Harakiri15

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi | Japan | 1964 | 2h 14m | Japanese w/ English subtitles | Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba, Masao Mishima

After the fall of his clan, masterless samurai Hanshirō arrives at the estate of Lord Iyi, asking permission to end his life through ritual suicide. The clan’s senior counsellor doubts the ronin’s sincerity, suspecting he’s simply looking for charity. But Hanshirō is not what he seems, and his quiet determination hides a deeper purpose. Masaki Kobayashi’s gripping period drama, winner of the Cannes Special Jury Prize, is a bold critique of hypocrisy, a stirring portrait of individual will, and is now hailed as one of the greatest achievements in Japanese cinema.

Classic Season: Samurai Summer

Reviews

‘It would be wrong for me to reveal the details of the story Tsugumo tells. What I can say is that it is heartbreaking.’
★★★★★
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Harakiri between July 28, 2025 and July 30, 2025.

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Today (Thursday 23rd July)
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12:30

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15:30

Effi o Blaenau 15
1h 31m | Welsh w/ English subtitles
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17:45

Toy Story 5 PG
1h 42m
Bonnie has a new tablet — and suddenly, Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the gang are facing their greatest challenge yet: a kid who'd rather swipe a screen than pick up a toy. Disney and Pixar's long-awaited fifth instalment pits beloved characters against the digital age.

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20:15

The Last Viking 15
1h 56m | Danish w/ English subtitles
Fresh from prison, Anker needs his brother Manfred to reveal where they buried their heist money. There's one problem: Manfred now believes he is John Lennon. Mads Mikkelsen throws himself into the chaos of Anders Thomas Jensen's latest gleefully unhinged Danish black comedy.

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Tomorrow (Friday 24th July)
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15:30

A Private Life 15
1h 43m | French w/ English subtitles
A patient's sudden death sends a renowned psychiatrist chasing murder, secrets and lies, with her charming ex-husband along for the investigation. Jodie Foster dazzles in fluent French and comic form in this stylish mystery thriller from director Rebecca Zlotowski (Other People's Children).

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18:00

The Invite 15
1h 47m
Joe and Angela's shaky marriage faces its biggest test yet when dinner with their enigmatic upstairs neighbours takes a wild turn. Rashida Jones's razor-sharp script and Olivia Wilde's direction fuel this riotous relationship comedy, with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton on scene-stealing form.

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20:30

The Furious 18
1h 53m | Mandarin w/ English subtitles
When his daughter is kidnapped and police turn their backs, Wang Wei goes rogue, joined by Navin, a journalist whose wife has vanished too. Fuelled by rage, the two men wage explosive war on the kidnappers in this high-octane Hong Kong martial arts thriller.

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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!

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