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A man and a woman lie on a sofa together, smiling.

Desperately Seeking Susan (40th Anniversary 4K Restoration)

Duration: 1h44m
Dates: Sun 20 - Tue 22 Jul 2025

Take a trip back to the ‘80s with Susan Seidelman’s delightful New Wave screwball Desperately Seeking Susan. Starring Madonna on the cusp of superstardom, who oozes effortless cool in every scene, and who is matched by Rosanna Arquette’s easy-going comedy timing, it’s a joy to watch and an irresistible love letter to New York summers. 

Despite rom-coms often being led by the biggest female stars of the day, it can be tricky to find many directed by women. Seidelman cheekily turns the genre on its head (it’s not hard to read this as a queer story) while also delivering a very sweet, funny and entertaining romance. 

A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's (Arquette) fascination with a kooky character called Susan (Madonna) she's read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself. Madonna hadn’t yet broken through when shooting started; by the time the film was released, she was a star, and in her performance here she embodies everything that would propel her through the stratosphere. 

Seidelman was 33 when she made Susan, and there’s a youthful fizzy energy that courses through the film. It’s at once an endlessly fascinating portrait of time and place (that deserves to be recognised among the great New York films) and a film that still feels like a breath of fresh summer air 40 years later. 

A woman sits on a sofa, looking at maps and talking on a pink telephone
Desperately Seeking Susan (40th Anniversary 4K Restoration)
A man and a woman, both wearing eighties fashion, walk through a busy city street together.
Desperately Seeking Susan (40th Anniversary 4K Restoration)
A man and a woman lie on a sofa together, smiling.
Desperately Seeking Susan (40th Anniversary 4K Restoration)
A man points at a woman wearing bright eighties fashion.
Desperately Seeking Susan (40th Anniversary 4K Restoration)

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DCA Membership £25 PER YEAR

colourful seats in DCA cinema

Become a DCA Member and enjoy a range of benefits, offers and discounts across our programme while supporting us to enrich people’s lives through art, culture and creativity. Benefits include:

  • One free standard cinema ticket per year
  • £1 off your standard or over 60s ticket for regular Cinema screenings*
  • Priority booking on selected cinema seasons and gallery events
  • 10% off in DCA Shop when you spend £10 or more
  • 10% off DCA publications
  • 15% off Print Studio courses
  • 10% off Craft Sunday workshops
  • 10% off food in Jute Café Bar
  • Further offers and discounts at DCA’s discretion

 

Membership costs £25 for one year.
*One discount per Member per event.

  • Membership Period: 1 year
  • Price: £25.00
£25
Per year

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