Christmas Classics at the Cottage Road Cinema

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

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Christmas at the Cottage

15 December 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

A still from Trading Places featuring Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine played by Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy respectively.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired
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Classics at the Cottage gets a Christmas makeover this December, with a quartet of festive films lined up to get you ready for the big day.

Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy open the festivities in 80s comedy classic Trading Places on Sunday 15 December. Set over Christmas in a chilly Philadelphia, John Landis’ film sees Murphy as a fast-talking huckster who swaps places with Aykroyd’s clean-cut stockbroker thanks to a bet by a couple of mean-spirited millionaires. Highly quotable, with a stellar supporting cast, this sly satire balances laughs with a lampooning of the American establishment.

Talking of mean-spirited rich men, the second film in the Cottage’s Christmas line-up is Brian Desmond Hurst’s 1951 Scrooge (Wed 18 Dec.) Featuring Alastair Sim as Charles Dickens’ eponymous anti-hero, this adaptation of A Christmas Carol will be a welcome discovery on the big screen this December.

An image for The Holiday featuring Graham and Amanda played by Jude Law and Cameron Diaz respectively.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Next is a more modern classic in the form of Nancy Meyer’s The Holiday on Sunday 22 December. Somehow the film is almost two decades old, but we know there are plenty of people out there who have been watching Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap lives and countries, and fall for Jude Law and Jack Black every Christmas since 2006. Light and charming in a way that only a Nancy Meyers movie can be.

Lastly, on Christmas Eve it can only be It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, the proprietor of a small town buildings and loan company, who learns the value of his life in this all time Christmas classic from director Frank Capra. If you haven’t seen it before, do yourself a favour and treat yourself to an early Christmas present.

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Where to go near Christmas Classics at the Cottage Road Cinema

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Heart is an arts, community and enterprise centre run by the people of Headingley in Leeds, but serving a much wider community.

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Headingley Lodge is a neat, no-frills hotel in which every room boasts a view of Headingley cricket stadium.

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Greasy Pig

Greasy Pig is an upbeat, colourful café with a range of wild and wonderful menu offerings like cheese-topped savoury pancakes or tasty veggie feasts.

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Hyde Park Book Club

Hyde Park Book Club has blossomed into a multi use music and arts venue that acts as a home from home for many of the area’s local creatives.

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Abbey House Museum

Housed in the medieval Kirkstall Abbey’s magnificent former gate house, Abbey House near Leeds is an award-winning museum of social history and childhood.

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LS6

LS6 is an independent café with flamboyant decor and a long-list of celebrity patrons. LS6 boasts a reputation for being the best breakfast around the Leeds area.

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