The Devils

Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) is a historical drama that has lost none of its power to shock. Set in the walled city of Loudun in 1634, the film dramatizes the real-life possession scandal that led to the execution of Father Urbain Grandier. Russell, working from Aldous Huxley's 1952 book The Devils of Loudun and John Whiting's stage play, fashions a narrative that is part political thriller, part horror film, and part savage satire. The result is a work that remains as contentious today as it was upon release, praised for its audacity and condemned for its excess.

The film stars Oliver Reed as Grandier, a priest whose eloquence and worldly ways make him both beloved and feared. Vanessa Redgrave delivers a harrowing performance as Sister Jeanne des Anges, the prioress whose repressed desires erupt into public fits of hysteria. When she accuses Grandier of witchcraft, Cardinal Richelieu and his agent Baron de Laubardemont seize the opportunity to destroy a political nuisance. The ensuing trial and torture are depicted with unflinching brutality, framed by Russell's baroque visual style and Peter Maxwell Davies' dissonant score.

Shot on a budget of roughly $2 million, The Devils earned about $11 million worldwide. The production faced immediate censorship battles; the film was banned in several countries and heavily cut in the US. A 4K restoration of the director's cut, completed in 2026, finally allows audiences to see the film as Russell intended, with an NC-17 rating. This restoration has renewed interest in a movie that has influenced filmmakers from Darren Aronofsky to Luca Guadagnino. [edit]

In 1634, the French city of Loudun is a powder keg of religious fervor and political tension. Father Urbain Grandier, the charismatic priest of Saint-Pierre-du-Martroi, is a man of contradictions. He preaches tolerance and challenges church dogma, yet he also leads a scandalous personal life, taking lovers and fathering a child. His influence over the townspeople is immense, and this does not go unnoticed by those in power.

At the Ursuline convent, the prioress Sister Jeanne des Anges is tormented by vivid sexual fantasies involving Grandier. Though she has never met him, she becomes obsessed with his reputation. Her disturbed mental state, exacerbated by the repressive environment of the convent, manifests in violent convulsions and fits of screaming. The local physician and clergy, unable to explain her condition, begin to whisper of demonic possession.

Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of France, sees an opportunity. He is determined to crush the Protestant influence in the region and consolidate royal authority. Loudun's resistance to his policies, symbolized by Grandier's independence, makes the priest a target. Richelieu dispatches Baron de Laubardemont, a ruthless and ambitious official, to investigate the alleged possession. Laubardemont quickly realizes that by supporting the nuns' claims, he can destroy Grandier and advance his own career.

The accusations spread like wildfire. The nuns, encouraged by the authorities and manipulated by the fanatical Father Pierre Barre, stage increasingly theatrical displays of possession. They writhe, speak in tongues, and claim that Grandier has bewitched them. The townspeople, already fearful of the devil, turn against their former hero. Grandier is arrested and subjected to brutal interrogation. Despite his eloquent defenses and the support of a few loyal friends, the machinery of the church and state grinds toward his destruction.

The film meticulously depicts the trial and torture, intercut with scenes of the nuns' hysteria and the political maneuvering of Richelieu. As the evidence against him mounts, Grandier's fate seems sealed. The narrative builds to a climax that is both harrowing and ambiguous, leaving the audience to question whether the demons are real or merely products of human cruelty, repression, and ambition.[edit]