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The Devils (film)
Encyclopedia
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama directed by Ken Russell
and starring Oliver Reed
and Vanessa Redgrave
. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun
by Aldous Huxley
, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils
by John Whiting
, also based on Huxley's book. The film is a dramatised historical account of the rise and fall of Urbain Grandier
, a 17th century French
priest executed for witchcraft
following the supposed possessions of Loudun
.
The Devils faced harsh reaction from national film rating systems, due to its disturbingly violent, sexual, and religious content; it was banned in several countries, and heavily edited for release in others. The film has never received a release in its original, uncut form in various countries, and is largely unavailable in the home video
market.
In 17th Century France, Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue
) is influencing Louis XIII
(Graham Armitage) in an attempt to gain further power. He convinces Louis that the fortifications of cities throughout France should be demolished to prevent Protestants
from uprising. Louis agrees, but forbids Richelieu from carrying out demolitions in the town of Loudun
, having made a promise to its governor not to damage the town.
Meanwhile, in Loudun, the Governor has died, leaving control of the city to Urbain Grandier
(Oliver Reed
), a dissolute and proud but popular and well-regarded priest. He is having an affair with a relative of Father Canon Mignon (Murray Melvin
), another priest in the town, unaware that the deformed, neurotic Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave
), head of the local convent, is sexually obsessed with him. She asks for Grandier to become the convent's new confessor. Grandier secretly marries another woman, Madeline De Brou (Gemma Jones
), but news of this reaches Sister Jeanne, driving her to insanity (this includes an attack where Sister Jeanne viciously attacks Madeleine when the latter brings back a book that the former had lent her, and Sister Jeanne accuses Madeleine of being a "fornicator" and "sacrilegious bitch", among other things).
Baron Jean de Laubardemont (Dudley Sutton
) arrives with orders to demolish the city, overriding Grandier's orders to stop. Grandier summons the town's soldiers and forces Laubardemont to back down pending the arrival of an order for the demolition from King Louis. Grandier departs Loudun to visit the King. In the meantime, Sister Jeanne is informed by Father Mignon that he is to be her new confessor. She informs him of Grandier's marriage and affairs, and also inadvertently accuses Grandier of witchcraft and of possessing her. Mignon relays this information to Laubardemont. In the process, the information is boiled down to just the claim that Grandier has bewitched the convent and has had commerce with the Devil. With Grandier away from Loudon, Laubardemont and Mignon decide to find evidence against him.
Laubardemont summons the lunatic inquisitor Father Pierre Barre (Michael Gothard
), a "professional witch-hunter", whose interrogations actually involve depraved acts of "exorcism", including the forced administration of enema
s to his victims. Sister Jeanne claims that Grandier has bewitched her, and the other nuns do the same. A public exorcism erupts in the town, in which nuns remove their clothes and enter a state of religious frenzy. Duke Henri de Condé (actually king Louis in disguise) arrives, claiming to be carrying a holy relic which can remove the "devils" possessing the nuns. Father Barre "exorcises" the nuns with it. They appear as though they have been cured – until Condé/Louis reveals the case allegedly containing the relic to be empty. Despite this proof that the possessions and the exorcisms are a sham, both continue unabated, eventually descending into a massed orgy in which the nuns sexually assault and desecrate
a statue of Christ
.
In the midst of the chaos, Grandier and his wife return and are immediately arrested. After being given a ridiculous show trial, Grandier is shaven and tortured — although at his execution he eventually manages to convince Mignon that he is innocent. The judges, clearly under orders from Laubardemont, sentence Grandier to death by burning at the stake. Laubardemont has also obtained permission to destroy the city's fortifications. Despite pressure on Grandier to confess to the trumped-up charges, he refuses. He is then taken to be burnt at the stake. His executioner promises to strangle him rather than let him suffer the agonising death by fire that he would otherwise experience. However, the overzealous Barre starts the fire himself, and Mignon, now visibly panic-stricken about the possibility of Grandier's innocence, pulls the noose tight before it can be used to strangle the priest. As Grandier burns, Laubardemont gives the order for explosive charges to be set off and the city walls are blown up, causing the people to flee.
