Camp Miasma Double Feature: Sunset Boulevard12A

Directed by Billy Wilder | USA | 1950 | 1h 50m | Starring Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark

Roger Ebert described Sunset Boulevard as “the best drama ever made about the movies because it sees through the illusions.” It’s illusions that are truly key to the film: those by and about Hollywood, and particularly those about ourselves and others. In this lavish film, regularly heralded as one of the greatest of all time, director Billy Wilder sets the stage for Gloria Swanson to deliver one of the all-time great performances as Norma Desmond, a fading Hollywood icon. Time has moved on, but not in her 1920s mansion on Sunset Boulevard, the home of Old Hollywood. A young screenwriter, Joe Gillis, is drawn into this shadow world and the orbit of Norma, secreted in her mansion and dreaming of her return to the screen.

Sunset Boulevard is showing alongside Friday the 13th (1980) as part of a Camp Miasma Double Feature, introduced by Dr Michael Goodrum (Canterbury Christ Church University), in anticipation of our screenings of new release Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Book tickets to both screenings in a single transaction and receive a 25% discount on the total cost.

Reviews

‘The best film to capture the transitory nature of film fame.’
★★★★★
George Parry, BBC

‘It is Wilder’s passion, and fulminating anger, that fill every frame of this dark and majestic noir.’
★★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times

Book tickets

Saturday 5 September

5.45pmBook tickets

What else is on?

Today (Saturday 27th June)

19:00

Savage House 15
1h 54m
When ruthless social climbers Sir Chauncey and Lady Savage secure a dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, their ambitions collide with pox, Jacobite uprising, and bloodshed. Claire Foy and Richard E. Grant star in this sharp period comedy about class and power.

Book here


Tomorrow (Sunday 28th June)

12:45

Matilda PG
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 38m
Brilliant young Matilda discovers friendship and encouragement from her teacher, Miss Honey, while facing the terrifying Miss Trunchbull and her neglectful parents. This Roald Dahl adaptation celebrates courage, kindness, and standing up for what is right.

Book here

15:00

Savage House 15
1h 54m
When ruthless social climbers Sir Chauncey and Lady Savage secure a dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, their ambitions collide with pox, Jacobite uprising, and bloodshed. Claire Foy and Richard E. Grant star in this sharp period comedy about class and power.

Book here

17:45

Time and Water PG
1h33m
Author Andri Snær Magnason weaves family archives, traditional song, and Icelandic folklore into an elegy for a disappearing landscape. An urgent, deeply personal documentary about memory, loss, and living through irreversible change, from director Sara Dosa (Fire of Love).

Book here

20:00

Legally Blonde 12A
+ Introduction
1h 36m
Reese Witherspoon is irresistible in this beloved rom-com-turned-courtroom triumph. Dumped and underestimated, sorority queen Elle Woods storms Harvard Law, proving sharp wit and a killer wardrobe are all you need. Part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

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 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!