naked people, violence... and --what's a feather in the movie's hat-- a stunning cinematography! You can't say there are twits in the plot --we more or less know what will happen, because these things are the natural course of the story. Well, until the last 10 minutes, that's when you say 'Oh my God! He won't do that...' and... watch it and find out what Greenaway does --in a scene that Hannibal Lecter would really really love! The acting is perfect. Hellen Mirren has never looked so beautiful. Her costumes desingned by Jean Paul Gautier makes all the difference too, and the use of colors has a point. What I admire most is how she was daring with her character and she is not afraid of being naked --maybe her work in 'Caligula' helped somehow. By the way, Greenaway is one of the few moviemakers who's not afraid of nudity both male and female. Many people got undressed for his movies, such as Ralph Fiennes, Julia Ormond, Ewan McGregor, Matthew Delamere and Tony Colette. If you know Peter Greenaway's work and like it, you won't be disappointed with 'The Cook...'. If you have heard of him and want to try something, I'd say that this one is the 'easiest' to get into. But if you're the kind of 'American Pie' movie buff stay away-- I mean very very far away from this or any other Greenaway.
Rating:
Summary: A daring, sensational film
Review: Helen Mirren is an actress I really enjoy and her performance here as a woman trapped between the horrible and the norrendous is amazing. Part of what makes this movie so incredible is that the sets tend to revolve around her in a coloristic fashion, that she can change depending upon the room's decor. One day I'm sure clothing will possess this property and we'll all be constantly changing but here done as an entire set it is revolutionary.
An unhappy woman, trapped in a brutal marriage to a beastial man isn't new ground but what is new is how the story unfolds. That their personal war begisn to manifest as casualties through her affair and their lives and eventually everyone rises to choose sides. there is a point when a man's brutality can be so extreme that even the frightened decide its safer to die than to live under him and thats what happens here.
There's also teh concept of what is love and what is the extreme of love. We as creatures who have generally chosen to be carnivorous consume for life and yet we don't consume our lovers. Here that is put to the test of not something as simple as cannibalism but as a test to devotion beyond revulsion and a desire to truly maintain a conenction to a dead lover.
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