The Sword of Doom12A

Directed by Kihachi Okamoto | Japan | 1966 | 1h 59m | Japanese w/ English subtitles | Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Naitô, Tadao Nakamaru

In feudal Japan, Ryunosuke Tsukue is a ruthless swordsman and government assassin, guided by neither conscience nor code. During what should be a friendly fencing match, he kills his opponent without hesitation, setting off a chain of bloodshed and revenge that tightens around him. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune, this gripping tale follows a sociopathic samurai caught in a storm of violence and moral decay. Kihachi Okamoto’s 1960s action classic is a bold portrait of a man who embraces evil and slowly descends into madness.

Reviews

‘A film defined by its meticulously precise construction.’
★★★★★
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Sword of Doom between August 11, 2025 and August 12, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Sunday 16th August)

13:30

Daughters of the Dust 12A
1h 52m
At the dawn of the 20th century, a Gullah family on South Carolina's Sea Islands faces a difficult choice between preserving their cultural heritage and embracing an uncertain future. Julie Dash's groundbreaking film is a visually stunning, deeply moving landmark of American cinema.

Book here

16:00

The Odyssey 15
+ Introduction
2h 52m
Odysseus, King of Ithaca, journeys home after the Trojan War, confronting vengeful gods and monstrous trials along the way. Christopher Nolan adapts Homer's epic, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.

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19:30

The Summer Book PG
1h 35m
Eight-year-old Sophia spends the summer with her father and grandmother on their family island in Finland's Gulf, all three grieving her mother's recent death. Directed by Charlie McDowell and starring Glenn Close, this quiet drama adapts Tove Jansson's novel.

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Tomorrow (Monday 17th August)

18:15

Jazz on a Summer's Day U
1h 23m
Bert Stern's 1958 concert film documents the Newport Jazz Festival, widely considered the first feature-length music documentary. It captures performances by Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson, forming a portrait of America on the cusp of the Kennedy era.

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20:30

Dead Man 18
2h
William Blake barely arrives in the lawless American West before violence forces him into hiding, guided by an outcast named Nobody on a spiritual odyssey. Jim Jarmusch's existential western features a stacked cast of collaborators and a live-wire Neil Young score.

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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!