Weekends at Teddies Spring Term 2023

Two Historic Oxford Cinemas A trip to ‘the pictures’ in Oxford involves an array of venue options, from the new Curzon cinema in the Westgate Centre, to mainstream chains such as Odeon (on both Magdalen Street and George Street) and the Vue multiplex. Oxford is also lucky to be home to two cinemas which are worth visiting, not only for the films, but also for the experience: Ultimate Picture Palace This beautiful Art Deco-inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford’s Cowley Road. The UPP is Oxford’s only independent cinema, is community-owned, and one of the oldest cinemas in the UK, built in 1911. Early programmes included serials, melodramas and news items such as the Oxford Cambridge boat race! Today you can see a mix of independent, mainstream,

international, and classic films in their single-screen, quirky auditorium (the toilets are under the screen at the front of the theatre). They don’t show adverts, only trailers, so make sure you arrive at the advertised start time of the film! Phoenix Picturehouse Reborn as the very first of the Picturehouse family of cinemas in the late 1980s, the Phoenix was originally opened in 1913 as the North Oxford Kinema and the building was designed by a local architect. In 1920 it was renamed the Scala and in 1930 sound equipment was installed. Subtitled films were regularly shown, which were especially popular with foreign-language students. Over the following years, it became one of the most important arthouse cinemas in the UK outside London and was renamed the Phoenix in 1977. Today, you can see a mix of independent and blockbuster films.

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