Welcome, new blood, welcome to Oxford. Freshers’ Week can be a mess of weird traditions and useless information, when really there’s only one question on your nubile fresher brain: ‘Where can anyone see a good movie around here???’ Lucky for you, Oxford provides four options within reasonable walking distance. Here’s a rough guide.
ODEON George St – a.k.a. Ol’ Reliable, a.k.a. A Bit Crap Actually. The sturdy Odeon George Street goes about its daily business without exhibiting anything that could be mistaken for passion. You’ve probably been to Odeons dozens of times so I needn’t hammer the point home. While their Premier Seating practice is a pain in the neck, and audiences tend to be of the all-whispering, all-texting variety, this Odeon has a handy central location and a number of decent sized, decent quality screens – as long as you aren’t relegated to weird off shoot Screen 3. Odeon George St should cater to your mainstream release needs in satisfactory (if not spectacular) style, and big movies tend to stay on for a number of weeks. Just don’t expect any surprises from their line up.
ODEON Magdalen St – George Street’s unloved cousin, this cinema also has a good location, and the biggest screens in central Oxford, but that’s where the positives end. Magdalen St inherits all of the chain’s Money First, Movies Second cash cow tendencies but with only two screens, the line up is as abysmal as the atmosphere (it’s always empty). The auditorium size might lure you in for spectaculars like Bond or Star Wars, but the screens are so high up that any viewing experience is bound to be uncomfortable. If there’s one cinema you never go to in Oxford, make it this one.
Phoenix Picturehouse – On to the good news, and there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Phoenix represents the best Oxford has to off er fi lm lovers. Though small, the cinema is comfortable, well attended and gives off a great, artsy vibe (aided by its location, a little out of the way in Jericho.) The programme is interesting and not usually too stagnant; current releases are complemented by standalone screenings and even seasons of beloved classics. If the Odeon is the place to be, come January, when all the Oscar hopefuls see UK soil, then the Phoenix comes into its own a little later in the year. A student membership is a no brainer (this nets you two free tickets, and £2 off each ticket thereafter) – keep your eyes peeled for free memberships at the Freshers’ Fair, but if you don’t find them it will only set you back £15 per year anyway. They also host a movie quiz on the last Monday of each month; it’s fun, but Oxford can do better (see below.)
Ultimate Picture Palace – Central Oxford’s sole indie option. Far from the university’s colleges but deserving of love, this Cowley Road cinema draws cineastes from all over OX4 with its in-house bar and imaginative programming (lots of foreign/arthouse releases you won’t see elsewhere in Oxford, even at the Phoenix, plus cult classics). What its single screen lacks in sound quality it makes up for in charm, and the student membership here is just as worthwhile as at the Picturehouse, costing only £20 per year; note also that the cinema’s lack of money often results in bigger releases opening a few weeks later at UPP than they do elsewhere, giving you another chance should you fi nd you have missed a film’s window at the Odeon. One last thing – Big Society, the affiliated pub which stands alongside the cinema, is home to the Bigger Boat film quiz, held on the second Tuesday of each month. Bring some fellow enthusiasts along and you won’t regret it – this event is the single greatest meeting of filmies in all of Oxford.
