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.

Classic Season: Oxford Comedy Festival 2022

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?

Tomorrow (Friday 8th December)
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18:15

The Eternal Daughter 12A
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20:30

Oxford Int. Film Festival 2023 15
The Oxford International Film Festival returns to the UPP for another programme of short films made by filmmakers from all around the world. One-off screening with intros and Q&As.

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Saturday 9th December
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15:45

Tótem 12A
1h 35m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés’ touching drama, following her acclaimed debut The Chambermaid, unfolds as an emotional portrayal of family upheavals told through the eyes of a child.

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18:00

Saltburn 15
2h 11m
Barry Keoghan, Rosamund Pike, and Richard E Grant star in Oscar-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s (Promising Young Woman) wicked comedic satire of privilege, desire, and the UK class system.

Book here

Find out more

20:45

The Eternal Daughter 12A
1h 36m
An artist (Tilda Swinton) and her mother (Tilda Swinton) return to their former family home which is now a haunted hotel in Joanna Hogg's (The Souvenir) suspenseful and chilling Gothic ghost story.

Book here


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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!

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