The Devils

Religious sacrilege, explicit sex, graphic violence – you’ll find all of this in this highly controversial film by the British director Ken Russell. Russell wrote the screenplay himself, based on Aldous Huxley’s non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun. Its release caused quite a stir; in countless countries the film was banned or heavily edited, yet Russell nevertheless won the award for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival. Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed.

In the 17th century, the French Cardinal Richelieu attempts to consolidate all power in his own hands, partly by gaining control over the towns. In 1634, it is Loudun’s turn – the town governed by the popular priest Urbain Grandier (Reed). Events come to a head when the Mother Superior, Jeanne des Anges (Redgrave) – a hunchbacked woman with a sexual obsession for Grandier – levels accusations of witchcraft against him. The Inquisition is called in.