Warner Bros. Clockwork and the BFI have dropped the trailer for the upcoming release of the 1971 masterpiece, Ken Russell’s The Devils.
Starring the unparalleled Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, the film is “Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, the film lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption.”
This upcoming release, which, courtesy of the BFI, hits UK cinemas on October 30th, will be the first time Ken Russell’s intended cut of the film will be shown publicly. It has been censored for over half a century, but is now fully restored in 4K.
The Director of Programme and Distribution at the BFI, Stuart Brown, added that: “Ken Russell’s The Devils is one of the great masterpieces of British cinema: a film of astonishing imagination, searing power and dazzling formal brilliance.
“The BFI is thrilled to be partnering with Warner Bros. Clockwork to present the new restoration, which reveals anew the extraordinary artistry of Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Derek Jarman and the many others who collaborated to create a truly singular work.”
This new, uncut, and restored version of the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year. It will also be heading to the Toronto International Film Festival next month, before its theatrical debut.
Though this is the master English filmmaker’s most decorated work, Russell directed many other manic and intellectually provocative films such as Altered States, The Lair of the White Worm, Tommy, Gothic, Women in Love, Mahler, The Boyfriend, Lisztomania and many more.
In July 2027, BFI Southbank will present the most extensive Ken Russell retrospective that has ever been mounted. “Spanning more than five decades of restless creativity, the season will explore Russell’s extraordinary work, from his amateur films of the 1950s through the form-breaking BBC productions of the 1960s that transformed the possibilities of television arts broadcasting, before he embarked on one of the most distinctive careers in world cinema.”
Ken Russell’s The Devils will be released in cinemas in the US on 16th October and in the UK and Ireland on 30th October.
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