The loosening of censorship restrictions in the late sixties and seventies led to a frenetic period in the history of the cinema, when nothing exceeded like excess and when filmmakers tried to break as many taboos as they could in the course of one movie, often egged on by critics who assumed that a controversial film was automatically a good one. Of course, a controversial film is not automatically a bad one, and there were many films which were rubbished at the time by the Moral Majority or the Mary Whitehouse tendency but which can now be seen as very good ones, even masterpieces. Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" is a good example. Many others, however, Tinto Brass's "Caligula" being a notorious offender, simply seem to have been made according to the standard recipe in the Beginner's Guide to Making an Instant Art-house Classic; add a bit of kinky sex here, a bit more gruesome violence there, stir in a touch of blasphemy, garnish with a spurious intellectual justification and then sit back and wait for the howls of protest from the outraged bourgeoisie.
Ken Russell's "The Devils" falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is set in the French city of Loudun during the reign of Louis XIII. The King's ruthless Chief Minister, Cardinal Richelieu, is determined to bring the whole country under his centralised rule and to put an end to the privileges of self-government enjoyed by the country's towns and cities. The Cardinal's men arrive in Loudun to tear down the city walls, the symbols of its independence and freedom from central control, but are opposed by the local people under the leadership of a charismatic Catholic priest, Urbain Grandier. The Cardinal therefore decides to destroy Grandier by accusing him of heresy, a capital offence at that time.
There were some things about the film which I disliked. In tune with the spirit of his age, Russell tries to pile in as many shocking elements as he can. (It is not a film for those of a nervous disposition). The scenes showing graphically the sufferings of plague victims could be justified as giving an authentic picture of the seventeenth century, and the scenes of torture as driving home the message about the cruelty of the Inquisition, but I doubt if we needed such a stress on the sexuality of nuns. (Along with the neuroses of famous composers, this seems to be one of Russell's obsessions; there is a reference to masturbating nuns in "The Lair of the White Worm"). "Nunsploitation" films seem to have been in vogue in the seventies, but there is a long and unlovely history of convent-set pornography, mostly based upon a toxic mixture of prurience and anti-Catholic bigotry. "The Devils" falls within this tradition; one of its themes is the idea that Grandier is irresistible to women, including the nuns in the local convent who continually fantasise about him. I also disliked the modernistic sets; there seems little point in setting a film in seventeenth century France if you are going to film it against a backdrop that looks like a 1960s housing estate in Milton Keynes. At times the plot, particularly in the first half of the film, seems confusing. And did Louis XIII really wear a silver bikini when taking part in Court masques?
This film is, however, something more than the standard seventies mixture of sex, gore and pretentiousness. Russell was never a subtle director, and "The Devils", with its hectic visual style, is at times deliriously over the top. There are, however, two things which make it worth watching. Firstly, Russell does have some genuinely serious points to make about political power and the misuse of religion for political ends. Secondly, whatever his faults, Russell had the ability to bring out the best in his actors. His previous film "The Music Lovers" is otherwise of dubious artistic quality, but it does contain one very fine performance from Glenda Jackson. Jackson had turned down the chance to appear in "The Devils", but her replacement Vanessa Redgrave is also good here. The star performance, however, is from Oliver Reed as Grandier. Reed's reputation as a playboy and bon viveur has, rather unfairly, tended to overshadow his reputation as an actor, but at his best, as here, he could be brilliant.
Although Grandier is capable of great courage and integrity, his character is not idealised. He is a flawed hero, a man with something of the religious fanatic about him. He is also a sensual man who enjoys the pleasures of the flesh and has had affairs with several women. Contrary to the discipline of the Catholic priesthood, he has entered into an illegal marriage with a young woman. Although a Catholic, Grandier clearly has some sympathy with the city's Protestants, adopting their criticisms of priestly celibacy and endeavouring to protect them from persecution. Reed is able to convey all these conflicting elements in Grandier's character.
The resulting film is a strange mixture of the near-comic and the deeply serious, the meretricious and the brilliant. In my view it never quite justifies the very high regard in which Russell was once held as a director, but it is nevertheless fascinating to watch. 6/10
Ken Russell's "The Devils" falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is set in the French city of Loudun during the reign of Louis XIII. The King's ruthless Chief Minister, Cardinal Richelieu, is determined to bring the whole country under his centralised rule and to put an end to the privileges of self-government enjoyed by the country's towns and cities. The Cardinal's men arrive in Loudun to tear down the city walls, the symbols of its independence and freedom from central control, but are opposed by the local people under the leadership of a charismatic Catholic priest, Urbain Grandier. The Cardinal therefore decides to destroy Grandier by accusing him of heresy, a capital offence at that time.
There were some things about the film which I disliked. In tune with the spirit of his age, Russell tries to pile in as many shocking elements as he can. (It is not a film for those of a nervous disposition). The scenes showing graphically the sufferings of plague victims could be justified as giving an authentic picture of the seventeenth century, and the scenes of torture as driving home the message about the cruelty of the Inquisition, but I doubt if we needed such a stress on the sexuality of nuns. (Along with the neuroses of famous composers, this seems to be one of Russell's obsessions; there is a reference to masturbating nuns in "The Lair of the White Worm"). "Nunsploitation" films seem to have been in vogue in the seventies, but there is a long and unlovely history of convent-set pornography, mostly based upon a toxic mixture of prurience and anti-Catholic bigotry. "The Devils" falls within this tradition; one of its themes is the idea that Grandier is irresistible to women, including the nuns in the local convent who continually fantasise about him. I also disliked the modernistic sets; there seems little point in setting a film in seventeenth century France if you are going to film it against a backdrop that looks like a 1960s housing estate in Milton Keynes. At times the plot, particularly in the first half of the film, seems confusing. And did Louis XIII really wear a silver bikini when taking part in Court masques?
This film is, however, something more than the standard seventies mixture of sex, gore and pretentiousness. Russell was never a subtle director, and "The Devils", with its hectic visual style, is at times deliriously over the top. There are, however, two things which make it worth watching. Firstly, Russell does have some genuinely serious points to make about political power and the misuse of religion for political ends. Secondly, whatever his faults, Russell had the ability to bring out the best in his actors. His previous film "The Music Lovers" is otherwise of dubious artistic quality, but it does contain one very fine performance from Glenda Jackson. Jackson had turned down the chance to appear in "The Devils", but her replacement Vanessa Redgrave is also good here. The star performance, however, is from Oliver Reed as Grandier. Reed's reputation as a playboy and bon viveur has, rather unfairly, tended to overshadow his reputation as an actor, but at his best, as here, he could be brilliant.
Although Grandier is capable of great courage and integrity, his character is not idealised. He is a flawed hero, a man with something of the religious fanatic about him. He is also a sensual man who enjoys the pleasures of the flesh and has had affairs with several women. Contrary to the discipline of the Catholic priesthood, he has entered into an illegal marriage with a young woman. Although a Catholic, Grandier clearly has some sympathy with the city's Protestants, adopting their criticisms of priestly celibacy and endeavouring to protect them from persecution. Reed is able to convey all these conflicting elements in Grandier's character.
The resulting film is a strange mixture of the near-comic and the deeply serious, the meretricious and the brilliant. In my view it never quite justifies the very high regard in which Russell was once held as a director, but it is nevertheless fascinating to watch. 6/10