The Devils (1971)
- Directed by
- Ken Russell
- Genre
- drama film, biographical film, satanic film
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Runtime
- 1h 51m
- Rated
- R
- Rating
- 7.4 of 10 from 437 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A historical story about a 17th century French priest accused of witchcraft. A sexually repressed nun starts the accusations against him.
unsettlingvisceralchaoticoppressiveprovocativefreneticbleakclaustrophobic
What happens
The Devils is a 1971 British historical psychological horror-drama film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, and starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. A dramatised historical account of the fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft after the possessions in Loudun, France, the plot also focuses on Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites the accusations. The Devils is in part adapted from the 1952 non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, as well as John Whiting's subsequent 1960 play The Devils. United Artists initially pitched the idea to Russell but bowed out after reading his finished screenplay, as they felt it was too controversial in nature. Warner Bros. agreed to produce and distribute, and filming largely took place at Pinewood Studios in late 1970. The film's graphic portrayal of violent and sexual content, often combined with religion, ignited harsh reaction from censors, and it originally received an X rating in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It was banned in several countries, and heavily edited for exhibition in others. Although critics largely dismissed The Devils for its explicit content, it won awards for Best Director at the 33rd Venice International Film Festival, as well as from the U.S. National Board of Review. Although a director's cut of the film was given its first theatrical release in the UK in 2002, it has not been made officially available on home media, and releases of edited versions on DVD and streaming services remain scant. A 4K restoration of the director's cut debuted at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, with a theatrical re-release through the Warner Bros. Clockwork label to follow. Film scholarship primarily focuses on themes of sexual repression and political corruption. The Devils has been recognized as one of the most controversial films of all time by numerous publications and critics, and remained banned in Finland until 2001. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Don't Deliver Us from Evil (1971)
The Exorcist (1973)
Die Screaming, Marianne (1971)
The Devil Is a Woman (1974)
The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
Night Hair Child (1971)
The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
See No Evil (1971)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.