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British director Ken Russell's adaption of Aldous Huxley's book "The Devils of Loudun" is one of the most origional, controversial and daring films ever made. The film takes place in 17th-century France and centres on the hypocritical and licentious behaviour of debauched priest Father Urbain Grandier, brilliantly played by Oliver Reed. A second plot strand involves the humpbacked nunn Sister Jeanne, played by Vanessa Redgrave, who, along with her fellow nuns, is obsessed with Grandier. When the nuns become seemingly possessed, disgruntled representatives of the Catholic Church and corrupt officials move in and seize their opportunity to get rid of Grandier.

The film gets off to an excellent start, gradually building up the tension and highlighting the flaws within the Catholic religion. However the middle section involving the possession of the nuns is far too theatrical and over-the-top and the action becomes weighed down by the overbearing performance of Michael Gothard as Father Barre and Derek Jarman's lurid sets. The final section of the film, however, is mightily impressive and well-scripted and benefits hugely from Oliver Reed's committed performance.

While Vanessa Redgrave impresses in the role of Sister Jeanne this is Oliver Reed's film and a performance which proves he was a great actor and not just a great hellraiser. This film illustrates that he is easily the equal of his contemporaries including Caine, Connery, Harris and Finney.

While director Ken Russell's films can range from the very good to the absolutely awful "The Devils" is without doubt his best. This is perfect material for Russell to work with and the ideal outlet for his unique vision. Russell was part of the new breed of controversial directors who emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s who courted controversy with images of sex, nudity, violence and shocking images. "The Devils" is no exception and while it will by no means be to everyone's taste it should be commended for its daring take on the hypocritical side to religion and for helping to pave new ground in cinema.

In 17th Century France Cardinal Richelieu gains allegiance with King Louie Xlll in persecuting the Protestant populace. He finds resistance however in the charismatic Father Grandier (Oliver Reid) of Loudon whose walls and lack of religious strife pose a problem to the Cardinal's grand plan. When a sexually repressed nun falsely accuses Grandier of witchcraft, Richelieu's minions go to work to slander and burn.

It is no small order to make the claim that The Devil's is director Ken Russell's most audacious work. Known for pushing the envelope throughout his career The Devil is a relentless non-stop depiction of witch hunt depravity graphically presented by Russell who takes things to such a fever pitch you wonder if he has control during moments as the literal orgiastic trial runs into overtime. Featuring some of Russell's most outlandish as well as outstanding scenes and compositions it's devastating brutality never let's up with the opening portion of the film dealing with a plague. Even comedy relief such as the King's target practice having a very dark tone to it.

As Grandier, Reid effectively shows both virility and sensitivity as he defends the city while left vulnerable to carnal delight and love. Vanessa Redgrave's horny hunch back nun may be the most challenging role of her career that she gruesomely surmounts, the results riveting. Max Adrian as a quack doctor leads a supporting cast of well defined misanthropes bent on revenge and power.

Russell's interpretation of actual history ( with a mighty contribution from wife Shirley's outstanding costuming) paints some remarkable canvases throughout the Devils, most of it hard to look at and you walk away from it amazed and appalled; impressed and ill. The Devils is one tough watch.

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!

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.

I can't believe that someone still hasn't released a definitive version of this film on Blu Ray. I used to work in a video store and the copy we had was cut up so badly that the plot was incomprehensible. I own a DVD that seems to probably be uncut but the picture is faded and the colors aren't very bright. Also, the sound pretty bad. However, as far as I know it's the only uncut version out there. Hell, The Criterion Collection released Salo and that's miles more depraved and offensive (watch it though) than this film. I was raised Catholic and the whole film is blasphemous. When I first read Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom (I almost couldn't finish it), the book on which Salo is based, I said to myself alot that I was going to go to Hell for reading this. The Devils gave me the same feeling. I haven't been a practicing Catholic for 45 years but those teachings are still ingrained in your subconscious. Visually, this is an absolutely beautiful film. The stark black and white colors of Loudoun and the Abby have never been duplicated as far as I know. The scene where the hysterical nuns simulate sex with Jesus on a giant cross are a bit much. It brought back the I'm going to hell for watching this. The violence in parts is still shocking even though it's 50 years old. The only flaw is Ken Russell's insistence of putting corny, un funny humor in his films. If there was ever a film that didn't need any humor it's this one. It's here though and it detracts from the flow of the film for no good reason. That's a small quibble though since the film is pretty much a masterpiece. The performances are flawless. It's Oliver Reed's best performance and Vanessa Redgrave is unforgettable as the deranged Sister Jeanne (I hope that's how it's spelled). In fact everyone is absolutely top shelf (except maybe the guy who plays the king and brings the awful humor to the movie). So, Criterion please release a version of this. Everyone else watch it without a doubt unless you hate violence, depravity and general unpleasantness. If you're a practicing Christian (especially Catholic) skip it too unless you want that I'm going to Hell feeling . Ken Russell's best film and one of the best films of all time. Watch it!