Naked Lunch18

Directed by David Cronenberg | Canada | 1991 | 1h 55m (+ 20min short film) | Starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Roy Scheider, Monique Mercure

Bug exterminator Bill Lee discovers that the insecticide he uses has potent hallucinogenic effects. After becoming deeply addicted, Bill descends into the nightmarish Interzone, a bizarre underworld filled with sinister government conspiracies and giant, talking insects. Equal parts darkly humorous and grotesque, cult filmmaker David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome, Crash) brings to life this surreal adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ hallucinatory novel, once considered impossible to film.

Naked Lunch will be preceded by a special presentation of Kōji Yamamura’s short film Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor (2007).

Reviews

‘Obviously this is not everybody’s cup of weird tea: you must have a taste for the aesthetics of disgust. For those up to the dare, it’s one clammily compelling movie.’
David Ansen, Newsweek

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Naked Lunch between October 21, 2024 and October 25, 2024.

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What else is on?

Today (Monday 15th September)

18:00

Materialists 15
Deaf/HOH subtitles
1h 57m
Celine Song (Past Lives) reinvents the romantic comedy in this bittersweet New York love triangle starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans. A matchmaker torn between a charming billionaire and her grounded ex faces hard truths about love.

Book here

20:30

Sorry, Baby 15
1h 43m
Eva Victor writes and stars in this tender, darkly funny debut about healing from trauma. When a friend’s visit highlights her own emotional stasis, Agnes begins confronting the past, inching toward a new future in this heartfelt comedy.

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Tomorrow (Tuesday 16th September)

18:00

The Shadow Scholars Cert-TBC
+ Q&A / £6 for Members
1h 37m
Oxford professor Patricia Kingori uncovers Kenya’s hidden “shadow scholars” – jobless graduates who write essays for students worldwide – raising questions about academic integrity and the true worth of a degree in an age where qualifications can be bought.

Book here

20:45

The Courageous 12A
£6 for Members
1h 23m | French w/ English subtitles
In rural Switzerland, a troubled mother fights to prove her worth to a judgmental society. Jasmin Gordon’s striking debut confronts ideas of morality, freedom, and redemption in this moving drama about second chances.

Book here


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!