Hooptober XII: 31/32

What a freight train of a film Ken Russell’s 1971 religious spiral The Devils is. A mass religious hysteria, sacrilegiously chaotic drama. But make it fun. Surprisingly intellectual and humorously witty, The Devils is weighted on the other end of the spectrum with a repressed, unrelenting, sexual absurdity. Its world becomes believably buoyed by an earnest smattering of acting performances far ahead of most anything I’ve seen around its release year of 1971. A work known as much for its controversial impact as its artistic merit, it’s a bit of a shame Russell’s religious epic isn’t more widely recognized for the literary feat it is. 

We can’t get too far on The Devils without discussing Oliver Reed and Amanda Redgrave. Reed’s turn as the lustful, yet dignified Grandier is already one of my favorite turns in cinema history. Reed’s monologues start near perfect, and only get better as the film evolves. Or devolves, I should say. Just a powerful, commanding presence any time Grandier is leading a scene. And my god Amanda Redgrave. Equal parts pure and depraved, derangedly humorous and sympathetically misguided, her multifaceted performance serves as the perfect foil to hinge an entire historical horror drama on. 

Being a Warner Brothers picture, the big budget effect applied to such a bonkers film is admirable to say the least. The set created for Loudun, which took three months to create, is as massive and pristine as it is visually stunning, and serves almost as its own character at the center of a governmental struggle for power. I could glaze The Devils for another 1000 words, but I’ll try to end things neatly. 

For being 54 years old, The Devils feels so timely right now. Beneath its absolutely bonkers setting and tone, there were a number of parallels that left me thinking. The mob mentality and culture becoming ever more pervasive in my country careened around my headspace for the entirety of Ken Russell’s film. While I still need to see the actual Director’s Cut, with nearly 20 extra mins, the U.S. R-rated cut in criterion was the best I could do right now (If anyone has a link or bootleg to the full version, holler at me!)

What a picture. 
😈✝️🙏⛪️🩸