The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (stylised onscreen as The COOK The THIEF His WIFE & Her LOVER) is a 1989 British-French romantic black comedy crime drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Alan Howard in the titular roles. The film's graphic scatology, violence, and nude scenes, as well as its lavish cinematography and formalism, were noted at the time of its release.