For the first time ever, the Director’s Cut of Ken Russell’s controversial 1971 horror movie The Devils has been restored and remastered, and it’s coming to theaters this October.
Warner Bros. Clockwork will release the film in theaters globally this fall, in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI) in the UK. It opens in select North American theaters on October 16 for an exclusive one-week engagement with international theatrical dates to be announced.
This new 4K restoration was assembled from the original camera negative.
The newly restored Director’s Cut of Ken Russell’s The Devils has been rated NC-17 for “sexual content/graphic nudity.”
Based on Aldous Huxley’s 1952 non-fiction novel The Devils of Loudun and its 1961 stage play adaptation, Ken Russell’s The Devils is set in 17th-century Loudun, France.
Oliver Reed stars as Grandeur in the film, complete with the sex appeal that has all the ladies swooning, including the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave). Jeanne is exceptionally lustful for Grandeur, which pushes over into wrathful jealousy when she learns of his relationship with the young and stunning Madeleine (Gemma Jones). Cue the demonic seduction accusations, and hysteria and chaos ensue.
Why is this restoration such a big deal? Russell’s original vision was considered far too incendiary and political for its time, with key sequences deemed too intense for viewers. That most infamously includes a sequence in which a demonic possession public display culminated in hysterical nuns tearing down and ravaging a giant crucifix, cut from the film in its entirety, with further cuts for American audiences and edits for UK viewers.
As the press release details, “This new 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s masterpiece was assembled from the original camera negative. The film’s sound has been remastered from original English Composite 35mm Mag Film, transferred at 96kHz, plus other original film elements in selected spots as needed. The Picture and Sound restoration was performed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services, Water Tower Color, and Warner Bros. Sound.“