After the execution, Barre leaves Loudun to continue his witch-hunting activities elsewhere in the southwest of France. Laubardemont informs Sister Jeanne that Mignon has been put away in an asylum for claiming that Grandier was innocent (the explanation given is that he is demented), and that "with no signed confession to prove otherwise, everyone has the same opinion". He gives her one of Grandier's charred bones and leaves. Sister Jeanne, now completely broken, masturbates pathetically with the charred femur. Grandier's wife, having been released is seen walking away from the ruined city as the film ends.
it was banned by 17 local authorities, and everywhere attracted many scathing reviews. Judith Crist
called it a "grand fiesta for sadists and perverts", while Derek Malcolm
called it "a very bad film indeed." However, it won the award for Best Director-Foreign Film in the Venice Film Festival
, despite being banned in the country. The United States
National Board of Review awarded Ken Russell best director for The Devils and his next film, The Boy Friend
. In 2002, when 100 film makers and critics were asked to cite what they considered to be the ten most important films ever made, The Devils featured in the lists submitted by critic Mark Kermode
and director Alex Cox
.
The film's combination of religious themes and imagery combined with violent and sexual content was a test for the British Board of Film Censors
that at the time was being lobbied by socially conservative pressure groups such as the Festival of Light
.
In order to earn a British "X" certificate (over 18s only), Russell made minor cuts to the more explicit nudity (mainly in the cathedral and convent sequences), details from the first exorcism (mainly that which indicated an anal insertion) and removed some violent detail (notably the crushing of Grandier's legs and latter stages of burning at the stake). However, the biggest cuts were made by the studio itself, prior to submission to the BBFC, removing two scenes in their entirety, notably a two-and-a-half-minute sequence of crazed naked nuns sexually assaulting a statue of Christ and about half of a latter scene with Sister Jeanne masturbating with the charred tibia
of Grandier at the end of the film. However, even in its released form, the film was considerably stronger in detail than most films released prior to that point.
Its fate in the United States was even more stringent, with a further set of cuts made to even more of the nudity with some key scenes (including Sister Jeanne's crazed visions, exorcism and the climactic burning) shorn of the more explicit detail. The film was released in 'X' form (over 21s) during its initial US theatrical release, but later resubmitted and recut to the MPAA and garnered an R-rating after another two minutes were removed (further removals of nudity and violent detail plus much of the second vision of Sister Jeanne).
All of this material was presumed lost or destroyed until critic Mark Kermode found the complete "Rape of Christ" sequence and several other deleted scenes (including the fuller version of Sister Jeanne's masturbation scene as well as additional sequences of naked nuns lounging around the convent and a bawdy dance performed by travelling players mimicking the bizarre events whilst Grandier is being led to his death) in 2002. The artist Adam Chodzko
made a video work in which he traced and interviewed many of the actresses who had played the nuns during the orgy scene. Although some material may have been lost forever, the NFT was able to show The Devils in the fullest possible state in 2004. This uncut director's version premiered at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
in March 2006.
The British version remains the most complete one in circulation, although there are long promised plans to release the uncut director's version on mass-market DVD. On April 25, 2007, The Devils was shown for a second time in its fullest possible state to a group of students and staff at the University of Southampton
, followed by a question and answer session with the director, moderated by Mark Kermode. It was the first significant event to take place during Russell's tenure as a visiting fellow at the University of Southampton in the English and film departments, April 2007 to March 2008.
On August 29, 2010, The Devils was shown at the Bloor Street Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, preceded by a question and answer session with director Ken Russell.
On July 19, 2010, the film was screened for the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal at the Hall theater, preceded by a Q & A session with director Ken Russell. It was screened again on July 28.
An NTSC
-format DVD edition of the R-rated version on the Angel Digital label appeared in 2005, with the so-called 'Rape of Christ' scene and other censored footage restored, and featuring a documentary
by Mark Kermode
about the film, as well as interviews with Russell, some of the surviving cast members, and a member of the BBFC who participated in the original censorship of the film. The consensus among those who have purchased this edition is that video quality of the DVD is only to the standard of a recording from television and may be a recording from the UK Channel 4
screening of 25 November 2002.
