Shogun Assassin18

Directed by Misumi Kenji | Japan | 1972 | 1h 24m | Starring Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ôki, Shin Kishida, Akihiro Tomikawa

After his wife is murdered by a ruthless shogun, a vengeful rōnin wanders the countryside with his young son, taking down ninja assassins with cold precision in operatic bursts of surreal, stylised violence. Shogun Assassin, with its pulsing synth soundtrack and wild action sequences—featuring flashing swords, spurting blood, and severed limbs—became an instant cult classic, influencing artists from the Wu-Tang Clan to Quentin Tarantino.

This screening is part of the BFI’s national Art Of Action tour. For more information go to: https://www.bfiartofaction.co.uk/home

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Shogun Assassin between November 23, 2024 and November 23, 2024.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 17th September)

18:00

Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Mias 15
1h 52m
Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow) unleashes a bloody, bewildering meta-horror, as a young director and a reclusive scream queen descend into a delirious world of queer desire, fear and blood-soaked obsession. Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.

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20:30

Bitter Christmas 15
1h 51m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film is a sun-dappled exploration of life, art and storytelling, as two filmmakers’ lives intertwine in a playful meditation on memory, creativity and the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction.

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Tomorrow (Friday 18th September)

14:45

De Gaulle: Résistance 15
2h 38m | French w/ English subtitles
June 1940: France has fallen. Army general Charles de Gaulle refuses to accept defeat, fleeing to London to rally resistance. Simon Russell Beale plays Churchill in this internationally cast first chapter of Antonin Baudry's two-part historical epic. x§

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18:15

Trainspotting 18
1h 34m
Danny Boyle’s electrifying adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s cult novel remains a visceral portrait of addiction, alienation and self-destruction. Back on the big screen for the film's 30th anniversary, Trainspotting is as exhilarating, darkly comic and provocative as ever.

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20:30

I Want Your Sex 18
1h 30m
Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde star in Gregg Araki’s (Mysterious Skin) wickedly satirical comedy about sex, obsession and power. When a young man becomes an artist’s sexual muse, his dream job takes a dark and dangerous turn.

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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 only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!