The Saragossa Manuscript15

Directed by Wojciech Has | Poland | 1965 | 3h 4m | Polish w/ English subtitles | Starring Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska, Elzbieta Czyzewska, Gustaw Holoubek, Stanislaw Igar

During the Napoleonic Wars, two opposing officers cross paths in Saragossa, Spain, where they become enthralled by a mysterious manuscript. It tells of Alfonso van Worden, a captain navigating the treacherous Sierra Morena Mountains, beset by seductive princesses, a devious hermit, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wojciech Has’ adaptation of Jan Potocki’s novel became a 1960s countercultural favourite, championed by the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, who saw its winding narrative as a cinematic trip. Admirers included Luis Buñuel, Neil Gaiman, and David Lynch, while Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola helped restore and re-release the film.

Part of Kinoteka On Tour, organised by the Polish Cultural Institute in London and supported by the Polish Film Institute. For more details, visit: https://kinoteka.org.uk/

Reviews

‘The director’s eye for baroque black-and-white imagery puts him behind only Bava and Welles, while the film’s sharp social satire gives heft to its ambition.’
★★★★★
David Fear, Time Out

‘This three-hour swirl of Polish phantasmagoria, from 1965, is an epic piece of japery; it celebrates visions and magic by means of labyrinthine storytelling.’
Michael Sragow, The New Yorker

 

 

Book tickets

Sunday 9 March

2.15pmBook tickets

What else is on?

Today (Saturday 8th February)

15:45

A Real Pain 15
1h 30m
Two cousins travel to Poland to honour their Jewish grandmother but soon recall why they’ve grown apart in the first place. Golden Globe-winning actor Kieran Culkin stars in this moving road-trip comedy, directed by co-star Jesse Eisenberg.

Book here

18:00

Babygirl 18
1h 55m
A high powered CEO risks it all when she becomes embroiled in an illicit affair with an intern. A gripping erotic thriller delving into themes of power and desire, featuring seductive performances from Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson.

Book here

20:30

A Complete Unknown 15
2h 20m
Timothée Chalamet plays a young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York in the early 1960s, takes the folk scene by storm, and controversially rips up the rulebook, reshaping the trajectory of American rock music.

Book here


Tomorrow (Sunday 9th February)

12:30

Where the Wild Things Are PG
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 41m
Adapted from Maurice Sendak’s beloved book, imaginative nine-year-old Max runs away after a fight at home and discovers a boat that takes him to a land of giant talking creatures. Kino Kids Cinema Club screening (£6 Adults / £4 Children).

Book here

15:00

Inside Llewyn Davis 15
1h 45m
With no winter coat, no steady home, and a shrinking circle of allies, a folk singer in 1960s Greenwich Village finds himself cut adrift and left behind in the Coen Brothers' melancholy exploration of the conflict between artistic idealism and commercial success.

Book here

17:30

A Complete Unknown 15
2h 20m
Timothée Chalamet plays a young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York in the early 1960s, takes the folk scene by storm, and controversially rips up the rulebook, reshaping the trajectory of American rock music.

Book here

20:30

A Real Pain 15
1h 30m
Two cousins travel to Poland to honour their Jewish grandmother but soon recall why they’ve grown apart in the first place. Golden Globe-winning actor Kieran Culkin stars in this moving road-trip comedy, directed by co-star Jesse Eisenberg.

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!