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 (Friday 27th June)
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15:30

Along Came Love 15
2h 3m | French w/ English subtitles
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18:15

Lollipop 15
1h 40m
Newly released from prison, Molly faces bureaucracy and judgment as she fights to reunite with her children. Written by Daisy-May Hudson, this deeply compassionate, all-female drama explores motherhood on society’s margins.

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20:30

The Ballad of Wallis Island 12A
1h 40m
A reclusive lottery winner reunites his favourite band (and old flames) for one last gig. But as memories resurface, so do old wounds. A melancholic British comedy starring Carey Mulligan and Tim Key about lost love and music.

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Tomorrow (Saturday 28th June)
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16:00

Sudan, Remember Us Cert-TBC
1h 16m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
SAFAR Film Festival 2025
Through the eyes of four young activists, this powerful documentary traces Sudan’s 2019 revolution to its 2023 civil war – capturing a generation’s fight for freedom and hope in the face of global indifference. SAFAR Film Festival 2025 screening.

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18:00

Knife+Heart 18
1h 42m | French w/ English subtitles
Classic Season: Queer Thrillers
In 1979 Paris, a gay porn director reels from heartbreak and a brutal murder on set. As she fights to finish her film, danger looms. With neon visuals and a haunting M83 score, this is erotically charged giallo horror.

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20:15

The Salt Path 12A
1h 55m
Evicted and facing illness, a couple embarks on a 630-mile walk along England’s coast. Starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, this moving adaptation of Raynor Winn’s memoir is a story of love, survival, and resilience.

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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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