DVDActive.com announced on February 28, 2008 that The Devils would finally be released on DVD by Warner Home Video in the U.S. on May 20, 2008, in the UK theatrical (111 min) version, but without additional material. However, a day later, a DVDActive forum post asserted that the release had been dropped from Warner's schedule. Warner Bros released The Devils on DVD in Spain in the summer of 2010. However, it was the heavily cut US version. Despite this, the US R-rated version surfaced again on December 31, 2010 as a Euro Cult DVD, with the so-called 'Rape of Christ' scene and some censored footage restored, and with the accompaniment of the above mentioned interviews as well as commentary by the censors and the US trailer. This claimed-to-be 'uncut' NTSC Euro Cult DVD as available in the US during 2011 actually plays for under 109 minutes even though the packaging claims 111 minutes; it does not include all the missing footage. The quality is acceptable but definition is poor, as in a transfer from domestic videotape. The original widescreen ratio of the film at 2.45:1 Panavision, has also heretofore not been released on any format. Most DVD formats present a cropped 1.78:1 image.
In June 2010, Warner Bros. quietly released The Devils in a 108-minute version for purchase and rental through the iTunes Store
, but the title was removed without explanation after about three days and remained unavailable until reappearing in April 2011.
The British Film Institute have announced they will release the UK-theatrical Version (111 minutes) on DVD in March 2012. They were able to license the film from Warner Brothers, but are not permitted to use the 2004 restoration. Also, they are only allowed to release it on DVD, not on Blu-Ray.
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
and starring Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
and Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun
The Devils of Loudun
The Devils of Loudun is a 1952 non-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley. It is a historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria which occurred in 17th century France surrounding unexplained events that took place in the small town of...
by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils
The Devils (play)
The Devils is a play, commissioned by Sir Peter Hall for the Royal Shakespeare Company and written by British dramatist John Whiting, based on Aldous Huxley's factual historical novel, The Devils of Loudun.-Performance:...
by John Whiting
John Whiting
John Robert Whiting was an English dramatist and critic.Born in Salisbury, England, he was educated at Taunton School. His works include:* A Penny for a Song. A play * Marching Song. A play...
, also based on Huxley's book. The film is a dramatised historical account of the rise and fall of Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun Possessions." The circumstances of Father Grandier's trial and execution have attracted the attention of writers Alexandre Dumas, père and...
, a 17th century French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
priest executed for witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
following the supposed possessions of Loudun
Loudun Possessions
The Loudun possessions were a group of supposed demonic possessions which took place in Loudun, France, in 1634. This case involved the Ursuline nuns of Loudun who were allegedly visited and possessed by demons: Father Urbain Grandier was convicted of the crimes of sorcery, evil spells, and the...
.
The Devils faced harsh reaction from national film rating systems, due to its disturbingly violent, sexual, and religious content; it was banned in several countries, and heavily edited for release in others. The film has never received a release in its original, uncut form in various countries, and is largely unavailable in the home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
market.
Plot
Note: This plot is for the non-censored version of the film. Some scenes described below are omitted from other versions.In 17th Century France, Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue
Christopher Logue
Christopher Logue, CBE is an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. He has also written for the theatre and cinema as well as acting in a number of films. His two screenplays are Savage Messiah and The End of Arthur's Marriage...
) is influencing Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
(Graham Armitage) in an attempt to gain further power. He convinces Louis that the fortifications of cities throughout France should be demolished to prevent Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
from uprising. Louis agrees, but forbids Richelieu from carrying out demolitions in the town of Loudun
Loudun
Loudun is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars...
, having made a promise to its governor not to damage the town.
Meanwhile, in Loudun, the Governor has died, leaving control of the city to Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun Possessions." The circumstances of Father Grandier's trial and execution have attracted the attention of writers Alexandre Dumas, père and...
(Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
), a dissolute and proud but popular and well-regarded priest. He is having an affair with a relative of Father Canon Mignon (Murray Melvin
Murray Melvin
Murray Melvin is an English stage and film actor.The son of Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred Driscoll, he is best known for having created the role of Geoffrey in the Shelagh Delaney play, A Taste of Honey, a role which he recreated opposite Rita Tushingham in the 1961 film of the same name...
