The Devils
1971, Ken Russell, UK
| Director: Ken Russell Producers: Ken Russell, Robert H Solo Screenplay: Ken Russell, based on the play by John Whiting and the novel by Aldous Huxley Production Design: Derek Jarman Cinematography: David Watkin Editors: Michael Bradsell Music: Peter Maxwell Davies | Vanessa Redgrave (Sister Jeanne) Oliver Reed (Urbain Grandier) Dudley Sutton (Baron De Laubardemont) Max Adrian (Ibert) Gemma Jones (Madeleine) Murray Melvin (Mignon) Michael Gothard (Father Barre) Georgina Hale (Philippe) Brian Murphy (Adam) Christopher Logue (Cardinal Richelieu) |
Rating: R18 Graphic violence, sexual violence, and sex scenes Runtime: 111 minutes
Derek Jarman’s debut work on a feature film was as production designer on this controversial and difficult-to-see British classic. Directed by Ken Russell (Women in Love, Tommy), The Devils was part of a group of early 1970s films, including A Clockwork Orange, Performance and Straw Dogs, that challenged existing standards around depictions of violence and, importantly in this case, sex and religion. The Devils has faced decades of censorship from government and, more significantly, industry bodies.
Based on real events via Aldous Huxley’s deeply researched novel, The Devils of Loudun, The Devils tells the story of a mass possession event that took place in the walled city of Loudun, France in the 17th Century, only a few years after plague killed a significant portion of the population. Starring two legendary British actors, Oliver Reed (nephew of director Carol Reed) as Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic priest, and Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne Des Anges, abbess of the local convent. Barry Lyndon’s Murray Melvin returns to WFS playing another oddball clergyman. The provocative story of possessed nuns is fertile ground for Russell’s real message around political power, religion, control and freedom.
The full director’s cut of The Devils has never seen the light of day due to the reluctance of the studio to weather the storm its blasphemous content may still cause. The versions we do have remain powerful examples of stylish and powerful British cinema of the 1970s, with Derek Jarman’s production design playing a key role in the iconic and transgressive look of the film. His set for Loudun were influenced by the black and white sets of Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc and Lang’s Metropolis.
“It is like a lunatic opera, an attempt to make a furious poem out of frenzy. Russell’s flamboyant theatricality and his interest in the perverse have been too much imposed on his other films; but here, style and subject are perfectly matched.” – Jay Cocks, Time Magazine
Wellington Film Society is delighted to present this screening in partnership with City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, to celebrate their exhibition Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days, which will be on show at The Dowse Art Museum from 28 September 2024.