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.

Quite simply one of the best films ever made as most of Ken Russell films of that era are. I first saw The Devils when I was 15 back in 1971 and I have seen it a thousand times since. It sealed my admiration for Ken Russell.

The Devils is absolute madness — part history lesson, part full-blown nightmare — and still feels dangerous over 50 years on. Ken Russell doesn’t hold back, throwing everything at the screen in this wild, visually bonkers fever dream. Censors and studio execs butchered it when it came out in ’71. Warner Bros still won’t touch the fully uncut version, even though the missing bits were found and restored in 2004. The infamous “rape of Christ” scene? Still locked in the vault. But plenty argue it critiques blasphemy rather than indulging in it. At its heart, The Devils is a furious, no-holds-barred rant about what happens when religion and politics get too cosy, and how those in charge can whip people into a frenzy to keep their grip on power. Oliver Reed is pure charisma as Grandier, swaggering through the chaos, while Vanessa Redgrave is hypnotically unhinged. Russell directs like a man possessed, and Derek Jarman’s sets are weird, stark, and unforgettable. It’s messy, noisy, and suitably uncomfortable — which is entirely the point. Despite all the drama around it, The Devils still hits hard today, especially in a world where truth feels optional and politics is pure theatre.

This movie was def an experiece, i can't say it was pleassant, tecnically it's a good film, but i don't want to watch it ever again. Pd: the scene with the crazy zoom ins cracked me up

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é mais ou menos, o filme mostra freiras jovens se masturbando em algumas cenas em moldes de figuras religiosas por cima, lambendo, se esfregando, tocando na parte genital, essas cenas foram pesadas por mexer com as figuras religiosas de Jesus e outras coisas.

I consider this piece of filmmaking to be one of the most important films in British Cinema Ken Russell has change the face of 1970s cinema with this film and many other films that he Directed. I Find it today still hard to find that this film has been heavily edited and I would agree that this was Ken Russell at his absolute best

hmm... i'm not real sure what i just watched.

Ken Russell's The Devils is labeled "one of the most controversial films ever made." But what is so controversial here is not its depictions of repressed sexuality gone mad, but its fierce treatment of religion being used as a weapon by the powerful. Studio movies normally veer far clear of this hot topic, since it treads on the tails of many dangerous tigers. Russell stomps away on those tails, and it is interesting how reflexively critics of the time reacted in shock and dismay -- religion must ALWAYS be treated with sugar-coated respect! Plus these same critics were doubtless unnerved by seeing 1960s icon Vanessa Redgrave’s beautiful face turned sideways on top of a twisted, hunchbacked body – what a sacrilege to Hollywood’s cult of Venus! Russell’s 1971 film remains surprisingly fresh to this day, as current governments continue to wield religion as a powerful weapon against their citizens.

Much like Passion Of The Christ, The Human Centipede & A Serbian Film, movies like The Devil’s have such a fearsome reputation that many people only ever associate them with the controversy they’ve garnered, overlook the merits they (often) have. Ken Russell is a big name in the British film industry, and this feels like a film he was really pouring himself into. It looks absolutely spectacular, with a blend of otherworldly sets, elaborate costumes and vivid colours, the visuals alone would be enough to recommend it. The story is somewhat based on historical events, admittedly dramatized, so we’re not sure what’s real and what’s not, but that feels like the point. With cases of witch hunting and demonic possession hysteria, its often impossible to separate fact from fiction and truth from legend. The film dives deep into issues of religious faith, sexual repression and the corrupting and destructive power of making accusations that can never be truly countered. Oliver Reed turns in one of the most intense performances of his career, which is saying something, and his commitment, the introspective dialogue and the fact we see him as both a hero and a villain at various times makes his character so incredibly compelling. I didn’t think it was as violent or as graphic as some have said, but when it came out over 50 years ago, I can imagine how appalled people must have been. It’s a difficult watch for sure, but it’s a film with a lot to say, and the imagery and the graphic nature always compliment each other. It’s certainly not to everyone’s tastes, and some of the deleted scenes are even more shocking than the original picture. But if you like your cinema a little less sanitised, The Devil’s is a film you really have to see to believe.

Crazy movie, extremely well acted, one of the best production design i've ever seen... Loved every minute of it!

If interested in extra-morality views of human behavior, this could be an hour and more well spent.

Wonderfully profane madness. Even if the film's capacity to shock has diminished, Russel's vision remains unparalleled. You still haven't seen anything like this.

A movie reminding us that religion and faith are far from perfect, and that a lot of evil can occur under the pretense of good and purity. Overall too campy.

It's both bizarre and depraved, two traits that can often make up for a subpar story. Not in this case. I was surprised by how much money they spent on this. The sets and costumes are lavish and there seem to be hundreds of extras.

