<P> The film's original running time was 124 minutes . Due to the content, the MPAA gave Miramax a choice of either an X rating or go unrated (adults only) for theatrical release . Unrated was chosen in light of the X rating being more associated with pornographic films . Two versions 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 . </P> <P> The film received largely positive reviews from critics . On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 90% score based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4 / 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 ." 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 . </P> <P> 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 "Memorial". </P> <P> 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 . </P>

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