), another priest in the town, unaware that the deformed, neurotic Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
), head of the local convent, is sexually obsessed with him. She asks for Grandier to become the convent's new confessor. Grandier secretly marries another woman, Madeline De Brou (Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
), but news of this reaches Sister Jeanne, driving her to insanity (this includes an attack where Sister Jeanne viciously attacks Madeleine when the latter brings back a book that the former had lent her, and Sister Jeanne accuses Madeleine of being a "fornicator" and "sacrilegious bitch", among other things).
Baron Jean de Laubardemont (Dudley Sutton
Dudley Sutton
-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
) arrives with orders to demolish the city, overriding Grandier's orders to stop. Grandier summons the town's soldiers and forces Laubardemont to back down pending the arrival of an order for the demolition from King Louis. Grandier departs Loudun to visit the King. In the meantime, Sister Jeanne is informed by Father Mignon that he is to be her new confessor. She informs him of Grandier's marriage and affairs, and also inadvertently accuses Grandier of witchcraft and of possessing her. Mignon relays this information to Laubardemont. In the process, the information is boiled down to just the claim that Grandier has bewitched the convent and has had commerce with the Devil. With Grandier away from Loudon, Laubardemont and Mignon decide to find evidence against him.
Laubardemont summons the lunatic inquisitor Father Pierre Barre (Michael Gothard
Michael Gothard
Michael Alan Gothard was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Kai in the television series Arthur of the Britons and for his role as the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.-Early life:Michael Gothard was born in London in 1939...
), a "professional witch-hunter", whose interrogations actually involve depraved acts of "exorcism", including the forced administration of enema
Enema
An enema is the procedure of introducing liquids into the rectum and colon via the anus. The increasing volume of the liquid causes rapid expansion of the lower intestinal tract, often resulting in very uncomfortable bloating, cramping, powerful peristalsis, a feeling of extreme urgency and...
s to his victims. Sister Jeanne claims that Grandier has bewitched her, and the other nuns do the same. A public exorcism erupts in the town, in which nuns remove their clothes and enter a state of religious frenzy. Duke Henri de Condé (actually king Louis in disguise) arrives, claiming to be carrying a holy relic which can remove the "devils" possessing the nuns. Father Barre "exorcises" the nuns with it. They appear as though they have been cured – until Condé/Louis reveals the case allegedly containing the relic to be empty. Despite this proof that the possessions and the exorcisms are a sham, both continue unabated, eventually descending into a massed orgy in which the nuns sexually assault and desecrate
Sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things...
a statue of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
.
In the midst of the chaos, Grandier and his wife return and are immediately arrested. After being given a ridiculous show trial, Grandier is shaven and tortured — although at his execution he eventually manages to convince Mignon that he is innocent. The judges, clearly under orders from Laubardemont, sentence Grandier to death by burning at the stake. Laubardemont has also obtained permission to destroy the city's fortifications. Despite pressure on Grandier to confess to the trumped-up charges, he refuses. He is then taken to be burnt at the stake. His executioner promises to strangle him rather than let him suffer the agonising death by fire that he would otherwise experience. However, the overzealous Barre starts the fire himself, and Mignon, now visibly panic-stricken about the possibility of Grandier's innocence, pulls the noose tight before it can be used to strangle the priest. As Grandier burns, Laubardemont gives the order for explosive charges to be set off and the city walls are blown up, causing the people to flee.
After the execution, Barre leaves Loudun to continue his witch-hunting activities elsewhere in the southwest of France. Laubardemont informs Sister Jeanne that Mignon has been put away in an asylum for claiming that Grandier was innocent (the explanation given is that he is demented), and that "with no signed confession to prove otherwise, everyone has the same opinion". He gives her one of Grandier's charred bones and leaves. Sister Jeanne, now completely broken, masturbates pathetically with the charred femur. Grandier's wife, having been released is seen walking away from the ruined city as the film ends.
