When Ken Russell’s provocative religious horror “The Devils” became available to stream for the first time last week, cinephiles the world over were re-introduced to one of the greatest under appreciated films of all time — one that is surprisingly poignant in our current state of political unease. Infamous for its controversial release (the film was banned in several countries and received an X rating only after Russell cut a handful of the most incendiary scenes), the 1971 epic offers a stylish and scathing parable about the dangerous ways that the powerful can exploit religious zeal to stay that way.
Based on the true story of the trial of Urbain Grandier, a Catholic priest who was executed in 1634 on charges of witchcraft, Russell adapted “The Devils” from John Whiting’s 1960 play and Aldous Huxley’s 1952 novel, The Devils of Loudun. Russell digressed stylistically from his source material, taking a contemporary approach...
Based on the true story of the trial of Urbain Grandier, a Catholic priest who was executed in 1634 on charges of witchcraft, Russell adapted “The Devils” from John Whiting’s 1960 play and Aldous Huxley’s 1952 novel, The Devils of Loudun. Russell digressed stylistically from his source material, taking a contemporary approach...
- 3/22/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Assessing the Legacy of Ken Russell’s Masterpiece 45 Years Later.
Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) holds the distinct honor of simultaneously being the most controversial and the most banned film of all time. It is a film lauded by film critics as a masterpiece, one that routinely tops Must See and Best Film lists, and yet it is still largely unavailable on DVD and has never been released without the interference of heavy handed studio censorship and edits. It is a film that critics encourage viewers to watch via an illegal stream, simply because it must be seen. So what is it about The Devils that makes it so beloved by everyone but the studio holding the key to its release?
The History
The Devils is based on The Devils of Loudun, a 1952 book by Aldous Huxley, as well as The Devils, a 1960 play by John Whiting. All three tell the story of the 1632 possession of 27 nuns...
Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) holds the distinct honor of simultaneously being the most controversial and the most banned film of all time. It is a film lauded by film critics as a masterpiece, one that routinely tops Must See and Best Film lists, and yet it is still largely unavailable on DVD and has never been released without the interference of heavy handed studio censorship and edits. It is a film that critics encourage viewers to watch via an illegal stream, simply because it must be seen. So what is it about The Devils that makes it so beloved by everyone but the studio holding the key to its release?
The History
The Devils is based on The Devils of Loudun, a 1952 book by Aldous Huxley, as well as The Devils, a 1960 play by John Whiting. All three tell the story of the 1632 possession of 27 nuns...
- 7/18/2016
- by Jamie Righetti
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Sympathy for The Devils: The Suppression of Ken Russell’s Delirious, Incomparable Masterpiece
Despite the pronounced pedigree of its origins, Ken Russell’s glorious 1971 film The Devils is still mysteriously unavailable in the United States. An infamously plagued reception continues to usurp deserved attention away from its subversive content, though a growing legion of champions within the critical arena which had once sacrilegiously abandoned it has resulted in its growing recuperation.
Based, very loosely on a 1952 novel by literary giant Aldous Huxley depicting the downfall of 17th century French priest Urbain Grandier, it relates an incidence of hysteria and mob mentality run amok in the totalitarian paradigm of the Catholic Church. Russell, his project backed by none other than Warner Bros. studio itself, crafted an off-putting extravaganza of a film (shall we say, making Huxley’s text more Grandier) depicting events decried as pure blasphemy.
Wit unabashedly blunt sexual...
Despite the pronounced pedigree of its origins, Ken Russell’s glorious 1971 film The Devils is still mysteriously unavailable in the United States. An infamously plagued reception continues to usurp deserved attention away from its subversive content, though a growing legion of champions within the critical arena which had once sacrilegiously abandoned it has resulted in its growing recuperation.
Based, very loosely on a 1952 novel by literary giant Aldous Huxley depicting the downfall of 17th century French priest Urbain Grandier, it relates an incidence of hysteria and mob mentality run amok in the totalitarian paradigm of the Catholic Church. Russell, his project backed by none other than Warner Bros. studio itself, crafted an off-putting extravaganza of a film (shall we say, making Huxley’s text more Grandier) depicting events decried as pure blasphemy.
