Warner Bros., under its newly branded specialty studio “Clockwork,” is set to release one of the most significant film restorations in years on October 16: a full 4K uncut version of Ken Russell’s “The Devils.”
MORE GOOD NEWS: Clockwork has now announced that “The Devils” has been rated NC-17 by the MPA, which, as far as I’m concerned, is basically free marketing. Much of the audience anticipating this release was hoping for this rating.
I tried—perhaps not hard enough—to attend the screening at Cannes, which was the world premiere, but the minute tickets became available, they were gone within seconds. Critic Brian Tallerico wrote that it was arguably the hottest ticket at Cannes and remarked that the 4K restoration “amplifies” the film’s remarkable production design. He also described the complete version as “absolutely mesmerizing.”
The film, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, was released in 1971 and heavily censored in both the UK and the US—not only after its release, but also during and immediately after production. Under pressure from distributors and censors, entire sequences were removed or altered because of the film’s extreme religious and sexual content. Over time, it has become one of the most infamous examples of studio interference in British cinema, yet its reputation has only continued to grow.
Set in a 17th-century French town gripped by religious hysteria after a priest is accused of witchcraft, the best way to describe “The Devils” is as a portrait of collective madness, where power and religion collapse into violence and spectacle. The film is hypnotic because Russell pushes it into operatic extremes, shifting between grotesque imagery and sudden, disturbing moments of silence. It’s a feverish, almost trance-like experience.
Here’s what we know so far, based on what has been confirmed from the Cannes screening: This is not a partial reissue or simply a cleaned-up version of “The Devils”—it is being presented as an “uncensored, unfiltered and uncut” restoration of one of the most notoriously mutilated films in modern studio history. It was assembled from the original camera negative, with restored picture and sound, and is the most complete version of the film ever assembled.
The Cannes screening reportedly included the “Rape of Christ” sequence and the previously censored femur scenes involving Grandier (Oliver Reed), along with other restored material. The version screened was 1 hour and 54 minutes. For decades, audiences have had access only to compromised versions. The US R-rated version was around 1 hour and 48 minutes.
This new restoration is therefore being viewed as the closest possible approximation of Russell’s original vision—and with that, the Gods of cinema rejoice.
Mukdeeprom is well known on the arthouse circuit for his work with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Memoria”), and he also shot three Guadagnino movies.