The Devils
1971
****
Director: Ken Russell
Cast: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian, Gemma Jones, Murray Melvin, Michael Gothard, Georgina Hale, Brian Murphy, Christopher Logue, Graham Armitage, John Woodvine, Andrew Faulds, Kenneth Colley, Judith Paris, Catherine Willmer, Iza Teller
In 1634, Urbain Grandier, a charismatic Catholic priest, takes a stand against Cardinal Richelieu and becomes a target of political and religious persecution. Sister Jeanne, the abbess of the local convent, becomes a key figure in the fabricated witchcraft trial. Upon its release, Ken Russell's unique and outlandish historical drama ran into trouble with the censors, and its most controversial scene, in which naked nuns ravish a Christ statue, was lost for years. The 2026 Director's Cut restores all the footage, allowing the lavish production design and costumes to really shine. The film's exploration of the consequences of mass hysteria, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and political corruption seems as topical as ever, but Russell's in-you-face filmmaking style, Peter Maxwell Davies' jingly score and some of the wild performances may require a second viewing to fully appreaciate. The screenplay is based on historical events, Aldous Huxley's 1952 nonfiction book The Devils of Loudun and John Whiting's 1960 play The Devils.