Wit unabashedly blunt sexual...
- 10/10/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
What makes films about religion so interesting is the way some manage to tread a line between support and criticism, while some are vehemently anti-religion or pro-religion. When all is said and done, it’s up to the audience to decide whether or not the film (or the faith portrayed) is a respectful or perceptive study on faith and the dogmatic principles that may or may not surround it. Not every religious film is uplifting. In fact, there are plenty of non-religious films that do a better job of building viewers’ faith. But that’s another list for another time.
30. Beyond the Hills (2012)
Directed by Cristian Mingiu
Five years after his punishing 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Christian Mingiu delivered an interesting look at a lifelong friendship formed at an orphanage. Beyond the Hills tells the story of two women, based on non-fiction novels by Tatiana Niculescu Bran: Alina (Cristina Flutur) has fled to Germany,...
30. Beyond the Hills (2012)
Directed by Cristian Mingiu
Five years after his punishing 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Christian Mingiu delivered an interesting look at a lifelong friendship formed at an orphanage. Beyond the Hills tells the story of two women, based on non-fiction novels by Tatiana Niculescu Bran: Alina (Cristina Flutur) has fled to Germany,...
- 4/7/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
The second part of the first Reel Ink round-up of recent books on film includes the biography of a sometime Hollywood rebel, the history of a now forgotten British studio, a look at a film that remains one of the most controversial ever made in the UK, and a hugely compelling history of cinema by the great David Thomson.
Time was against me so I haven’t been able to get through all the reading goodness I’ve acquired in the past eight weeks or so, but I’ll catch up in January. Happy New Year!
It’s official: Dennis Hopper was an unrepentant douchebag off screen as well as on. The predominant impression that Peter L. Winkler’s Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of A Hollywood Rebel (The Robson Press) leaves one with is that Hopper was a deluded, misogynistic gasbag, a moderate talent who likely suffered from...
Time was against me so I haven’t been able to get through all the reading goodness I’ve acquired in the past eight weeks or so, but I’ll catch up in January. Happy New Year!
It’s official: Dennis Hopper was an unrepentant douchebag off screen as well as on. The predominant impression that Peter L. Winkler’s Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of A Hollywood Rebel (The Robson Press) leaves one with is that Hopper was a deluded, misogynistic gasbag, a moderate talent who likely suffered from...
- 1/3/2013
- by Ian Gilchrist
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The British Board of Film Classification is cinema’s answer to the Pmrc. In the 1980s, the organization was responsible for deeming various unsavory and violent titles “video nasties” thereby giving them a certain cache for the horror-minded and making them that much more desirable. Oh, and providing subject matter for The Damned’s best song.
The BBFC has a long and colorful history of slicing and dicing movies to rid them of the more graphic parts, thereby protecting the British public from what the BBFC considered corrupting images. The Guardian has a fascinating, and Nsfw, slideshow chronicling some of the classic films that were cut or censored. Here's a sampling of their slideshow, including Ken Russell’s classic tale of sexy nunnery:
The Devils, 1971
John Whiting and Aldous Huxley provided the source material for Ken Russell’s incendiary masterpiece – a visceral account of the supposed mass possession of Ursuline nuns in 17th century France.
The BBFC has a long and colorful history of slicing and dicing movies to rid them of the more graphic parts, thereby protecting the British public from what the BBFC considered corrupting images. The Guardian has a fascinating, and Nsfw, slideshow chronicling some of the classic films that were cut or censored. Here's a sampling of their slideshow, including Ken Russell’s classic tale of sexy nunnery:
The Devils, 1971
John Whiting and Aldous Huxley provided the source material for Ken Russell’s incendiary masterpiece – a visceral account of the supposed mass possession of Ursuline nuns in 17th century France.
