The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover 1989
The wife of an abusive criminal finds solace in the arms of a kind regular guest in her husband's restaurant.
The wife of an abusive criminal finds solace in the arms of a kind regular guest in her husband's restaurant.
Set halfway through the 17th century, a church play is performed for the benefit of the young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.
An exiled magician finds an opportunity for revenge against his enemies muted when his daughter and the son of his chief enemy fall in love in this uniquely structured retelling of the 'The Tempest'.
A short made for TV with director Peter Greenaway discussing the dazzling 3.5 minute opening sequence from his film, 'Prospero's Books'. As Prospero (John Gielgud) walks through his library, Greenaway comments on the historical, mythological, biblical & fictional characters occupying the library.
The ghosts of a middle-aged woman and a precocious little girl help an unwed jazz musician and a bar dancer reverse their bad fortune.
Sophie comes to New York from France with the intention of joining a man she met a few months before. She finds herself alone in the apartment of the guy, who left town because he was scared stiff at the idea of seeing her. Originally commissioned as one third of an omnibus feature showcasing the Figaro, a Japan-only retro throwback car.
Dutch composer Louis Andriessen collaborates with director Peter Greenaway on a commissioned short film to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Mozart. Gods create Man, Music and Mozart.
A short film based on the work of choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker.
Film professor Michael falls in love with one of his students and is confronted with his pupil's father, with whom he had an affair over 15 years ago. This unexpected meeting abruptly overturns the lives of all the characters. When the tutor decides to undertake a planned trip to London, not with the son but with the father, he is once again forced to choose; this time between his wife and his friend.
Miguel steals a trick from a magic book and becomes a world-renowned magician. However, the idea of the public discovering that this great trick is plagiarized from a book eats at his mind more and more.
A revisionist biopic on Charles Darwin, illustrated via 18 tableaux covering details from Darwin's birth, his defining voyage on the HMS Beagle, the publication of his seminal Theory of Evolution and his ultimate death and consequent burial at Westminster Abbey.
Ernst, a man in his thirties has lost his memory after an accident. His parents see this situation as another chance to raise Ernst into a perfect son, and enlist the help of a psychiatrist, a priest and an ideal daughter-in-law to be.
In The Nature of Space, Frank Scheffer juxtaposes the ideas of two Dutch architects: the Benedictine monk Dom H. van der Laan and the anthroposophic architect Ton Alberts. Van der Laan represents a plain and pure architecture, based on his own research into ratios. He designed churches and monasteries, among them a monastery in Vaals. Ton Alberts works from organic forms, as demonstrated by his design of the NMB Bank headquarters in Amsterdam. Director Frank Scheffer stresses the difference in style between these architects, both of whom allow their spiritual background to be reflected in their work, by adopting a very different camera style in the case of each. (filmcommission.nl)