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Synopsis

Cardinal Richelieu and his power-hungry entourage seek to take control of seventeenth-century France, but need to destroy Father Grandier – the priest who runs the fortified town that prevents them from exerting total control. So they seek to destroy him by setting him up as a warlock in control of a devil-possessed nunnery, the mother superior of which is sexually obsessed by him. A mad witch-hunter is brought in to gather evidence against the priest, ready for the big trial. —Niz

Director

Original

Ken Russell

British director Ken Russell started out training for a naval career, but after wartime RAF and merchant navy service he switched goals and went into ballet. Supplementing his dancing income as an actor and still photographer, Russell put together a handful of amateur films in the 50s before being hired as a staff director by the BBC. Russell made a name for himself (albeit a name not always spoken in reverence) during the first half of the ‘60s by directing a series of iconoclastic TV dramatizations of the lives of famous composers and dancers. And if he felt that the facts were getting in the way of his story, he’d make up his own — frequently bordering on the libelous. If he had any respect for the famous persons whose lives he probed, it was secondary to his fascination with revealing all warts and open wounds.

A film director since 1963, Russell burst into the international consciousness with 1969’s Women in Love, a hothouse version of the D.H. Lawrence novel. No director… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 37 wall posts.
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Coheed 2.0

26Apr12

The wait for the first DVD release worth it. Returning back to this, there is so much to say, but all I can think of now is that it is one of the best films from the United Kingdom.

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Jaspar Lamar Crabb

25Mar12

It's Ken Russell's masterpiece...there is so much going on. It's a nightmare, a brilliant political thriller and featuring first rate performances.

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Stephen Campbell

22Mar12

A demented masterpeiece from one of this countrys greatest directors

soiwaswrong

22Mar12

Obsession at its highest level!!! Too bad the version on youtube is not good... And again, the biggest bitch and hypocrites in history "church people"... Anyway, Ive been looking forward to this film and it did not disappoint me...

Stephen Campbell likes this

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Fans

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
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Daily Briefing. Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" to Open Cannes 2012

By David Hudson on March 9, 2012

Also: New Scope. London goes all out for Ken Russell. Nina Menkes in New York. Sean Lennon curates LA animation festival.

read article
W184

Daily Briefing. New Cineaste and More Fine Reading

By David Hudson on February 23, 2012

Also: Top animators sign on for an adaptation of Gibran’s The Prophet and the doc Liv and Ingmar is set for the fall.

read article
W184

Christopher Logue, 1926 - 2011

By David Hudson on December 8, 2011

The poet and playwright also wrote and performed for Ken Russell.

read article
W184

Ken Russell, 1927 - 2011

By David Hudson on November 28, 2011

The British director was 84.

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W184

Daily Viewing. From Ken Russell's "The Devils"

By David Hudson on November 15, 2011

The BFI announces the first-ever release on DVD.

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W184

"The New Year," Russellmania, "Gainsbourg," "Get Low," More

By David Hudson on July 30, 2010

Robert Duvall and Bill Murray, Kevin Kline and Paul Dano, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. None of them are in Brett Haley's The New Year, but they

read article
W184

Another Hole in the Head, Fantasia, More

By David Hudson on July 8, 2010

As the New York Asian Film Festival wraps today, the baton of genre weirdness passes on to San Francisco's Another Hole in the Head and

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W184

Movie Poster of the Week: "The Devils"

By Adrian Curry on May 8, 2009

A gorgeous French poster for Ken Russell’s 1971 masterpiece The Devils.

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DVD Review: THE DEVILS

By Twitchfilm.com on March 22, 2012
BFI’s brand new DVD release of Ken Russell’s masterpiece, The Devils, is a strong early contender for home video release of the year. Few British films before or since have made the kind of impact that
read on Twitchfilm.com

Ken Russell's Notorious THE DEVILS Coming From BFI DVD In 2012

By Twitchfilm.com on November 16, 2011
The BFI has just announced a major coup in their release of Ken Russell’s long censored and unavailable historical drama, The Devils. The film has a very messy history including lots of trouble with the
read on Twitchfilm.com

Lists

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Reviews

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How did I not know about this film?!! Oh right, WB refuses to give it a DVD release. Boo.

By Papagen​a Robbins on July 27, 2010

I just saw “The Devils” at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal.

Ken Russell was presented with a lifetime achievement award prior to the screening, and he introduced the film, as well. The…  read review

A Mauled Masterpiece

By richmon​dhill on January 30, 2010

Ken Russell’s fetid masterpiece: a gloriously overripe study of political corruption and religious desecration. This is Russell at his iconoclastic zenith. It’s harsh. It’s cruel. It’s bombastic. But…  read review

Forum

Displaying 1 discussion topic.

Ken Russell's "The Devils"

58 posts by 23 people 6 months ago