Details for this torrent 


The Devils [1971] Ken Russell
Type:
Video > Movies
Files:
11
Size:
1.16 GB

Info:
IMDB
Spoken language(s):
English
Quality:
+0 / -1 (-1)

Uploaded:
Jun 5, 2011
By:
ThorntonWilde



http://bayimg.com/BaiIgaaDh

The Devils (1971) 

Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of The Devils (UK)   (2002)
 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066993/

runtime 1:48:29
ISBN 8-16543-230-2

The Devils is a 1971 horror film directed by Ken Russell. It stars Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book. Derek Jarman was responsible for the film's production design. It tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th century French priest executed for witchcraft.

 Vanessa Redgrave ...  Sister Jeanne 
 Oliver Reed ...  Urbain Grandier 
 Dudley Sutton ...  Baron De Laubardemont 
 Max Adrian ...  Ibert 
 Gemma Jones ...  Madeleine 
 Murray Melvin ...  Mignon 
 Michael Gothard ...  Father Barre 
 Georgina Hale ...  Philippe 
 Brian Murphy ...  Adam 
 Christopher Logue ...  Cardinal Richelieu 
 Graham Armitage ...  Louis XIII 
 John Woodvine ...  Trincant 
 Andrew Faulds ...  Rangier 
 Kenneth Colley ...  Legrand 
 Judith Paris ...  Sister Judith 


Both Aldous Huxley's book and Ken Russell's film are historically based. However, Russell took significant liberties with his depiction of the Loudun possessions, their chronology, and circumstances; the depictions of King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu do not resemble the historical figures. Louis XIII is depicted as an effeminate homosexual who amuses himself by shooting Protestants dressed as birds. Richelieu is borne in a chair by servants. Father Grandier, whilst a real figure who was indeed burnt at the stake, was in fact acquitted on the charges of bewitching nuns he is executed for in the film; he later spoke out against Cardinal Richelieu, who appointed a special commission to renew the charges of witchcraft, resulting in his execution. Certain figures present during the real Loudoun possessions are not present in the film, notably Father Tranquille, Father Lactance and Father Surin, in charge of the exorcisms at Loudun (in the film, Barre performs the exorcisms and torture).

Since the time of its release, the film has caused enormous controversy. In the United Kingdom it was banned by 17 local authorities, and everywhere attracted many scathing reviews. Judith Crist called it a "grand fiesta for sadists and perverts",[citation needed] while Derek Malcolm called it "a very bad film indeed."[citation needed] However, it won the award for Best Director-Foreign Film in the Venice Film Festival, despite being banned in the country. The United States National Board of Review awarded Ken Russell best director for The Devils and his next film, The Boy Friend. In 2002, when 100 film makers and critics were asked to cite what they considered to be the ten most important films ever made, The Devils featured in the lists submitted by critic Mark Kermode and director Alex Cox.

The film's combination of religious themes and imagery combined with violent and sexual content was a test for the British Board of Film Censors that at the time was being pressured by socially conservative interest groups.

In order to earn an "X" certificate, Russell made minor cuts to the more explicit nudity (mainly in the cathedral sequences) and removed some violent detail (notably the crushing of Grandier's legs). However, the biggest cuts were made by the studio itself, prior to submission to the BBFC, removing two scenes in their entirety, notably a two-and-a-half-minute sequence of crazed naked nuns sexually assaulting a statue of Christ and about of half of a latter scene with Sister Jeanne masturbating with the charred tibia of Grandier after self-administering an enema. However, even in its released form, the film was considerably stronger in detail than most films released prior to that point.

Its fate in the United States was even more stringent, with a further set of cuts made to even more of the nudity with some key scenes (including Sister Jeanne's crazed visions, exorcism and the climactic burning) shorn of the more explicit detail.

All of this material was presumed lost or destroyed until critic Mark Kermode found the complete "Rape of Christ" sequence and several other deleted scenes (including the fuller version of Sister Jeanne's masturbation scene as well as additional sequences of naked nuns lounging around the convent and a bawdy dance performed by travelling players mimicking the bizarre events whilst Grandier is being lead to his death) in 2002. The artist Adam Chodzko made a video work in which he traced and interviewed many of the actresses who had played the nuns during the orgy scene. Although some material may have been lost forever, the NFT was able to show The Devils in the fullest possible state in 2004. This uncut version premiered at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film in March 2006.

The British version remains the most complete one in circulation, although there are long promised plans to release the uncut version on mass-market DVD. On April 25, 2007, The Devils was shown for a second time in its fullest possible state to a group of students and staff at the University of Southampton, followed by a question and answer session with the director, moderated by Mark Kermode. It was the first significant event to take place during Russell's tenure as a visiting fellow at the University of Southampton in the English and film departments, April 2007 to March 2008.

