Blue Velvet18

Directed by David Lynch | USA | 1986 | 2h 1m | Starring Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell

The discovery of a severed human ear leads a clean-cut amateur sleuth to uncover a nightmarish flipside to his sleepy hometown. As he investigates further, he becomes dangerously complicit in the perverse relationship between a tormented club singer and a deranged gangster. Following the big-budget failure of Dune, Lynch’s dazzlingly subversive melodrama earned him a second Oscar nomination and saw the first of the his many collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti.

Classic Season: Sakamoto / Vangelis / Badalamenti

Reviews

‘Erotic, neurotic, euphoric and at all times unutterably twisted and bizarre…The film releases a toxic narcosis of fear.’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘Isabella Rossellini’s singer Dorothy is a heart-rending open wound, Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth one of cinema’s great nutjobs, and Lynch’s control a thing of nightmarish beauty.’
★★★★★
Jamie Graham, Total Film

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Blue Velvet between June 17, 2023 and June 19, 2023.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Sunday 5th January)
Find out more

13:00

A Cat in Paris PG
1h 10m
Kino Kids Cinema Club
By day, Dino the cat is a loyal pet to seven-year-old Zoé. But by night, he leads a double life, assisting a kind-hearted jewellery thief! Join us for this one-off Kino Kids Cinema Club screening (£6 adults / £4 children).

Book here

Find out more

15:00

Merchant Ivory 12A
1h 51m
Featuring interviews with frequent collaborators Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson, and Helena Bonham Carter, this captivating documentary explores the life and cinematic partnership of James Ivory and Ismail Merchant.

Book here

Find out more

17:30

A Room with a View PG
1h 57m
Merchant Ivory Classics
While in Florence, a young upper-class woman falls for a enigmatic stranger, despite being engaged to someone back home in England. Witty, sensual, and elegantly crafted romance starring Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Book here

Find out more

20:00

All We Imagine as Light 15
1h 58m | Malayalam & Hindi w/ English Subtitles
In working-class Mumbai, the lives of three women intertwine. Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, this ravishingly shot and deeply poignant drama celebrates the transformative power of sisterhood.

Book here


Tomorrow (Monday 6th January)
Find out more

17:45

The Universal Theory 15
1h 58m | German w/ English subtitles
Set against the majestic Swiss Alps, a brilliant young physicist is drawn into a web of metaphysical intrigue, murder, and mystery. Timm Kröger’s award-winning thriller blends Cold War paranoia with mind-bending sci-fi.

Book here

Find out more

20:30

Queer 18
2h 17m
Daniel Craig stars as an American expatriate living a quiet life in 1960s Mexico, until a young student’s arrival turns his world upside down. Luca Guadagnino directs this sensual adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ cult novel.

Book here


See all upcoming films

Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

Find out more