‘Cook’ Gets the Knife

“The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover”--unrated as a feature film--will be the first video release to carry the new NC-17 adults-only rating from the Motion Picture Assn. of America. The MPAA gave the controversial film the NC-17 tag last week, in time for the Oct. 17 video release.

Nonetheless, distributor Vidmark is still attempting to get an R rating from the MPAA for a trimmed version of “Cook,” although no retailers have specifically requested an R-rated cut.

“Some retailers demand an R,” explains Susan Pritchard, Vidmark’s manager of worldwide services. “They’re a small percentage of the total, but they’re out there, and we have to serve them.”

According to Pritchard, director Peter Greenaway wasn’t involved in the editing. But Miramax, which released the movie theatrically, did become involved--after learning that an earlier edit by Vidmark was only 96 minutes long, a loss of nearly a quarter of the original film.

Miramax attorney Randy Paul speculates that the NC-17 version--carrying the first-ever NC-17 sticker--”will probably become a collector’s item.”