User Reviews

The Devils is absolute madness — part history lesson, part full-blown nightmare — and still feels dangerous over 50 years on. Ken Russell doesn’t hold back, throwing everything at the screen in this wild, visually bonkers fever dream. Censors and studio execs butchered it when it came out in ’71. Warner Bros still won’t touch the fully uncut version, even though the missing bits were found and restored in 2004. The infamous “**** of Christ” scene? Still locked in the vault. But plenty argue it critiques blasphemy rather than indulging in **** its heart, The Devils is a furious, no-holds-barred rant about what happens when religion and politics get too cosy, and how those in charge can whip people into a frenzy to keep their grip on power. Oliver Reed is pure charisma as Grandier, swaggering through the chaos, while Vanessa Redgrave is hypnotically unhinged. Russell directs like a man possessed, and Derek Jarman’s sets are weird, stark, and unforgettable. It’s messy, noisy, and suitably uncomfortable — which is entirely the point. Despite all the drama around it, The Devils still hits hard today, especially in a world where truth feels optional and politics is pure theatre.

As extreme, disturbing, and blasphemous a film as has ever been made, the Devils does deserve its place in cinematic history. It is like Hieronymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights in cinematic form. But is it an enjoyable film to watch? Well . . . it certainly deserves respect for going over the top and then some, and for Jarman's sets, Davies's music, Shirley Russell's costumes, Watkin's cinematography, and the many fine performances. Often the shocking stuff seems to be there primarily to shock and grab you by the collar, et cetera. I am not at all sure I want to sit through it again - but it is unique and unforgettable, that is for sure!

The scope and ambition are of a spectacular level, I have no complaints about it. The ending with Gemma Jones walking on the ruins of the city is one of the best I've seen because of how powerful it feels. However, my problem lies in how it's necessary to focus on the ideology of the time of its release in order to understand why it was such a provocative story. Because The Devils is a very captivating film, but it's also one that forces that element too much, almost forcing itself to feel transgressive just because the sake of it. And as necessary as it was in its time to break those restrictions, today I cannot ignore that this story has a compulsion to make an impact, to shock rather than to disclose something more significant. I recommend it because technically it fascinated me. Its imperfect and somewhat flawed writing is inconvenient, but I can be flexible.