of the film were released on VHS in the 1990s. One was an R-rated cut running 95 minutes (mainly for large video store chains); the other was the original version. Critical reception The film received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 86% rating based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The site's consensus states: "This romantic crime drama may not be to everyone's taste, but The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is an audacious, powerful film." The film received a score of 62 on Metacritic based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, noting that the film's raw emotion and violent interpersonal conflict was a departure from Greenaway's typically cerebral and intellectual films. Soundtrack The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is the twelfth album release by Michael Nyman and the ninth to feature the Michael Nyman Band. The album includes the first commercially released recording of Nyman's composition "Memorial". There is some music not included on the soundtrack album: the love theme for Michael and Georgina, which is "Fish Beach" from Drowning by Numbers, the song performed as a show in the restaurant, sung by actress and singer Flavia Brilli, or a doubly pulsed variation of "Memorial" that occurs about halfway through the film. Edits of "Memorial" appear throughout the film, with the entire twelve-minute movement accompanying the final scene and end credits, but one variation is uniquely created for the film. References to Flemish Baroque painting The filming is inspired by Flemish Baroque painting as Peter Paul Rubens or Anthony van Dyck. The Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company in 1616, a painting by Frans Hals, appears on the restaurant wall. References External links 1989 films 1989 crime drama films 1989 romantic drama films British crime drama films British independent films British romantic drama films Adultery in films Films about cannibalism Films about domestic violence Films about violence against women Cooking films Films directed by Peter Greenaway Films set in restaurants Films shot in Hertfordshire Obscenity controversies in film Films scored by Michael Nyman 1989 independent films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films