| Displayed (written) info : | | VANESSA REDGRAVE OLIVER REED
The Devils
A FILM BY KEN RUSSELL | |
| Description (by producer & GT in English only) : | | In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft. | |
| Notes : | | The Devils is a 1971 historical psychological horror-drama film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, and starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. A dramatised historical account of the fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft after the possessions in Loudun, Fra
nce, the plot also focuses on Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites the accusations.
A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, The Devils is in part adapted from the 1952 non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, as well as John Whiting's subsequent 1960 play The Devils. United Artists initially pitched the idea to Russell but bowed out after reading his finished screenplay, as they felt it was too controversial in nature. Warner Bros. agreed to produce and distribute, and filming largely took place at Pinewood Studios in late 1970.
The film's graphic portrayal of violent and sexual content, often combined with religion, ignited harsh reaction from censors, and it originally received an X rating in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It was banned in several countries, and heavily edited for exhibition in others. Although critics largely dismissed The Devils for its explicit content, it won awards for Best Director at the 33rd Venice International Film Festival, as well as from the U.S. National Board of Review. Although a director's cut of the film was given its first theatrical release in the UK in 2002, it has not been made officially available on home media, and releases of edited versions on DVD and streaming services remain scant. A 4K restoration of the director's cut debuted at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, with a theatrical re-release through the Warner Bros. Clockwork label to follow.
Film scholarship primarily focuses on themes of sexual repression and political corruption. The Devils has been recognized as one of the most controversial films of all time by numerous publications and critics, and remained banned in Finland until 2001. | |
| Websites | | | |
| Running time : | | 111 | |
| Originally released : | | 1971 | |
| Source : | | Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devils_(film)) | |
| Displayed (non textual) : | | Person : Vanessa Redgrave | |
| Language - Spoken : | | English | |
| Copied Wikipedia parts under license : | | Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | |
| Awards: | | | |
| Color & sound : | | Color | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Actor : Vanessa Redgrave | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Presented By : Warner Bros. | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Novel By (Based On) : Aldous Huxley | |
| End credits (not on artwork) : | | Director Of Photography : David Watkin | |
| End credits (not on artwork) : | | Production Design By : Derek Jarman | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Based On The Play By : John Whiting | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Directed By : Ken Russell | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Producer : Ken Russell | |
| End credits (not on artwork) : | | Film Editing By : Michael Bradsell | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Actor : Oliver Reed | |
| End credits (not on artwork) : | | Compositor : Peter Maxwell Davies | |
| Movie credits (on artwork) : | | Producer : Robert H. Solo | |
| End credits (not on artwork) : | | Costume Design By : Shirley Russell | |
| Movie Genre : | | Drama | |
| Movie Genre : | | Horror | |
| Movie Genre : | | Black Comedy | |
| Movie Type : | | Film | |
| Rating : | | MPAA (US) : R – Restricted | |
| Series / Storyarcs : | | : | |
| neww |
| ACCEPTED on 01/06/2026 by Lo55o (14477) |
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| Movie Genre : | Black Comedy | | |
| Movie Genre : | | Psychological Drama | |
| tags |
| ACCEPTED on 01/06/2026 by Lo55o (14477) |
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