Warner Brothers, 1971

starring: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Georgina Hale and Gemma Jones

directed by: Ken Russell

the plot: Cardinal Richelieu and his power-hungry henchmen seek control of 17th-century France, but must first defeat Father Grandier (Reed)—the priest who runs Loudon, a fortified town that prevents them from exerting total control. They seek to destroy him by exploiting his sexual indiscretions and accusing him of witchcraft after he’s put in charge of a nunnery where the mother superior, Sister Jeanne (Redgrave), is sexually obsessed with him. A mad witch hunter is brought in to gather evidence against the priest and prepare for the big trial. 

why it’s good: This is strong stuff. Based on historical fact, and released the same year as Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” and Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs,” the shock of this triumvirate is as fresh as it was way back when. British enfant terrible Ken Russell had directed exquisite composer bios for BBC-TV, as well as films that represent the mainstream (“Altered States,” 1980), the lofty (“Women in Love,” 1970), and the elegant (“The Music Lovers,” 1970). But it’s when Russell relieves himself in the soup tureen of high culture that he is happiest. “Lisztomania” (1975), “Valentino” (1977), “Crimes of Passion” (1984), and “Gothic” (1986) were all crafted to gleefully shock and offend. But none would exceed the abominations of “The Devils.” Based on Aldous Huxley’s scholarly 1952 account of the alleged demonic possession of nuns in Loudon, France, in 1634, as well as the framing, torture, and burning of Father Urbain Grandier to serve the political aims of the church, Russell pulled no punches. The wasp-sting and blister ministrations of quack “physicians,” the mass putrescent corpses of plague victims, and the warped tortures of the Catholic witch hunters, are all surpassed only by a hysterical assault on a full-scale wooden figure of Christ by naked nuns who employ every orifice. Sister Jeanne’s black-and-white, sexual-religious fantasies of Grandier as Christ pollute the viewer’s memory.

why you should own it: Russell (now 84 and still producing unbelievable home-studio digital films), may be chiefly remembered for his marvelous ’60s television work and his masterpiece, “Women in Love.” But “The Devils” will endure as his most violent slap in the face of prevailing standards of decency in cinema. For Russell, real obscenity provides the only possible metaphor for the obscenities of injustice and religious mania. Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, both beautiful 40 years ago, deliver performances of integrity. Georgina Hale plays a sad slattern, and sweet Gemma Jones portrays the virgin of Grandier’s affections that Sister Jeanne could never be. Derek Jarman’s surreal sets and Peter Maxwell Davies’ disquieting score are magnificent. The Euro-Cult DVD “Uncut Restored Edition” includes the “Rape of Christ” sequence that was wisely cut by Warner Brothers upon the film’s original release. It also includes four short, relevant and related documentaries.