The Devils (1971)

Director: Ken Russell

Writers: Ken Russell, based on the play by John Whiting and the novel by Aldous Huxley

Stars: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Logue, Graham Armitage, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian, Gemma Jones

Writer/director Ken Russell develops a scathing indictment of power, institutions, hypocrisy, and repressed sexuality from a historical case of supposed demonic possession. 

A sexually repressed nun (Vanessa Redgrave) claims she has been bewitched by a popular and independent priest (Oliver Reed) who has been placed in charge of the town of Loudon.

 

Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue), who has been influencing King Louis XIII (Graham Armitage) to tighten his control of French cities, seizes on the situation as a pretext to put the priest on trial and sentence him to death.

 

This film is as relevant as it ever was, and, sadly, relevant it will probably always be.

 

When government is at its most immoral, it often aligns itself with religion in order to co-opt the moral authority of the church, and religious institutions all too often cooperate in order to gain greater access to power.

 

Together, they oppress convenient targets to deflect attention from their own corruption.

 

But this is no pedantic screed; it is a beautifully designed and photographed film of startling power. 

Widely panned, censored, and banned at the time of its release, it has found an appreciative audience in recent years.