Ran15

Directed by Akira Kurosawa | Japan | 1985 | 2h 41m | Japanese w/ English subtitles | Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada

Warlord Hidetora Ichimonji decides to step down, dividing his kingdom among his three sons. But instead of peace, his decision unleashes a storm of greed, betrayal, and violence that tears his family and legacy apart. Legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear as a sweeping historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Back in cinemas for its 40th anniversary, this late-career masterpiece is a visually breathtaking meditation on the brutality of war and the tragic collapse of a family consumed by ambition and power.

Reviews

‘A magisterial achievement.’
★★★★★
Jonathan Romney, The Observer

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Ran between August 3, 2025 and August 7, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 7th October)

15:30

Pressure 12A
1h 40m
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg have 72 hours to decide whether to launch the D-Day invasion, with everything ready except the one factor they can't control: the weather. Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott star in this historical thriller.

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18:00

A Page of Madness PG
+ Live Score
1h 11m
A man takes a job at an asylum to be near his interned wife, in Teinosuke Kinugasa's 1926 silent film. Lost for 50 years until he found it in his own storehouse, this one-off screening features a live score performed by musician Hugo Max.

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20:00

De Gaulle: Résistance 15
2h 38m | French w/ English subtitles
June 1940: France has fallen. Army general Charles de Gaulle refuses to accept defeat, fleeing to London to rally resistance. Simon Russell Beale plays Churchill in this internationally cast first chapter of Antonin Baudry's two-part historical epic. x§

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Tomorrow (Thursday 8th October)

13:30

De Gaulle: Résistance 15
2h 38m | French w/ English subtitles
June 1940: France has fallen. Army general Charles de Gaulle refuses to accept defeat, fleeing to London to rally resistance. Simon Russell Beale plays Churchill in this internationally cast first chapter of Antonin Baudry's two-part historical epic. x§

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18:30

Bad Apples 15
1h 41m
A teacher at a struggling school kidnaps her most disruptive pupil and locks him in her basement, then watches the rest of the class flourish. Saoirse Ronan stars in this satirical black comedy about how doing the wrong thing sometimes gives the right result.

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21:00

MISSNOMA Women’s DJ Collective N/A
The Oxford-based women’s DJ collective MISSNOMA, is joining forces with the UPP cinema to hold a unique listening-room session featuring DJs Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani, Lily London, and Martha, powered by Oxford-based FLOW soundsystem.

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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!