- 11/20/2012
- by Sara Castillo
- FEARnet
By Lee Pfeiffer
Count this one among the most-requested DVDs to come from the Warner Archive. Young Cassidy is based on Irish poet Sean O'Casey's multi-volume autobiography. (O'Casey often used the pseudonym "John "O'Casey" in in these works that chronicle his life in Ireland.) The film was started by director John Ford but when the elderly director fell ill, Jack Cardiff took over. The production bears plenty of hallmarks of a Ford production, but under Cardiff's direction the it has an appropriately harder edge and less sentimentality than it probably would have had if Ford had completed the film. Rod Taylor gives another fine performance as the titular character, a charismatic, roughshod young man who resents being born into poverty under the heel of the British government with scant opportunity for upward mobility. Although Cassidy can drink and brawl with the best of them, he is an intellectual at heart.
Count this one among the most-requested DVDs to come from the Warner Archive. Young Cassidy is based on Irish poet Sean O'Casey's multi-volume autobiography. (O'Casey often used the pseudonym "John "O'Casey" in in these works that chronicle his life in Ireland.) The film was started by director John Ford but when the elderly director fell ill, Jack Cardiff took over. The production bears plenty of hallmarks of a Ford production, but under Cardiff's direction the it has an appropriately harder edge and less sentimentality than it probably would have had if Ford had completed the film. Rod Taylor gives another fine performance as the titular character, a charismatic, roughshod young man who resents being born into poverty under the heel of the British government with scant opportunity for upward mobility. Although Cassidy can drink and brawl with the best of them, he is an intellectual at heart.
- 9/25/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
(Ken Russell, 1971, BFI, 18)
Ken Russell's best work was done by the early 1970s. First his poetic TV essays on Elgar and Delius. Then, for the big screen, his bravely flamboyant adaptation of Lawrence's Women in Love and this sensational adaptation of John Whiting's 1961 RSC play, based on The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley's remarkable 1952 study of how the church and state conspired to exploit an apparent case of demonic possession in 17th-century France in order to destroy Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic libertine who challenged their authority. The censors, the film's Hollywood producers and the tabloid press reacted to the film much the way the French authorities did to Grandier in 1634, and this excellent double-disc box contains the longest version yet released of this much cut movie, accompanied by a commentary (by Mark Kermode, Russell and others) and a documentary by Kermode and Paul Joyce that sets...
Ken Russell's best work was done by the early 1970s. First his poetic TV essays on Elgar and Delius. Then, for the big screen, his bravely flamboyant adaptation of Lawrence's Women in Love and this sensational adaptation of John Whiting's 1961 RSC play, based on The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley's remarkable 1952 study of how the church and state conspired to exploit an apparent case of demonic possession in 17th-century France in order to destroy Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic libertine who challenged their authority. The censors, the film's Hollywood producers and the tabloid press reacted to the film much the way the French authorities did to Grandier in 1634, and this excellent double-disc box contains the longest version yet released of this much cut movie, accompanied by a commentary (by Mark Kermode, Russell and others) and a documentary by Kermode and Paul Joyce that sets...
- 3/25/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Legendary British filmmaker Ken Russell, the notorious director famous for boundary-pushing films such as Women in Love, Altered States and The Devils, has died at 84 following a series of strokes.
For an artist who's been called an iconoclast, a maverick and a genius — one with a professed love for consciousness-altering drugs — Russell (born July 3, 1927) got his start in a fairly conventional manner. Following a stint in the service, Russell worked as a photojournalist to minor acclaim before going to work at the BBC as a director in 1959.
While at the BBC, Russell made a series of historical documentaries, still regarded as impressive for their impressionistic visual technique. This is the beginning of the flamboyant style that became synonymous with the name Ken Russell. Many of these television films focused on renowned composers, including Edward Elgar, Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. Interestingly, this is subject matter Russell would return to often...
For an artist who's been called an iconoclast, a maverick and a genius — one with a professed love for consciousness-altering drugs — Russell (born July 3, 1927) got his start in a fairly conventional manner. Following a stint in the service, Russell worked as a photojournalist to minor acclaim before going to work at the BBC as a director in 1959.
