Naked Lunch - The Ultimate Picture Palace

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).

Kafkaesque Klassics

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 (Wednesday 11th February)

14:30

The History of Sound 15

2h 8m

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star as two young musicians who fall in love through American folk music, then reunite after World War I to preserve disappearing songs. From the director of Living, a tender, melancholic romance about the power off music and memory.

17:30

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 18

Descriptive subtitles

1h 49m

In a ravaged Britain, a world-changing discovery and a deadly personal encounter expose a new truth: other survivors may be more terrifying than the infected. Directed by Nia DaCosta, this ferocious follow-up is darker, bloodier, and brutally intense.

20:00

Heat 15

2h 51m

Classic Season: In Memoriam 2025

Master thief Neil McCauley plans one final LA heist as relentless detective Vincent Hanna closes in. Mutual respect grows between them despite opposite sides of the law, building toward an inevitable, explosive confrontation in Michael Mann’s landmark crime thriller.

Tomorrow (Thursday 12th February)

15:30

Rental Family 12A

Descriptive subtitles

1h 50m

In Tokyo, a drifting American actor finds unexpected purpose working for a “rental family” agency, hired to play stand-in roles for strangers. Brendan Fraser, fresh from his Oscar win for The Whale, stars in this quietly moving story about belonging and human connection.

18:00

The History of Sound 15

2h 8m

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star as two young musicians who fall in love through American folk music, then reunite after World War I to preserve disappearing songs. From the director of Living, a tender, melancholic romance about the power off music and memory.

21:00

Hamnet 12A

2h 6m

Shakespeare and his wife endure the devastating loss of their young son, straining love and family bonds. Chloé Zhao’s (Nomadland) poignant adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel captures grief, creativity, and resilience, with moving performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

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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!