Cast
- Oliver ReedOliver ReedOliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
as Urbain Grandier - Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
as Sister Jeanne - Dudley SuttonDudley Sutton-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
as Baron de Laubardemont - Max AdrianMax AdrianMax Adrian was a Northern Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre....
as Ibert - Gemma JonesGemma JonesGemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
as Madeleine - Murray MelvinMurray MelvinMurray Melvin is an English stage and film actor.The son of Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred Driscoll, he is best known for having created the role of Geoffrey in the Shelagh Delaney play, A Taste of Honey, a role which he recreated opposite Rita Tushingham in the 1961 film of the same name...
as Mignon - Judith Paris as Sister Judith
- Catherine Willmer as Sister Catherine
- John WoodvineJohn WoodvineJohn Woodvine is an English stage and screen actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.-Early life:...
as Trincant - Christopher LogueChristopher LogueChristopher Logue, CBE is an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. He has also written for the theatre and cinema as well as acting in a number of films. His two screenplays are Savage Messiah and The End of Arthur's Marriage...
as Cardinal Richelieu - Kenneth ColleyKenneth ColleyKenneth Colley is an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
as Legrand - Graham Armitage as Louis XIII
- Brian MurphyBrian Murphy (actor)Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...
as Adam - Georgina HaleGeorgina HaleGeorgina Hale is an award-winning English actress notable for many stage, film and television appearances; often in the works of director Ken Russell and writer Simon Gray...
as Philippe - Andrew FauldsAndrew FauldsAndrew Matthew William Faulds was a British actor and politician.Born in Isoko, Tanganyika , to missionary parents, Faulds married Bunty Whitfield in 1945...
as Rangier - Michael GothardMichael GothardMichael Alan Gothard was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Kai in the television series Arthur of the Britons and for his role as the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.-Early life:Michael Gothard was born in London in 1939...
as Father Barre
Reaction
Since the time of its release, the film has caused enormous controversy. In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
it was banned by 17 local authorities, and everywhere attracted many scathing reviews. Judith Crist
Judith Crist
Judith Crist is an American film critic. She appeared regularly on the Today show from 1964-1973 and has appeared in one film, Woody Allen's Stardust Memories...
called it a "grand fiesta for sadists and perverts", while Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm is a British film critic and historian.Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He worked for several decades as a film critic for The Guardian, having previously been an amateur jockey and the paper's first horse racing correspondent. In 1977, he was a member of...
called it "a very bad film indeed." However, it won the award for Best Director-Foreign Film in the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, despite being banned in the country. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Board of Review awarded Ken Russell best director for The Devils and his next film, The Boy Friend
The Boy Friend
The Boy Friend is a musical by Sandy Wilson. The musical's original 1954 London production ran for 2,078 performances, making it briefly the third-longest running musical in West End or Broadway history until it was surpassed by Salad Days...
. In 2002, when 100 film makers and critics were asked to cite what they considered to be the ten most important films ever made, The Devils featured in the lists submitted by critic Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
and director Alex Cox
Alex Cox
Alexander Cox is a British film director, screenwriter, nonfiction author and sometime actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach to scripts...
.
Censorship
The Devils was a highly controversial film with a rough history of censorship issues; its commentary on religious institutions such as the Catholic Church and organized religion in general stirred up controversy from censorship and ratings boards around the world. This, combined with its graphic depictions of violence, accentuated the film's uncompromising subject matter.The film's combination of religious themes and imagery combined with violent and sexual content was a test for the British Board of Film Censors
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
that at the time was being lobbied by socially conservative pressure groups such as the Festival of Light
Nationwide Festival of Light
The Nationwide Festival of Light was a grassroots movement formed by British Christians concerned about the development of the permissive society in the UK at the end of the 1960s....
.
In order to earn a British "X" certificate (over 18s only), Russell made minor cuts to the more explicit nudity (mainly in the cathedral and convent sequences), details from the first exorcism (mainly that which indicated an anal insertion) and removed some violent detail (notably the crushing of Grandier's legs and latter stages of burning at the stake). However, the biggest cuts were made by the studio itself, prior to submission to the BBFC, removing two scenes in their entirety, notably a two-and-a-half-minute sequence of crazed naked nuns sexually assaulting a statue of Christ and about half of a latter scene with Sister Jeanne masturbating with the charred tibia
Tibia
The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
of Grandier at the end of the film. However, even in its released form, the film was considerably stronger in detail than most films released prior to that point.
