Preview: Ken Russell’s The Devils

About this event

Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, The Devils lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption. Oliver Reed gives one of his greatest performances as Grandier, opposite an extraordinary Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne, whose repressed desire unleashes a religious and sexual mania. Derek Jarman’s visionary production design and Shirley Russell’s striking costumes help create a feverish world at once historical and startlingly modern. Censored from its original release, Russell’s film became one of cinema’s most legendarily compromised works. This long-anticipated restoration reaffirms The Devils as an overwhelming, uncompromising and singular achievement of British cinema. James Bell, BFI National Archive Senior Curator Contains triggers that might potentially spoil the plot of the film. Please check with our Visitor Services team for further advice. See other screenings of Ken Russell’s The Devils .