While at the BBC, Russell made a series of historical documentaries, still regarded as impressive for their impressionistic visual technique. This is the beginning of the flamboyant style that became synonymous with the name Ken Russell. Many of these television films focused on renowned composers, including Edward Elgar, Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. Interestingly, this is subject matter Russell would return to often...
- 11/28/2011
- by Theron
- Planet Fury
Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, The Devils Ken Russell, the director of Women in Love, The Boy Friend, and Altered States, died Sunday, Nov. 27, at the age of 84. Coincidentally, the British Film Institute, with much fanfare, announced several months ago that it would be releasing for the first time on DVD the X-rated version of Russell's The Devils, a mix of history, political intrigue, religious fanaticism, and unbridled sex in 17th-century France. The X-rated version is purported to be the uncut version of The Devils. Well, it's not, really. Adapted by Russell from John Whiting's 1960 play and Aldous Huxley's 1952 historical novel The Devils of Loudun, The Devils stars Vanessa Redgrave (in lieu of a recalcitrant Glenda Jackson) as Loudun's Ursuline convent head Sister Jeanne, a neurotic, physically deformed woman who is sexually obsessed with local priest Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed). Following a series of "possessions" in the convent, Grandier...
- 11/28/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Michael York dashes onto the cinematic scene as the blundering but very enthusiastic D'Artagnan in Richard Lester's hugely enjoyable period comic romp. The late great Roy Kinnear is the long-suffering vassal of aristocratic swordsmen Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Frank Finlay, whilst Raquel Welch and Faye Dunaway shine as heroine and villainess, respectively. Producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind filmed the following year's sequel back-to-back with this more successful first part, which approach they would revisit shortly for Superman and Superman II. Dumas with wit, energy and integrity.
Notable Quotable: "That man in his time has insulted me, broken my father's sword, had me clubbed to the ground, laid violent hands on the woman I love! He is inconvenient. "
Martin Anderson
Mike Nichols and Buck Henry achieve what seemed impossible, at least on the evidence of an earlier attempt: to transliterate the pitch-dark war humour of Joseph Heller into a cohesive,...
Notable Quotable: "That man in his time has insulted me, broken my father's sword, had me clubbed to the ground, laid violent hands on the woman I love! He is inconvenient. "
Martin Anderson
Mike Nichols and Buck Henry achieve what seemed impossible, at least on the evidence of an earlier attempt: to transliterate the pitch-dark war humour of Joseph Heller into a cohesive,...
- 5/12/2011
- Shadowlocked
It's been 40 years since Southampton boy Ken Russell filmed his notorious The Devils. Stuart Jeffries asks him about saints, sinners and the most frightening film he ever saw
Ken Russell is leaning on his stick outside the Pebble Beach restaurant in Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire, while his fourth wife parks the car. "Thanks for recognising me," he says as I shake his hand. It would be hard not to. Russell is wearing open-toed sandals, red trousers pulled up so far over his waist they're bearing down on his nipples and stripy shirt, while his big florid face is topped by a rage of grey hair.
But today Russell, now 84, has the air of a last-act Lear, or Tigger unbounced. Two weeks ago he suffered a stroke; this is only his second outing from the New Forest hospital where he's been recuperating. After greeting me, he looks rheumily out into the middle distance,...
Ken Russell is leaning on his stick outside the Pebble Beach restaurant in Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire, while his fourth wife parks the car. "Thanks for recognising me," he says as I shake his hand. It would be hard not to. Russell is wearing open-toed sandals, red trousers pulled up so far over his waist they're bearing down on his nipples and stripy shirt, while his big florid face is topped by a rage of grey hair.
But today Russell, now 84, has the air of a last-act Lear, or Tigger unbounced. Two weeks ago he suffered a stroke; this is only his second outing from the New Forest hospital where he's been recuperating. After greeting me, he looks rheumily out into the middle distance,...
- 4/28/2011
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.