Peter Greenaway, CBE (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh writer-director, painter, and video artist based in Amsterdam. Throughout the late 1960s and '70s, he produced several experimental documentary/mockumentary shorts while working as a film editor for the Central Office of Information. This early period culminated in "The Falls" (1980), a three-hour mockumentary indexing the strange effects of the VUE (the Violent Unknown Event) on 92 people whose names begin with the letters F-A-L-L. He made his dramatic feature film debut with "The Draughtsman's Contract" (1982), and throughout the 1980s directed a string of critically acclaimed and frequently controversial films: "A Zed & Two Noughts" (1985), "The Belly of an Architect" (1987), "Drowning by Numbers" (1988), and his best-known work, the vicious Thatcher-era satire "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" (1989). In the 1990s, he directed the Shakespeare adaptation "Prospero's Books" (1991), controversial religious satire "The Baby of Mâcon" (1993), erotic drama "The Pillow Book" (1996), and "8½ Women" (1999), an homage to the films of Federico Fellini, a major influence on Greenaway. In the early 2000s, Greenaway embarked on the ambitious "Tulse Luper" project, a multimedia body of historical fiction revolving around the life of the eponymous fictional hero. In addition to novels, CD-ROMs, online material, and a touring exhibition, the project spawned a trilogy of feature films: "The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story" (2003), "The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea" (2004), and "The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish" (2004). The trilogy was followed by a fourth feature, "A Life in Suitcases" (2005), which abridges the Tulse Luper saga into a single film. Since the mid 2000s, Greenaway's film work has focused on idiosyncratic, heavily fictionalised biopics dedicated to some of his favourite artists: Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn in "Nightwatching" (2007), Dutch Baroque engraver Hendrik Goltzius in "Goltzius and the Pelican Company" (2012), Soviet Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein in "Eisenstein in Guanajuato" (2015), and Romanian-French sculptor Constantin Brâncuși in "Walking to Paris" (TBD). Greenaway has lived and worked in Amsterdam since the mid 1990s. He is married to artist Saskia Boddeke, with whom he has two children. He also has two children from a previous marriage to potter Carol Greenaway.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 5, 1942 (84)
- Newport, Gwent, Wales, UK
- Director, writer and editor
- 21 on MovieCove · 86 credits in all
Known for
What are Peter Greenaway's films like?
Across their 20 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 8 · Wry 5 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 3 · Dark 12
Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 17
Gentle 3 · Charged 11 · Intense 6
Steady 5 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 4
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 1
Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 15
Easy watch 7 · Affecting 9 · Heavy 4
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 14
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic6
- Ambiguous10
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Peter Greenaway's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Tintoretto. A Rebel in Venice (2019) · actor, producer · free
- Drowning by Numbers (1988) · director, writer · free
- Rembrandt's J'Accuse (2008) · actor, director, writer · free
- The Baby of Mâcon (1993) · director, writer · free
- Nightwatching (2007) · director, writer · free
- Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015) · director, writer · free
- 8 ½ Women (1999) · actor, director, writer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Peter Greenaway's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
86 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Blondi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Exile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
The Missing Nail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The Greenaway Alphabet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Luther and His Legacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Giovanna D'Arco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Eisenstein in Guanajuato(2015)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
3x3D (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Atomic Bombs on the Planet Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
The Wedding at Cana (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Rembrandt's J'Accuse(2008)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Nightwatching(2007)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Peopling The Palaces (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Greenaway: The Shorts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Writing on Water (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
A Life in Suitcases(2005)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Visions of Europe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
The European Showerbath (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Cinema16: British Short Films (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
The 92 Faces of Peter Greenaway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Man in the Bath (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
The Death of a Composer: Rosa, a Horse Drama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
8 ½ Women(1999)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
In the Dark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Lumière and Company(1995)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Pillow Book(1996)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Stairs 1 Geneva (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Baby of Mâcon(1993)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Darwin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Peter Greenaway: A Documentary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Rosa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all filmsM Is for Man, Music and Mozart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Prospero's Books(1991)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
A TV Dante (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
A TV Dante (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Death in the Seine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Fear of Drowning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Hubert Bals Handshake (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Drowning by Numbers(1988)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
A Zed & Two Noughts(1985)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms, London & Oxfordshire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Making a Splash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Four American Composers: John Cage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Four American Composers: Meredith Monk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Four American Composers: Robert Ashley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
The Sea in Their Blood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Four American Composers: Philip Glass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Falls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
The Pledge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Zandra Rhodes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Terence Conran (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Act of God (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Leeds Castle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Vertical Features Remake (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
A Walk Through H (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Eddie Kidd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Water Wrackets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
1-100 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Goole by Numbers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Dear Phone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Savile Row (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Windows (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
H Is for House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Intervals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Erosion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Revolution (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
5 Postcards from Capital Cities (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Train (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Death of Sentiment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Bosch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Food of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Tie and Dye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Tower Stories (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Walking to Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 86 titles, 81 of them dated from 1962 to 2025.
Biggest box office
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Highest rated
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Film career
- 1974Screen debut· Windows
- 1974First top-billed film· Windows
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Peter Greenaway's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 72nd percentile, the median of all 21; across their 20 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up10
- 50th to 74th8
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Mixed9
Reviewers score the atmosphere 78/100 and the pacing 35/100 in their films, across 17 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Peter Greenaway's work okay for kids?
Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Peter Greenaway work with?
People who share at least 2 of Peter Greenaway's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kees Kasander shares the most, 13.
Actors
- JJ FeildShared titles: A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)See all 5 shared titles with JJ Feild
- Raymond J. BarryShared titles: A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)See all 5 shared titles with Raymond J. Barry
- Ornella MutiShared titles: A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Ornella Muti
- Steven MackintoshShared titles: A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Steven Mackintosh
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Reinier van BrummelenShared titles: Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015), Goltzius and The Pelican Company (2012), Rembrandt's J'Accuse (2008), Nightwatching (2007), A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003), 8 ½ Women (1999)See all 9 shared titles with Reinier van Brummelen
- Sacha ViernyShared titles: 8 ½ Women (1999), The Pillow Book (1996), The Baby of Mâcon (1993), A Walk Through Prospero's Library (1991), Prospero's Books (1991), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Drowning by Numbers (1988), The Belly of an Architect (1987), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985)See all 9 shared titles with Sacha Vierny
- Elmer LeupenShared titles: Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015), Goltzius and The Pelican Company (2012), Rembrandt's J'Accuse (2008), A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003), 8 ½ Women (1999)See all 8 shared titles with Elmer Leupen
- Michael NymanShared titles: Prospero's Books (1991), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Drowning by Numbers (1988), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)See all 5 shared titles with Michael Nyman
Producers
- Kees KasanderShared titles: Goltzius and The Pelican Company (2012), Rembrandt's J'Accuse (2008), Nightwatching (2007), A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003), 8 ½ Women (1999), The Pillow Book (1996), The Baby of Mâcon (1993), Prospero's Books (1991), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Drowning by Numbers (1988) and 1 moreSee newest 12 of 13 shared titles with Kees Kasander
- Carlo DusiShared titles: Nightwatching (2007), A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)See all 6 shared titles with Carlo Dusi
- Eva BaróShared titles: A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)See all 5 shared titles with Eva Baró
- Jet ChristiaanseShared titles: A Life in Suitcases (2005), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2004), The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003), The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)See all 5 shared titles with Jet Christiaanse
Mixed roles
- Walter DonohueShared titles: The Belly of an Architect (1987), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985)See all 2 shared titles with Walter Donohue