★ 8 / 10
The Devis is rich and visually stunning. It
John W
The Devis is rich and visually stunning. It is one of Oliver Reeds best films, in my opinion. He is superbly directed by Ken Russel, who even outdoes himself…
The Devis is rich and visually stunning. It is one of Oliver Reeds best films, in my opinion. He is superbly directed by Ken Russel, who even outdoes himself on this one. Ok, some of the scenes are a bit over the top, but that is in keeping with the historical setting of the film, being at a very violent period in France at the time.
It is also uniquely terrifying and extremely realistic. It depicts a really atrocious state of human nature, when ruthlessness and mental illness conspire to bring down an essentially flawed but mostly ‘decent’ man.
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★ 9 / 10
A literal orgy of splendour. Ken Russell's controversial
DanTheMan 2
A literal orgy of splendour. Ken Russell's controversial tour de force, The Devils, stands as a profound and sincere commentary on religious hysteria…
A literal orgy of splendour. Ken Russell's controversial tour de force, The Devils, stands as a profound and sincere commentary on religious hysteria, political persecution and the corrupt marriage of church and state. It is like a lunatic opera, an attempt to make a furious poem out of frenzy. An experience that pulsates and perverts, especially in those glorious moments when Russell slaps the sacred directly in its frescoed face, even while preaching their rhetoric of sin and salvation, nuns, priests, and cardinals are only human, and humans are nothing but animals. It's easy to be swept away by the film's crass vulgarity, utilising its confrontational tone to delve deep beneath the surface of normalised and accepted institutions of abuse and oppression. Nothing is safe: not God, not Satan, not man, not their collective meaning. Russell's direction is bold, brilliant, grimly stylish and stuffed to the gills with inspired visuals and intense framing, both provocative and persuasive in its contention that the greatest blasphemy is the leveraging of faith for power. The set design by Derek Jarman is just exquisite; his vision of Loudun is one of radiant whiteness, with every building covered in pristine tiles, which ironically makes them much easier to defile and destroy. Oliver Reed gives one of his finest performances as the turbulent priest Urbain Grandier, a man who, although not remotely saintly, is nonetheless so consistent in his religious and political convictions that he favours torture and death over compromise. He is well matched by Vanessa Redgrave's hunchbacked Sister Jeanne, whose erotic obsession with him fuels the hysterical fervour that ends up sweeping the entire convent. Another memorable creative contribution is the sublimely dissonant score by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, a cacophony of jarring dissonance that perfectly matches Russell's depiction of the breakdown of civilisation. It's made all the more impressive when you learn that this is the only film he scored. One day, perhaps the unedited version of The Devils will reveal itself; until then, even Russell's compromised vision retains its power to shock and disturb. It's a film of beauty, horror, and rage. It has heart and humanity. Even today, maybe more than ever, it's a portrait of hypocrisy and societal madness that remains painfully pertinent.
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★ 10 / 10
It's such a heartbreaking and terrible part of
ja w
It's such a heartbreaking and terrible part of history, yet Ken Russell portrayed it in all of it's ludicrous and outrageous filth. It's heavy, but it's worth…
It's such a heartbreaking and terrible part of history, yet Ken Russell portrayed it in all of it's ludicrous and outrageous filth. It's heavy, but it's worth it. Read the book by Aldous Huxley for more insight into this part of 17th Century French history.
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Wrong movie. This is not: "The Devils" (1971) by Ken Russell [ IMDb tt0095012 ] This is: "The Devil" (1972) by Andrzej Żuławski [ IMDb tt0066993 ] ...also very good movie, but still.