The Film ‘89 Podcast Episode 163 – The Devils (1971).
On Episode 163 of The Film ’89 Podcast, returning co-hosts Bill Scurry and John Arminio join Skye to discuss British filmmaker Ken Russell’s 1971 masterpiece, The Devils. Russell’s film has been all but unavailable in anything approaching its complete form for much of the 55 years since it was first released. A film notorious for the controversy of its subject matter and one that still has the power to shock nearly 6 decades later, it’s been given new life following a hugely successful theatrical re-release thanks to new label Warner Clockwork, and with the help of film critic Mark Kermode and Russell’s widow, Lisi Russell, who for decades championed a restoration and strove to find the lost footage excised from the film decades ago, which has now been found, and the film fully restored to a form its director originally intended. The film is elevated by stellar performances from Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave and a great supporting cast. It has incredible production design by Derek Jarman and is, by Russell’s own admission, his greatest achievement. The Devils is a film that pulls no punches; it’s rightly regarded as a masterpiece and is more than worthy of the usual in-depth Film ’89 treatment, and its restoration and re-release is truly a gift from the gods.
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