Peter Greenaway is considered as one of most innovative filmmakers working today. His output, from "The Draughtsman's Contract" (1982) to the controversy surrounding his later "Baby of Macon" (1993), shows no sign of slowing down. In this critical examination of his work, the author describes the development of Greenaway's films and analyzes the central themes and issues which inform it. Greenaway's assertion that his is "a cinema of ideas not plots" is developed in this book with a discussion of the themes of repetition; quotation, theatricality, power relations and images of the nude as flesh. Close analysis of individual films such as: "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover"; "Belly of an Architect"; and "Drowning by Numbers", together with discussion of "The Pillow Book" (1996) and recent interviews between Greenaway and the author about his work are also included in this text.