Classic Season: 1950s Japan

With Yasujiro Ozu’s timeless masterpiece Tokyo Story back in cinemas with a brand new 4K remaster (courtesy of the BFI), we’ve scheduled a season of classic film released in Japan during the 1950s by four different, acclaimed filmmakers. 

Alongside Tokyo Story, we’re showing Akira Kurosawa’s moving tale of an unremarkable bureaucrat trying to find meaning to life, Ikiru; Kenji Mizoguchi’s sweeping, historical masterpiece Sansho The Bailiff; and finally Mikio Naruse’s poignant depiction of post-war Japan, Floating Clouds.

Ikiru (PG)
Sunday 15 October 2.30pm
Monday 16 October 6pm

Tokyo Story (U)
Sunday 22 October 2.15pm
Monday 23 October 6pm

Sansho The Bailiff (PG)
Sunday 29 October 3pm
Monday 30 October 8.30pm

Floating Clouds (12A)
Sunday 5 November 2.45pm
Monday 6 November 6pm

Use the film links below to find out more info and to book tickets.

Ikiru

Ikiru

The life of a middle-aged bureaucrat is turned upside down when he discovers that he has a terminal illness in Akira Kurosawa’s compassionate portrayal of one man’s quest for meaning.

read more
Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story

The greatest film by one of Japan’s greatest ever filmmakers, Yasujirō Ozu’s timeless and emotional masterpiece about an ageing couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown-up children.

read more
Sansho the Bailiff

Sansho the Bailiff

A brother and sister sold into slavery in medieval Japan seek to escape from their controlling master and reunite with their long-lost mother in Kenji Mizoguchi’s heartrending exploration of empathy.

read more
Floating Clouds

Floating Clouds

Two lovers who meet in Indochina during World War Two return to Tokyo and strive to keep their affair alive in Mikio Naruse’s poignant drama exploring love and resilience in post-war Japan.

read more

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!