Arts & Music
Ken Russell's "The Devils" (Director's Cut 1971/2026)
- When
- Sat, 14 Nov, 17.00–20.00
- How much
- Check website
This time it's both a classic and a little bit of controversy—and surprise, surprise, it's Gloria Biograf again!
Hello cinema lovers! Another gem from me. This time it's both a classic and a little bit of controversy—and surprise, surprise, it's Gloria Biograf again! A movie turns 55 years old and—finally—it can be seen in the uncensored version the director intended. Give a listen to the review below if you're interested, take a look at the description, and—if you feel like it—welcome! Warning: this one is DEFINITELY not for everybody. The plan for those interested is as usual: everybody buys their own ticket (I'm in row 7); we can come a moment before to say hi and have a drink (but write in the event chat that you intend to, or you might meet nobody!); we watch the movie; after the movie we go to Not Your Usual Wine Bar and discuss it over a glass of something cool (and not necessarily alcoholic); the event chat is used for all questions/communications before and after. About the movie (from the cinema's website): Genre: Drama. Runtime: 116 minutes. Ken Russell's 1971 The Devils remains one of cinema's most transgressive and incendiary provocations—a feverish account of the Loudun possessions witchcraft trial in 17th-century France. Oliver Reed stars as Urbain Grandier, a wildly charismatic libertine priest who defies Cardinal Richelieu's consolidation of power. Vanessa Redgrave's Sister Jeanne is a sexually repressed, hunchbacked Abbess obsessed with Grandier with an intensity that ignites accusations of demonic possession among her convent's nuns. Already a target for reprisals due to his political resistance, Grandier's promiscuity eventually lands him on the wrong side of a powerful family. Adapting from Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudun, Russell vividly stages the mass hysteria, torture, and exorcism as history, horror, and political allegory. As Russell's most political film, it condemns the collusion of church and state for the purposes of wielding unchecked and self-serving powers. Influential artist Derek Jarman contributed stark, white production design which sharply contrasts with the baroque excesses and saturated colors of the film, now rendered more vibrant in this 4K restoration. Ken Russell's The Devils was infamously rated X, banned, censored, and recut in many territories for decades and is still controversial for its depictions of religious hysteria—which includes several writhing nuns defiling a crucifix—and its body horror. This director's cut restores Russell's original intent. Alternately hailed as a masterpiece and derided as pornography, its anti-authoritarian outrage and critique of institutional hypocrisy feel more urgent than ever.
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