Music At Oxford presents: The Great Beauty15

Directed by Paolo Sorrentino | Italy | 2013 | 2h 21m | Italian w/ English subtitles | Starring Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte

A 65-year-old journalist and once-promising novelist drifts through Rome’s decadent high society, lost in a blur of rooftop parties and late-night soirées. When he learns of the death of his friend’s wife, a woman he loved in his youth, his world is suddenly thrown into perspective, and he begins to see life anew. With its sensuous cinematography, lush score, and an award-winning performance from the great Toni Servillo, Paolo Sorrentino’s masterpiece is a breathtaking, Fellini-esque meditation on decadence, memory, and lost love. Winner of Best International Feature at the 2014 Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globes.

Reviews

‘Sorrentino is so often compared to Fellini that it feels right that he has made the city of ‘La Dolce Vita’ the focus for this heady, beautiful, entrancing film.’
★★★★★
Dave Calhoun, Time Out

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Music At Oxford presents: The Great Beauty between December 7, 2025 and December 7, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Tuesday 9th June)

18:00

Ackroyd & Harvey Art of Activism 12A
£6 for Members + Intro
1h 17m
Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey’s internationally acclaimed collaborative art responds to the climate crisis through striking ecological works. Fiona Cunningham-Reid’s documentary explores their practice at the intersection of art, activism and biology. Screening plus introduction.

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20:15

The Christophers 15
£6 for Members
1h 40m
A reclusive London artist (Ian McKellen) becomes the target of a scheme by his estranged children, who recruit a young painter (Michaela Coel) to infiltrate his home and uncover hidden works. Steven Soderbergh’s darkly comic chamber piece explores deception, legacy and artistic value.

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Tomorrow (Wednesday 10th June)

14:45

Rose of Nevada 15
1h 54m
When a long-lost fishing boat returns to a Cornish village, hope rises for renewal. Nick and newcomer Liam join a voyage, but return transformed and caught in a haunting time loop. Shot on grainy 16mm, Mark Jenkin (Bait) delivers a haunting, mind-bending folktale.

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17:30

Orphan 15
2h 13m | Hungarian w/ English subtitles
In Budapest, 1957, a Jewish boy awaiting his father’s return from the camps is confronted by a mysterious man claiming to be his real parent. Oscar-winner László Nemes (Son of Saul) directs this powerful drama about identity, trauma and postwar Hungary.

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20:30

Reflection in a Dead Diamond 15
1h 27m | French & Italian w/ English subtitles
When a mysterious woman vanishes from the room next door, an ageing former spy living on the Côte d’Azur is drawn back into a world of fractured memories and buried secrets. Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s stylised thriller blends espionage, psychological intrigue and grindhouse homage.

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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!