Defending Your LifePG

Directed by Albert Brooks | USA | 1991 | 1h 51m | Starring Starring Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Michael Durrell, James Eckhouse

An acerbic LA advertising executive dies in a car accident and is sent to Judgement City, a purgatory where he must defend his actions on Earth in order to ascend to a higher plane of existence. Albert Brooks finds a perfect balance between satirical bite and romantic-comedy charm as the writer, director, and star of this wonderfully imaginative existential fantasy.

Our screening on Friday 1 July will be introduced by comedian Matthew Chadourne, part of the Oxford Comedy Festival.

Reviews

‘The movie is funny in a warm, fuzzy way, and it has a splendidly satisfactory ending, which is unusual for an Albert Brooks film.’
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Defending Your Life between July 1, 2022 and July 4, 2022.

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What else is on?

Today (Tuesday 7th October)

20:30

Sanatorium 15
£6 for Members
1h 31m | Ukrainian with English subtitles
At a crumbling health resort near Odesa, Ukrainians pursue healing amid war. Mud baths and therapies collide with air raids in Gar O’Rourke’s compassionate documentary portrait of resilience and the will to preserve freedom.

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Tomorrow (Wednesday 8th October)

15:00

The Roses 15
Deaf/HOH Subtitles
2h 1m
Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in this razor-sharp comedy-drama about ambition and rivalry. When careers collide and resentments rise, a seemingly perfect couple unravels in a darkly funny, painfully relatable portrait of a marriage on the rocks.

Book here

17:45

Steve 15
1h 33m
A reform school headteacher fights to save his students, his school, and himself in 1990s Britain. From the director of Small Things Like These, Cillian Murphy stars in this moving adaptation of Max Porter’s Sunday Times bestseller ‘Shy’.

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20:00

Battle Royale 18
1h 53m | Japanese with English subtitles
In dystopian Japan, 42 students are forced into “Battle Royale,” a government death game on a remote island. Armed with random weapons, they must kill or die within three days. Kinji Fukasaku’s cult classic mixes survival horror with sharp social critique.

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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 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!