KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS © Warner Bros. Clockwork
Ken Russell’s The Devils: A look back at the scandal surrounding its release
To the great delight of film lovers, this year, Cannes Classics celebrates the restored, uncut version of The Devils, the most scandalous film by Ken Russell, the filmmaker who is well known for his provocative style. Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed play the role of a possessed nun and a priest accused of heresy, respectively. When it was released, The Devils certainly caused a scandal. Let’s take a look back at 1971.
Eccentric, unbridled and very representative of the excessiveness that marked some aspects of the British film industry in the 1970s, The Devils tells the story of the Devils of Loudun. Set in France in the 17th century, this witch hunt launched by Richelieu targeting Father Urbain Grandier, also involved demon-possessed nuns.
Shortly after Women in Love, which explored the unconventional love of a threesome, Ken Russell put all of his energy and extravagance into what would be his masterpiece. From over-the-top set designs by Derek Jarman, to orgy scenes, to blasphemy and torture, it had everything needed to cause outrage. And that it did: the film’s release caused a scandal. If the British Board of Film Censors (British Board of Film Classification) sought the least damage possible, some scenes — particularly the famous orgy scene with the nuns in the church — had to be cut, and the film was forced to be released with an X rating in England and in the U.S.
As for the critics, they were mostly outraged by the decadence of The Devils, as Robert Chazal spoke about in France-Soir: “Ken Russell gets carried away until he reaches a pathological peak. There is no waning in this rising tide of debauchery, hysteria, cruelty, torture and horror. We want to shout for mercy, but there is no sign of it.” However, Hélène Tierchant from Positif takes a different stance: “The Devils goes further than Women in Love or Music Lovers. Further also at its core. The Devils is the exaltation of man.”
The uncut version of the film is being presented at Cannes Classics.
A presentation by Warner Bros. Clockwork.
New 4K restoration of the original camera negative. Sound remastered from the original Composite 35mm Magnetic Film, transferred to 96 kHz. Sound and image restoration performed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services, Water Tower Color, and Warner Bros. Sound.
In the presence of Mark Kermode, Ken Russell’s biographer, and the wife of Ken Russell, academic and researcher Elisabeth Russell.
