KEN RUSSELL AND THE DEVILS
Based on the play The Devils 1961 by John Whiting and The Devils of Loudun 1952 by Aldous
Huxley The Devils tells the story a mass demonic “possession” of a group of cloistered
nuns in Loudon France. Russell in his
naivety thought as a Catholic he could present the religious material and the
drama to an audience as a true story in a realistic manner. When Ken Russell produced the script
for his film The Devils 1971 which he categorized as, “a Christian film about a
sinner who becomes a saint”, he probably never thought it would as controversial
as it became.
Certainly known as a
brilliant filmmaker, Ken Russell’s started his career as a photographer and went on
to produce some outstanding and controversial films for the BBC mostly about famous
composers and artists. His Academy Award winning film Women in Love 1969 was the first major studio film to show male
genitalia. While in the 70’s he adapted The Who’s rock opera Tommy 1975 for the
screen and the most successful film Altered States 1980 starring William Hurt.
Since receiving almost universal negative
reviews upon release, The Devils reputation has grown in stature and has been
hailed by many as a masterpiece including director Guillermo del Toro. Possibly Russell’s finest film, it
contains his unrestrained compulsion for over the top scenes, his fixation with
Catholicism and sex, but also at its heart there lies a clash between church
and state, man’s hypocrisy and true story of a “sinner who becomes a saint.”
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| Oliver Reed, Ken Russell & Vanessa Redgrave on the set of The Devils |
WHAT'S THE STORY
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| Father Urbain Grandier |
as source material Ken Russell’s movie The Devils is
the story of Father Urbain Grandier and his eventual execution at the hands of the Catholic Church. In 1626 after abolishing the position of Constable of France, Cardinal Richelieu ordered all fortified castles to be razed, excepting only those needed to defend against invaders. The City of Loudun was one of those fortified cities and although emissary Baron De Laubardemont was sent to tear down the walls, one of the main impediments was a priest, Father Urbain Grandier. Father Grandier born 1590 was by all accounts a good, handsome, eloquent man who unfortunately, against church doctrine, had a thing for the ladies. In addition to writings in support of marriage for priests, he was also unfortunately a critic of Cardinal Richelieu. When he refused to become the confessor to the nuns of St. Ursuline his troubles began. Whether it was a case of unrequited affection, mass hysteria or coercion by the state, Sister Agnes and later other Ursuline nuns claimed that Father Grandier appearing as an angel in their dreams and accompanied by demons came to nuns to enticed them into sexual acts. The charges of the first trial were eventually dismissed, but were eventually reinstated and Father Grandier was found guilty, subjected to horrific torture and burned at the stake on August 18,1634. Although the state didn’t get a confession, the walls of Loudun buckled and fell to the will of Cardinal Richelieu, ultimately achieving the wishes of the state.
THE CONTROVERSY
The Devils with approved edits was backed by the studio and reviewed by a member British Board of Film Censors. In January of 1971 during its rough cut preview showing, British film sensors balked and required that the notorious “Rape of Christ” scene be removed for fear of it being deemed obscene and the studio taken to court. In addition to a few instances of violence, a final scene where Sister Jeanne pleasures herself with the charred femur of the late Grandier was removed. Still the film at 107 minutes was given an X certification in the UK and Warner Brother in the U.S. proceeded to cut an addition 4 minutes to receive an R rating. The “Rape of Christ" scene which runs about 2 1/2 minutes long was thought to be lost was discovered in a film storage warehouse in 2004 by film critic Mark Kermode, after an extensive search. The full director's cut shown at 111 minutes with restored scenes has been shown at special screenings, but is not available as Warner Brothers forbids its reconstruction for DVD or Blu-ray release. The region 2 UK DVD runs 107 minutes and is available in standard definition only. At this time there are no plans for a "Director's Cut" release.
Check out this video I made about the controversial scene
Text of Video Narration
Check out this video I made about the controversial scene
After numerous negative reviews for the film The Devils by
Ken Russell, ultimately the scene that aroused the ire of the critics and the condemnation
of the British film board was the "Rape of Christ" scene ,a 2 ½ minute segment showing
the desecration of the church by possessed nuns. In response to its removal
Director Ken Russell started that “Both Warners and the censor thought it was
too strong, so I took it out. Short of burning the film I had no choice.”
While taken out of context the scene would appear gratuitous
and uncalled for however, the scene is a culmination of both the nun’s
possession in convent and the fabricated charges against the priest Grandier. This
spectacle is intercut with a pious Grandier returning to Loudun and stopping in
a field to celebrate mass while the tempest rages in the church. A juxtaposition
of the hypocrisy of the church and a pious but imperfect priest.
While in the church a sudden appearance of Louis XIII who visits
the church with his gawking entourage, brings an almost comic relief to the proceedings.
A holy relic in the form of a box containing a vial the Jesus’ blood is produced
and calm falls over the church as the nuns cry out that they are healed and
saved only to find that the box is empty, a cruel blasphemous joke by Louis
XIII. The nuns most of them naked pull the giant crucifix from the wall and
sexually ravage it while other assorted deviant and blasphemous acts are
portrayed elsewhere in the scene. While it is for some difficult to watch, this
is the culmination of a Black Mass and the centerpiece of the film, showing
hypocrisy of the church’s charges against Grandier.
Sadly, after almost 50 years the scene has still not been reincorporated
back onto this film.
In addition here is an excerpt from the actual Rape of Christ Scene proceed with caution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovt2srq432g&has_verified=1
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