The Devils (1971) Reviews

• Shocking, beautifully elegant, a truly provocative masterpiece that induces raw emotions. 10/10

  vassl12003-01-20

  Shocking, beautifully elegant, a truly provocative masterpiece that induces raw emotions. 10/10 Two years before 'The Exorcist' hits the screen, Ken Russell puts the Catholic Church in the spotlight by filming one of the most disturbing films of all times. Except from being a sheer technical and aesthetic masterpiece, 'The Devils' provokes as a film with its relentless sense of anarchy. Religious hysteria and illusions, the horror of human arrogance and depravity and the love that turns to cherishing that turns to hatred. It's hard to put it in words, one must simply watch it to understand the simple splendor of this film. For open-minded viewers only...

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• Ken Russell's little known masterpiece

  jweiglein2004-06-01

  A few movies are so controversial that the Movie industry does their best to kill them off (see Terry Gilliams' "Brazil"). Such was the case with "The Devils" First, to clear a few things up...this did NOT come from a play, nor was it a novel. It is based on Aldous Huxley's painstakingly researched religious history of the famous Loudun exorcisms during the time of Richelieu. The book may be out of print, but my wife found a copy published in 1952 by Chatto & Windus. There are some more recent publications, but this one is lovely, with an engraving of Bishop Urban Grandier(the main character) dating back to 1627. Huxley actually includes original letters, which still exist, written by the participants of this travesty. Much of the dialogue of the film is directly from Huxley. The vision however is uniquely Russell's. When this movie was originally released, it was given an X rating, not due to sex, or even violence, although there is some of each. The plain fact is that the film in its original form is simply overpowering. The Movie Review board thought so! I was fortunate enough to see the original uncut version, rated X at the local art-house upon its release. This film is a shortened version. While still worthwhile, this film absolutely SCREAMS for a Criterion Collection restoration to its original (brilliant) form.

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• Genius; The greatest film of church corruption ever conceived.

  degelb2004-05-22

  Cited by director Alex Cox and critic Mark Kermode as one of the ten greatest achievements in cinema of all time, The Devils is based on a true story set in France in 1634 about the evils of the union of church and state controlled by power hungry, perverse men who prey on faith and fear, and one priest, Father Grandier, who tries to protect the liberties and walls of his city, Loudun. This film was met with great controversy and opposition due to its contents and depictions of blasphemy. Hardly available today, the current VHS release suffers from trigger happy censors with no desire to leave the plot intact. The video translation is appalling, with only a fraction of the resolution and quality of film, and the fullscreen framing mauls at least 60% of the compositions. If you can attain this on widescreen on DVD, you are a lucky person. Unfortunately, as is reflected by another comment on this board, most people see the crappy version and judge the film based on that.

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• A movie that purposely shocks you to make a point.

  rondine2001-01-21

  I saw this movie late at night by myself and I was absolutely terrified. I was house sitting for a friend who's house was in the boonies in Anchorage and it was a dark & snowy night. I watched this movie totally engrossed & unable to turn away - kinda like a train wreck! I slept with the light on that night. I went out & got the out of print book at the library. The book by Huxley is totally different, although the movie was faithful to most of the historical aspects of the story. The book is a beautiful testament of faith. You really should try to get a copy if the film piqued your interest in this slice of history. There is also an opera that is based on this story (as well as a John Whiting play) and all of this is based on historical facts. Obviously, I have done some research since seeing the movie. That's how much it affected me. The story is one of politics versus spiritual redemption; desire versus despair. The acting is wonderful - especially Oliver Reed. To me, this is his best performance ever. In addition, it's a Ken Russell film so the presentation is wild to say the least. But for this story, it works. Derek Jarman's sets also lend a modern-retro kind of feel to the movie. Watch this one late at night when you are all alone. It's a one of a kind that I have never seen duplicated since. Not even the Exorcist has the same kind of horrific darkness as this movie (if you watch the credits of the Exorcist, they use some music from the Penderecki opera, The Devils of Loudun). SPOILER BEYOND HERE ************** This movie is not for everyone. If you get the imported copy from England, there is the restored "Rape of Christ" scene that some will find not only horrific, but absolutely revolting. This movie is not for everyone - but the same can be said of any movie really. I'd prefer to watch this rather than "Dumb and Dumbmer." I recommend this movie to those with an open mind & a taste for the unusual. It is a movie FAR ahead of its time - in fact, Warner Brothers STILL will not release the restored copy - that's how controversial it is. A controversial movies doesn't always equate with a great movie - but this movie is singular in its achievement.

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• A Beautifully disturbing film

  bdpennington2000-12-21

  Ken Russell is one of those filmmakers whose work you can immediately identify. Whether your first was "Altered States" or (like me) "The Devils," you learn early on that if Mr. Russell's name is listed as director and/or writer, you can expect to be at least a little disturbed. "The Devils" is, in my humble opinion, one of the best films ever made. I wish I hadnt been born so late because I can imagine how truly intense an experience it must've been to view "The Devils" in theater. This film is the only film I've ever seen, regardless of genre, to take the viewer into the pit of hell and to hold her/him there unrelenting, uncompromising, and to make the viewer feel as s/he has actually experienced hell. I can only imagine how much difficulty Mr. Russell must have had when MPAA members saw this film. It's bleak, horrifying, shocking, disgusting and thoroughly delicious. Aldous Huxley (the author of the book on which this film was based) would have been proud to see that his true story of a Satanic Catholic church translated very well to film. One last thing: I have never really been able to sit through the entire film since the first time I saw it. That is, odd as it sounds, extreme praise. What kind of hell would it be if I could sit comfortably? Thank you, Ken Russell!

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