Over the top in many ways. Style points score higher than substance at times, but there is a message about political control and scapegoating and the incompetence of leaders and those in power, etc. Some British zaniness on display, a couple feet short of Monty Python, but at times too close, and the Python's are much better at it. The acting is stagy, but the blustery, old school oration and thespianism of Oliver Reed is really a treat to watch. He pulls it off - William Shatner times ten - but actually good somehow. A hit or miss film, probably best suited to acting students and theater people.

Upon release, Judith Crist of The New York Herald Tribune (among the first female film critics to reach a wide audience in print) referred to The Devils as a "grand fiesta for sadists and perverts." Apparently, she somehow meant it as a derogatory remark. No matter how refined, pure, and well-intentioned a motivation appears to be (and at least on paper, the written Christian doctrine is rooted in kindness and empathy), execution rests in the hands of people, and people are prone to weakness, corruption, and excess. And as a director, excess is territory with home field advantage for Ken Russell; the intersection of political and religious corruption presented as a series of debauched orgies (in rapturous detail), tapping into repression and an animalistic inner nature to accomplish nefarious ends. It's actually a profound statement that many see as simple exploitative excess: the universal presence of human frailty and vice preventing any doctrine from being totally morally upright in practice. If Pasolini is considered a great avant-garde filmmaker for making repulsion a tool to create thematic depth, then Russell is equally so (and with greater entertainment value). The practical execution is top-notch; Oliver Reed at the height of both his popularity and powers fulfilling a role with Shakespearean eloquence and more physical presence in his flowing moustache alone than most could deliver in an interpretative dance. Not satisfied with a simple Gothic recreation for setting, Russell commissioned a brilliant neo-futuristic city of bright white brick and gleaming tile to serve as a hypocritical counter to the hedonism within. More a human story than a religious one, The Devils still might not get many viewings in the auditorium of your local Catholic school, but it's a hell of a watch. (4.5/5)

Una película que nos muestra la locura que nadie quiere ver, la verdadera, la que viene de la ambición, de la lujuria, del orgullo y del poder. Por eso sigue siendo una película que causa tanta controversia, podemos ver en el cine matanzas, asesinatos, pero no estamos preparados para ver de frente lo que el director nos pone sin tapujo alguno. Excelente película que nos muestra la naturaleza humana en su forma más pura y a la vez horrenda.

Russell's infuriating and hysterical movie is so tiresome and over-pitched that it squanders a fascinating subject - religious ecstasy vs the cold manipulations of the state - and squanders an unusually restrained Oliver Reed and finely judged supporting performances from Dudley Sutton and Gemma Jones on the altar of his cinematic self-indulgence. Peter Maxwell Davies' astringent score and Derek Jarman's brick-white sets are major plusses, but Christ, this is irritating stuff.

Partly adapted from the 1952 non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, which was turned into the play The Devils by John Whiting, United Artists had already given up on this movie after seeing how controversial Ken Russell's screenplay was. Warner Brothers then took over but its rough sexual and violent nature, not to mention how it presented religion, led to major issues. It's since been banned in several countries and was heavily edited for release in many countries, with several places never seeing its original uncut version. Two scenes were cut and have rarely been shown, one where nude nuns sexually use a statue of Christ while Father Mignon watches and masturbates, as well as another that showed Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) masturbating with the charred femur of Grandier (Oliver Reed) after he is set ablaze for his crimes. As for Rusell, he said, "I was a devout Catholic and very secure in my faith. I knew I wasn't making a pornographic film… although I am not a political creature, I always viewed The Devils as my one political film. To me, it was about brainwashing." Behind the very human — and at times occult and otherworldly — moments of the film, the dramatic narrative behind The Devils is Cardinal Richelieu working to influence Louis XIII and get him to stop the Protestants from rising up. However, Louis forbids Richelieu from destroying the town of Loudun, having made a promise to its Governor to keep the town intact. While Loudun's Governor has died, the town is now controlled by Urbain Grandier (Reed), who may be a popular man of God, but is also a man who has secretly married a woman. Meanwhile, Sister Jeanne des Anges, the deformed abbess of the local Ursuline convent who is sexually obsessed with Grendier, grows upset that the man she is in love with has not taken her. The cardinal gets what he wants by accusing Grandier of witchcraft, bringing in Father Pierre Barre, a professional witch-hunter whose exorcisms are even more salacious than the crimes he has been sent to investigate. He unleashes a sexual firestorm amongst the nuns and a mockery of a trial that somehow finds Grandier convincing Barre that he is innocent. Yet it is too late. Despite his innocence, the town is destroyed. How metal is this film? Ministry sampled it for their song "Golden Dawn" and other artists such as Belphegor and Skinny Puppy have also used dialogue from this movie.

this film is extremely heavy and disturbing, everything is heavy and disturbing.