How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Ken Russell's inflamed, flamboyant masochistic fantasies belong to their own sub-genre: nihilistic mini-epics designed to shock and repulse. Of course, it isn't Russell's thing to simply be shocking--he's much too tickled by his own blasphemies to stop there. The filmmaker wants to transcend cinematic controversy by desecrating everything mainstream audiences hold sacred. I imagine the crowds seeing "The Devils" in the early 1970s left the theater beaten and bowed (or, perhaps morbidly amused), most-assuredly talking about the director's visual conception of the material rather than the story or the performances. Too bad, as Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave are boldly compelling here, oozing sex and hysterical charisma as a whore-loving Catholic priest and a disfigured nun in 17th century France. In the town of Loudun, Father Grandier runs roughshod over the sniveling, power-seeking Baron de Laubardemont, who seeks to discredit the popular priest with an accusation of witchcraft by exploiting a confession of lust from the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne. Soon, the Baron and a lunatic 'exorcist' have all the nuns in the convent believing they are bewitched, leading to the film's most infamous sequence, a mass sham exorcism (naked nuns writhing in lust, slavering at the mouth and desecrating a statue of Christ). It is to Russell's credit that his actors do not come off looking foolish (except for an earlier scene with Redgrave, horrified at the news that Grandier has taken a wife, nearly shoving an entire rosary in her mouth); however, the film is monstrously ugly in a monotonous way that Russell probably didn't intend. The recklessly brazen, freakishly surreal images (startling at first) eventually no longer highlight individual sequences. Russell doesn't necessarily allow the picture to get away from him as much as he lets it become a nightmarish blur, one big heap of horrors. Alas, "The Devils" is no longer disturbing because the audience is systemically benumbed by the director's check-list of atrocities. By the time we get to an elongated public burning, our thoughts may have moved on to other matters...such as, "Just how did Russell talk his actors into doing these things?" ** from ****

I thought that Clockwork Orange was sick...This movie is not nearly famous as Clockwork, but it should be. It is probably the sickest movie I ever watched. After this, Clockwork Orange looks like picture book for kids.And at the same time it is essentially good movie. Unlike Human Centipede and similar nonsense movies that try to cover absence of any quality by tons of abominations, this movie is equally nasty and really good piece of cinematography.Just try to put your prejudice aside and you'll enjoy it. Even if it is too much for some of us, it's quality can not be denied.

Directed by Ken Russell (Women in Love, Tommy), I had heard about this film a little bit in the past, particularly that it was controversial, and I knew the leading actor, then it appeared in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, so I was definitely going to watch it. Basically set in 17th Century France, priest Cardinal Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed) and has radical political and religious notions and immoral sex life, these have earned him many enemies, including Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue) and his power-hungry entourage who seek to destroy his regime and take over. A group of nuns appear, Grandier's rivals are feeding on the mass hysteria being caused, as they appear to be "bewitched" by him, they are attempting to set him up as a warlock in control of this devil- possessed nunnery, the mother superior Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) is particularly sexually obsessed with him. Mad witch- hunter Father Pierre Barre (Michael Gothard) is brought in to gather evidence against Grandier, ready for the big trial against him, he refuses to confess to being in league with Satan, or to renounce his "heretical" views, he undergoes terrible tortures and is finally defeated, being burned at the stake. Also starring Dudley Sutton as Baron De Laubardemont, Max Adrian as Ibert, Gemma Jones as Madeleine, Murray Melvin as Mignon, Georgina Hale as Philippe, Brian Murphy as Adam and Graham Armitage as Louis XIII. Reed gives a great performance as the French priest with a sexual appetite and trying to keep control from manipulators, and Redgrave is almost as good as the humpbacked nun sexually hungry for him, censorship issues over the years for the release of this film in many countries have caused running times to vary, there are many sexual scenes, but more than anything disturbing moments that are anti-religious, sacrilege and almost heresy, making this film shocking, repulsive, hysterical, compelling and fascinating in all measures, an interesting controversial historical drama horror. Oliver Reed was number 78 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and he was number 26 on The 50 Greatest British Actors. Very good!

One of the best history movies ever made that deals with religion, witchcraft and the occult. The story and visuals are just as bizarre and controversial as the subject matter. And the movie can easily fall into the genre of horror - it is that creepy.If you are interested in horror movies, religion, occult topics, witchcraft, or in history films in general then you should enjoy the movie "The Devils". It is good.I do not believe the film is 100% accurate with it's history facts - but I'm sure it comes somewhat close what happened in 17th-century France. I found that I had extreme pity for Father Urbain Grandier played brilliantly by Oliver Reed.I also think the title of the movie and film's poster does not do justice to the film. They have the movie looking and sounding like a just another b-rated horror flick instead of a good history movie. Change the title and look of the poster then you might have more history lovers wanting to watch it.9.5/10