The Cook, The Thief, His Wife 
& Her Lover18

Directed by Peter Greenaway | UK | 1989 | 2h 4m | Starring Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Richard Bohringer, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Ciarán Hinds

A ruthless mobster purchases a gourmet restaurant in London, regularly dining there with his long-suffering wife. However, when the cook, a thief, the mobster’s wife, and her secret lover all come together, a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder, and revenge is unleashed. Set to Michael Nyman’s score and featuring Jean Paul Gaultier’s costumes, Peter Greenaway’s notorious and stylish crime drama presents a disturbing feast reflecting Britain’s social, moral, and political decay.

Food Film Classics

Reviews

‘Greenaway’s stunning “designer dream” is sick, sexy and rude in about equal provocative proportions and totally unforgettable.’
★★★★
Alan Jones, Radio Times

‘Many people will be profoundly offended by this film… but some may appreciate it for what it certainly is: the most startling depiction of intellectual cruelty and evil for many years.’
★★★★
John Mount, Empire Magazine

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Cook, The Thief, His Wife 
& Her Lover between May 5, 2024 and May 6, 2024.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Friday 20th March)
Find out more

14:15

The Secret Agent 15
2h 41m | Portuguese w/ English subtitles
Carnival, communal resistance, political tensions, and a man's missing leg collide in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s slow-burning 1970s political thriller. The Oscar-nominated Wagner Moura stars in this gripping examination of Brazil’s turbulent past.

Book here

Find out more

17:45

The Testament of Ann Lee 15
2h 17m
From poverty in England to revolutionary America, Ann Lee’s spiritual vision and utopian dreams shape the lives of a newly formed religious community. Mona Fastvold’s sweeping historical epic stars Amanda Seyfried as the founder of the Shaker Movement.

Book here

Find out more

20:45

Sirāt 15
1h 54m | Spanish, French & Arabic w/ English subtitles
Oliver Laxe’s intense, hallucinatory road movie follows a father and son through Morocco as they try to find a missing relative at various sprawling, illegal raves. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2025.

Book here


Tomorrow (Saturday 21st March)
Find out more

14:00

The Last Supper Cert-TBC
2h | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Set in 1790s Cuba, a devout plantation owner invites 12 enslaved men to Easter dinner to prevent rebellion. Restored in 2020, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s bold, sometimes surreal drama examines slavery as an economic system and centres Black resistance.

Book here

Find out more

16:45

The Secret Agent 15
2h 41m | Portuguese w/ English subtitles
Carnival, communal resistance, political tensions, and a man's missing leg collide in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s slow-burning 1970s political thriller. The Oscar-nominated Wagner Moura stars in this gripping examination of Brazil’s turbulent past.

Book here

Find out more

20:15

One Battle After Another 15
2h 41m
A paranoid ex-revolutionary and his daughter are forced into confrontation when an old nemesis returns. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Paul Thomas Anderson’s (There Will Be Blood, The Master) sharp satirical adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Vineland’.

Book here


See all upcoming films

Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

Find out more