Don't Torture Me Anymore

The Devils is a 1971 historical psychological horror-drama film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, and starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. A dramatised historical account of the fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft after the possessions in Loudun, France, the plot also focuses on Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites the accusations. The Devils is in part adapted from the 1952 non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, as well as John Whiting's subsequent 1960 play The Devils. United Artists initially pitched the idea to Russell, but bowed out after reading his finished screenplay, as they felt it was too controversial in nature. Warner Bros. agreed to produce and distribute, and filming largely took place at Pinewood Studios in late 1970. The film's graphic portrayal of violent and sexual content, often combined with religion, ignited harsh reaction from censors, and it originally received an X rating in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It was banned in several countries, and heavily edited for exhibition in others. Although critics largely dismissed The Devils for its explicit content, it won awards for Best Director at the 33rd Venice International Film Festival, as well as from the U.S. National Board of Review. Although a director's cut of the film was given its first theatrical release in the UK in 2002, it has not been made officially available on home media, and releases of edited versions on DVD and streaming services remain scant. Following a debut at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2026, Warner Bros. Clockwork is scheduled to theatrically release a 4K restoration of the director's cut in North America for one week beginning 16 October 2026, followed by a release in the UK and Ireland through BFI Distribution on 30 October; the restored version received an official NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association for "sexual content/graphic nudity". Film scholarship primarily focuses on themes of sexual repression and political corruption. The Devils has been recognized as one of the most controversial films of all time by numerous publications and critics, and remained banned in Finland until 2001.