The Devils - Page 6

Yes, it's interesting. The movie didn't register much of a blip in the U.S when it was new and awareness of the film would have been at an all-time high--and created a stir in its native U.K. Now, forty years later, it's not on DVD in the U.S under shadowy circumstances, though it is getting the deluxe treatment in the U.K.

Always loved the disclaimer text on this U.S. one-sheet:
devils_DOM_NZ03359_L.jpg 73k .jpg file

Back in 1971 Box Office Magazine would poll theatres across the nation in 20 of the top markets to get the reaction to how a film does.  This was way before Rentrack and other companies that gather gross information.  I found an issue from January 1972 that listed the results for THE DEVILS in most of those top twenty cities.  This was called The Boxoffice Barometer and score of 100 is considered average business. 

 

Boston - 350

Buffalo - 100

Cleveland - 135

Chicago - 300

Cincinnati - 250

Denver - 100

Detroit - 250

Hartford - 200

Kansas City - 500

Los Angeles - 420

Minneapolis - 125

New Haven - 175

New York - 350

Portland - 175

San Francisco - 300

 

Films that were doing poorer than THE DEVILS were DRIVE HE SAID, RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, and DEATH IN VENICE.  While the one film that was outstanding was CARNAL KNOWLEDGE.  But again, like the run in New York, I am sure the film played in one house in each of those markets and more than likely is a small specialty venue.  I did find the high listing for Kansas City to be intriguing and wish I knew why. 

 

Edited by ahollis - 12/1/11 at 11:46am

I was always buying movie tie-in paperbacks back in the day, and thankfully still had this one for "KR" to initial last year.

 

Wow, I'd forgotten about that disclaimer poster.  Thanks for posting that.

 

I happen to believe this might be true (Hollywood can be stubborn/spiteful for personal reasons)

 

 

In 2011 most people wouldn't even know the film was released (Walmart wouldn't carry it) and most have never heard of it

 

But what is really so contraversal about "The Devils" in 2011?

 

The violence and sex? - there is more violence in the average PG-13 film than in "The Devils.   The average war film ("Saving Private Ryan") has so much more

 

There is more nudity in the average teen sex flick

 

The plot? Wasn't this based on some historical facts? - even if only a little?

The Cardinal wants to gain control of France so he invents a crisis around a handsome priest who runs a city he needs to ruin/destroy to gain control and then hires a con artist to make the town's nuns believe they are hysterical and possessed by the priests beauty. It's your basic smear champaign (No different the a Gov Leader getting a blow job from a staff worker)

 

No where is God or Christ involved. No mentioned is there that Christ was married or had sex (The Last Temptation of Christ" "The DeVincey Code")

 

The film is not about Demonic possession (Just lust obsession) No children are abused during the film (or even seen for that matter)

 

Many things are hinted at and never even shown. The cut version isn't even that bad, thought the cuts weren't that bad either.

 

True there are moments of grossness (Like the med-evil medical remedies or the Burning at the Stake), you do not want to watch "The Devils" while eating a bowl of chili - or even spaghetti - it's just not right - but the same is true of "Dawn of the Dead" and many other zombie flicks

 

When I think of the scene where the nude nuns without big guns* are running around hysterical while the priests are over seeing the court (and which leads to the very controversial rape of Christ sequence)  -  it kinda reminds me of the Walmart shoppers running around on black Friday and trampling the customers in front of them to get the latest deal on some piece of tech equipment that will be out dated in the next 12 months. And for this they spent their Thanksgiving holiday waiting in line in the cold in the parking lot while other (richer people) were stuffing their faces with more foods in one day than some children eat in Africa over a whole year - but that's okay

 

*I refer to the nuns in "The Devils" as "Nude Nuns without big Guns" because "Nude Nuns With Big Guns" is being released this holiday season on blu-ray - just in case anyone wants to pick it up (lol)

 

I believe in the later the guns are weapons and not some woman's rack - which of course is okay too

 

Edited by GMpasqua - 12/1/11 at 8:07pm