Its fate in the United States was even more stringent, with a further set of cuts made to even more of the nudity with some key scenes (including Sister Jeanne's crazed visions, exorcism and the climactic burning) shorn of the more explicit detail. The film was released in 'X' form (over 21s) during its initial US theatrical release, but later resubmitted and recut to the MPAA and garnered an R-rating after another two minutes were removed (further removals of nudity and violent detail plus much of the second vision of Sister Jeanne).
All of this material was presumed lost or destroyed until critic Mark Kermode found the complete "Rape of Christ" sequence and several other deleted scenes (including the fuller version of Sister Jeanne's masturbation scene as well as additional sequences of naked nuns lounging around the convent and a bawdy dance performed by travelling players mimicking the bizarre events whilst Grandier is being led to his death) in 2002. The artist Adam Chodzko
Adam Chodzko
Adam Chodzko is a contemporary British multi-media artist, exhibiting internationally.-Work:Adam Chodzko was born in London, England...
made a video work in which he traced and interviewed many of the actresses who had played the nuns during the orgy scene. Although some material may have been lost forever, the NFT was able to show The Devils in the fullest possible state in 2004. This uncut director's version premiered at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival , previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, every year in March...
in March 2006.
The British version remains the most complete one in circulation, although there are long promised plans to release the uncut director's version on mass-market DVD. On April 25, 2007, The Devils was shown for a second time in its fullest possible state to a group of students and staff at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
, followed by a question and answer session with the director, moderated by Mark Kermode. It was the first significant event to take place during Russell's tenure as a visiting fellow at the University of Southampton in the English and film departments, April 2007 to March 2008.
On August 29, 2010, The Devils was shown at the Bloor Street Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, preceded by a question and answer session with director Ken Russell.
On July 19, 2010, the film was screened for the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal at the Hall theater, preceded by a Q & A session with director Ken Russell. It was screened again on July 28.
An NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
-format DVD edition of the R-rated version on the Angel Digital label appeared in 2005, with the so-called 'Rape of Christ' scene and other censored footage restored, and featuring a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
about the film, as well as interviews with Russell, some of the surviving cast members, and a member of the BBFC who participated in the original censorship of the film. The consensus among those who have purchased this edition is that video quality of the DVD is only to the standard of a recording from television and may be a recording from the UK Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
screening of 25 November 2002.
DVDActive.com announced on February 28, 2008 that The Devils would finally be released on DVD by Warner Home Video in the U.S. on May 20, 2008, in the UK theatrical (111 min) version, but without additional material. However, a day later, a DVDActive forum post asserted that the release had been dropped from Warner's schedule. Warner Bros released The Devils on DVD in Spain in the summer of 2010. However, it was the heavily cut US version. Despite this, the US R-rated version surfaced again on December 31, 2010 as a Euro Cult DVD, with the so-called 'Rape of Christ' scene and some censored footage restored, and with the accompaniment of the above mentioned interviews as well as commentary by the censors and the US trailer. This claimed-to-be 'uncut' NTSC Euro Cult DVD as available in the US during 2011 actually plays for under 109 minutes even though the packaging claims 111 minutes; it does not include all the missing footage. The quality is acceptable but definition is poor, as in a transfer from domestic videotape. The original widescreen ratio of the film at 2.45:1 Panavision, has also heretofore not been released on any format. Most DVD formats present a cropped 1.78:1 image.
In June 2010, Warner Bros. quietly released The Devils in a 108-minute version for purchase and rental through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, but the title was removed without explanation after about three days and remained unavailable until reappearing in April 2011.
The British Film Institute have announced they will release the UK-theatrical Version (111 minutes) on DVD in March 2012. They were able to license the film from Warner Brothers, but are not permitted to use the 2004 restoration. Also, they are only allowed to release it on DVD, not on Blu-Ray.
See also
- Loudun possessionsLoudun PossessionsThe Loudun possessions were a group of supposed demonic possessions which took place in Loudun, France, in 1634. This case involved the Ursuline nuns of Loudun who were allegedly visited and possessed by demons: Father Urbain Grandier was convicted of the crimes of sorcery, evil spells, and the...
- Mother Joan of the AngelsMother Joan of the AngelsMother Joan of the Angels is a 1961 drama film on demonic possession, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz...
– A 1961 Polish film based on the Loudon incidents - The CrucibleThe CrucibleThe Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...