Just like film Caligula and Brazil which film establishment tried so hard to sideline from the mainstream of the film history.Sometimes they make films on the borderline what is acceptable not to be given X rating. This is one of the films which is worth watching because film art rearly ventures in these waters.Plot is based on the historical events, but it has been given a modern touch which so well interacts with the plot. Well done! Acting is also excellent, I can not single out any of the actors, the whole ensemble is just fantastic.I strongly recommend that you obtain copy of this film and watch it, since it so rare that film making goes on the edge like it did with this film.

The Devils is, admittedly like Ken Russell's style itself, is not for all tastes, it is one of those films that you will be transfixed by straightaway or be repulsed by it. With me, it was the former and while Russell's style was a quite unique one to begin with The Devils is most likely unlike anything you've seen before. It is an incredibly well-made film, the sets are simply spectacular and the photography is both beautiful and harrowing. Peter Maxwell Davies' music score is hypnotic and haunting, it has a genuine eeriness but doesn't overbear things. The story is a ceaselessly compelling one, a lot of it is incredibly shocking(with the most disturbing torture scenes on film) yet with the fascinating imagery and the different themes the film has it is overwhelming in how stunning it is. With Russell's direction, this is not restrained Russell(if you want restrained look to his biographies on Elgar and Delius) but hard-hitting and somewhat eccentric Russell, but there is much more focus and atmosphere than there was with Lisztomania, a fairly similar directing style but The Devils is so much more structured and cinematic and less music-video-like and tasteless(at times). Nonetheless he does a great job directing, it has his style all over it but he handles it in a gripping and intelligent way. Oliver Reed gives a career-best performance, while Vanessa Redgrave is deeply touching and somewhat grotesque in appearance(the character that is not her) and Gemma Jones is entrancing. Overall, The Devils is one of Russell's best and most fascinating films but it is very easy to see why it caused so much controversy at the time of release(it was very different for the time and the audience weren't prepared to be that shocked, the same treatment happened with Witchfinder General with Vincent Price as well). 10/10 Bethany Cox

One of the great visionary directors showing the insanity of organised religion and its inevitable slide into madness, terror, and downright evil.Watching the film is not an easy experience nor should it be, and Ken Russell never one to shirk controversy was exactly the right director at the right time (1971 A Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs were causing similar outrage). It would never be or could be made now as we seem terrified of offending the already too powerful.Warner Bros who I love dearly does cinematic history a huge injustice by not allowing the fullest possible available print of this disturbing masterpiece on Blu Ray. No doubt they are concerned by the reaction of the truly vile Catholic Church and it's apologists.Well you just have to watch this film to realise why those reactionary views should be ignored.

At a Uni reunion a while ago talk got around over a red wine or two to talk about movies we had collectively seen in the early 70s.One guy, a staunch creationist, put the boot into Ken Russell. Two of his movies, The Devils and Woman in Love, came up, both of which I had seen, enjoyed, even if I found them disturbing.I have a large DVD collection and decided to source The Devils which proved very hard.I believe I might have sourced one of the last copies available.I watched it the other night and was awe struck by the boundaries that it took on. Like Clockwork Orange, I can't see such movies being made in 2012.It is not a perfect movie, and I will not repeat comments about the historical background which others have made, and in the end I had little sympathy for Grandier, but the film does ask some profound questions about religious purity and moral right, and the separation of the church and politics. I wonder if there is a good degree of cross-over with Arthur Miller's 'Crucible' and note others have asked the same question.Oliver Reed is very good as Grandier but I think Vanessa Redgrave steals the show. A rare, unique and controversial movie, but not for the faint hearted. Along with Marat/Sade one of the greater challenges in more recent film history IMHO. For enthusiasts, I think it is worth sourcing as I believe it may have been recently released on DVD.