An NTSC-format DVD edition on the Angel Digital label appeared in 2005, with the so-called "Rape of Christ" scene and other censored footage restored, and featuring a documentary by Mark Kermode about the film, as well as interviews with Russell, some of the surviving cast members, and a member of the BBFC who participated in the original censorship of the film.

DVDActive.com announced on February 28, 2008 that The Devils would finally be released on DVD by Warner Home Video in the U.S. on May 20, 2008, in the uncut (111 min) version, but without additional material. However, a day later, a DVDActive forum post asserted that the release had been dropped from Warner's schedule.

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists 
1972  Won Silver Ribbon Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero) Ken Russell  

National Board of Review, USA 
1972  Won NBR Award Best Director Ken Russell Also for The Boy Friend (1971). 

Hell on Earth (2002) (TV)
 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815173/

Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of The Devils (UK)  
 
Parents Guide:Add content advisory for parents 
Runtime:51 min 
Country:UK 
Film Four International 

 Mark Kermode ...  Himself - Presenter 
 Imogen Claire ...  Herself 
 Peter Maxwell Davies ...  Himself 
 Nigel Floyd ...  Himself 
 Selina Gilbert ...  Herself 
 Georgina Hale ...  Herself 
 Murray Melvin ...  Himself 
 Judith Paris ...  Herself 
 Vanessa Redgrave ...  Herself 
 Ken Russell ...  Himself 
 Dudley Sutton ...  Himself 
 Izabella Telezynska ...  Herself 
 Doremy Vernon ...  Herself 
 Alexander Walker ...  Himself 
 David Watkin ...  Himself 


Channel 4's Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of The Devils is an hour-long documentary presented by Mark Kermode on Ken Russell's 1971 film, The Devils, one of the most controversial films ever made in the UK. The documentary explores the dispute over the film, which remains heavily cut to this day, and together with interviews with many of those involved in the production, also features the notorious "Rape of Christ" footage that was believed to have been destroyed due to its extreme content. 

The Devils details a story of religious and political persecution in 17th century France, where King Louis XII I (Graham Armitage) and Cardinal Richlieu (Christopher Logue) conspire to bring church and state together. After the citizens of Loudun drive back the King's troops under the guidance of the charismatic Father Grandier (Oliver Reed), the Mother Superior of Loudun's convent, Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave), becomes sexually obsessed with him. But her passion leads to one of vengeance as she confesses that an incubus named Grandier has visited her. The Church dispatch their chief exorcist, Father Barre (Michael Gothard), and aided by the tools of torture soon witnesses tales of demonic possession from most of the nuns. As the sadistic exorcists indulge themselves freely, Grandier is found guilty as charged. The Catholic Church reacted badly to the film when it was premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1971. The Vatican described it as a "vulgar cultural mystification" and a "sexual-sacrilege in motion pictures". The film received a similar reception from the studios who demanded that Russell make large cuts or else it would not be released. Hell On Earth recounts the story of when the studio executives came to London to watch The Devils for the first time. The atmosphere in the screening room was apparently so bad that Ken Russell decided to sneak out before the film finished in order that the executives wouldn't have anyone to argue with. 

Among the cuts enforced on the film was a scene that is known as the "Rape of Christ" when the Ursuline nuns, seemingly under demonic possession, remove a life-sized crucified image of Christ from the wall of the nunnery to engage in sexual acts with the statue. The scene, which has not been seen since 1970, was the culmination of a Black mass, a sequence that was both a thematic and visual climax. The scene proved too much for the censors and was subsequently cut and since presumed destroyed. The missing scene was unearthed due to the perseverance of Mark Kermode, who was spurred on by Ken Russell's accounts of the missing footage. Hell on Earth, produced by Lucida Productions for Channel 4, places this piece of film that Kermode describes as being "a major find from one of the most significant pieces of post-war British cinema", back into the original context of the film by the film's original editor Mike Bradsell, together with fragments of Peter Maxwell Davies' original score, seen for the first time in over thirty years.

Comments

Dear ThortonWilde, Thank you very much for this torrent...helas, the last 30 minutes of the film is missing; I have 1 hour and 10 mins. The film should run for 1 hour 50. Any chance of you taking a look at it and fixing that...Much appreciated if you can! PS I tried downloading it twice, so I'm guessing its from your source files.
Incomplete file.

Only lasts for 1 hour 9 minutes

(last 40 minutes of movie is missing)
ThorntonWilde, It would be good if you could reply, 40 mins missing off the end of the film is not a good look after you have gone too so much trouble to upload this!
DONT TRY TO DOWNLOAD THIS THE TORRENT FILE FOR THE FEATURE IS CORRUPT. PIRATE BAY SITE WONT TAKE IT DOWN.
Google a bit, and you'll find the full version torrent