Ken Russell’s "The Devils": Why Has This Blasphemous Dream Returned?

When I was at the Coolidge Corner Theater recently there was a huge line outside for two movies. The first was the highly anticipated documentary You Can See Everything, which I shared my impressions on earlier. The second was something far stranger– a rerelease of a film made in 1971. The film in question? Ken Russell's The Devils.

Based on Aldous Huxley's 1951 book The Devils of Loudun and the real-life story of a Roman Catholic priest, Urbain Grandier who was burned at the stake after being accused of seducing an entire convent of nuns. The Devils stars Oliver Reed as Father Grandier and while he loves his community, he also loves the women too much. Meanwhile, Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) has become obsessed with Grandier, an obsession that will be the undoing of them all.

When it was originally released all those years ago, it was scrutinized and censored. Russell made connections between Catholicism and the weaponization of religion for political gains. If the subject matter wasn't controversial enough the imagery in the film added another layer. As shared by Manon Durand for The Devils Cannes premier earlier this year,

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.

The UK had their own cuts to the film and the US had further. Few have ever seen the movie that Russell intended to release. It's become, ironically, a bit of a holy grail for film aficionados.