The Devils (1 Viewer)

[Martin S]

Anyone know what happened to Ken Russell's THE DEVILS that was meant to come out on R2 this year? It just suddenly seemed to disappear off the schedule. PLAY have got it down now as T.B.A.

 

[Hendrik]

...too 'controversial'?... I remember a scene where a nun (Vanessa Redgrave?) masturbated using a crucifix - the packed Swiss audience in the sold-out cinema let out a collective gasp...
* Ken Russell doesn't report hysteria, he markets it - New Yorker, 1976
* A garish glossary of sado-masochism ... a taste for visual sensation that makes scene after scene look like the masturbatory fantasies of a Roman Catholic boyhood - Alexander Walker
. . . . . .

 

[David Allum]

http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/s...hreadid=132798
Looks promising.

 

[Hendrik]

...it was Kino Rex, on the Bahnhofstrasse, in Zurich, back in the days when this or that movie (e.g. "Harold And Maude", "Topaz") could still pack an 800-seat house for the 9 p.m. show on a Saturday night...
. . . . . .

 

[Jeff_HR]

It appears that the delay is for a good reason.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

I'm very intrigued by this film, and if it indeed turns out to be the completely uncut version, I'll most probably pick it up when it's released. It has so much clout among the Euro-cultists that I can easily sell it (for profit, I suspect) if it turns out to be shit. By the way, Hendrik, what's your opinion on Salò?

 

[Hendrik]

"...By the way, Hendrik, what's your opinion on Salò?"
...erm... surely now, you're not 'elevating' Russell's The Devils to the same level as Pasolini's Salò ?...
. . . :frowning: . . .

 

[Martin S]

You're right Hendrik, there's no contest between SALO and THE DEVILS......THe DEVILS wins hands down!!

 

[Anthony Thorne]

Most of you guys have probably already read this, but here's the thread in question detailing the latest bad news on the (aborted?) restoration of THE DEVILS. Can't this movie, and its fans, ever catch a break?
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=106477
For what it's worth, I prefer THE DEVILS to SALO as well. The latter is okay but to my mind doesn't compare to the richness of Ken Russell's finest movie.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Can't this movie, and its fans, ever catch a break?

Not until it belongs to some company other that WB.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

Look people, I haven't seen The Devils yet, so I wasn't trying to compare it to Salò (which I admire greatly without enjoying it at all); I just wanted to get Hendrik's opinion on another (unjustly?)infamous film. My question has now been answered in this thread and in another one at DVDTalk concerning Gaspar Noé's Irréversible...

 

[andrew markworthy]

If it's of any interest, the lost bits of The Devils have been found and restored. They are due to be shown on a documentary on the UK Channel 4 on November 25th.
More info at this link:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/...sing_hell.html

 

[JonathanG]

word is though the docu will be shown only once on UK television and no luck whatsoever of inclusion on the DVD, if and when the DVD will ever materalizes. Maybe with the soon-to be release special edition of "Tommy" this might jumpstart a resurgence of Russell's other films to get proper DVD releases:

"The Devils" - 111min version
"The Boyfriend"

 

[JPCinema]

Lets not forget THE MUSIC LOVERS. MGM has the rights to it.
I sure hope that is relased someday.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

THE DEVILS has been released for rental or sale on iTunes, of all places. It is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks AMAZING compared to all the bootleg versions I've seen. The movie runs over 108 minutes, so it isn't the 103-minute R-rated cut. Still no official DVD release anywhere, but it has obviously been remastered for the iTunes version to be as good as it is.
Here are some pictures - perhaps this was the transfer that was created for the DVD that has yet to surface?

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

If it's 108 minutes, sounds like it's still missing the "Rape of Christ" segment. Does it still carry an R rating at iTunes?

 

[Charles Smith]

This just made my weekend.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

It says it is Rated R at iTunes, but from what I've read online "The Rape of Christ" sequence was never in ANY version of the movie. There was a 108-109 min X rated US cut, and then an 111 min UK X cut, and then a 103 min R-rated US version.
What I'd like to know is what is different between the US and UK X versions. I have the bootleg DVD from the UK broadcast and viewed it once, and now I've seen the full 2.35:1 version from iTunes. Nothing stuck out as different to me.
Some more images for you guys. One would never know how carefully composed the 2.35:1 frame is from that cropped UK broadcast or the 4x3 other cropped releases.

 

[Charles Smith]

That UK broadcast DVD -- as bad as the image is (but as valuable as its existence has been in the interim) -- is heartbreaking when they pull the image back to 2.35:1 at the beginning of the end credits.

 

[Radioman970]

Will itunes allow you burn this one to a DVD...or does DRM get in the way?



Truly...I've watched that bootleg available on amazon.com once. As far as weird religious films go, it's epic and quite fun to watch, just like the original Wickerman. WB should really do a DVD-R of this film, at least... Let the customer decide what they want to see and not see!!