Half a century of The Devils
On July 16, 1971, Ken Russell's film "The Devils" was released on the screens of cinemas in the United States. After 9 days, the film was shown in UK cinemas.
The literary basis for the script of the film "The Devils" was the book by Aldous Huxley "The Devils of Loudun", published in 1952. This book is a semi-documentary historical study about alleged demon possession, religious fanaticism, sexual suppression, mass hysteria and other unexplained events that took place in the small town of Loudun in 17th-century France. This book is the least known work of Aldous Huxley. But it is considered by many to be the best work of the writer.
Initially, the United Artists film company was going to make a film based on Huxley's book. It was this film company that commissioned Ken Russell to develop a script based on the book "The Devils of Loudun". However, when Russell presented his script to the film company, United Artists was afraid to film it. And then the Warner Bros. film company began to implement the project.
The violence and sexual content of the film caused a lot of controversy both before and after its release. Numerous sources reported various outrages that took place on the closed site, claiming that Ken Russell filmed obscene and indecent acts; the laboratory destroyed the footage, declaring it obscene; and, according to a Daily Record article published in November 1970, several young actresses reported that they were sexually assaulted by extras when they were forced to walk naked through the film crew, as a result of which the Actors' Equity company demanded that their representative be present during filming.
The rental of Ken Russell's picture was very limited, since the film initially received an "X" rating. In many countries, the film was banned from being shown, and where it was allowed, it was shown in a heavily abbreviated form. In particular, a scene was cut out in which nuns in an orgiastic frenzy tear off and rape a life-size icon of Christ. Due to the abundance and naturalism of scenes of a violent, sexual nature, as well as the content, which, in modern terms, largely offends the feelings of believers, the film was condemned by the Vatican.
However, at the Venice International Film Festival, Ken Russell's film "The Devils" was awarded the Pasinetti Award, which is awarded for winning the Best Foreign Film category. In fairness, it should be noted that in the 70s, the jury at the Venice Film Festival was not formed. All decisions were made by the Festival Management. In 1971, the director of the festival was an outstanding Italian cinematographer and film critic, who headed the Italian Film Academy for 35 years, Gian Luigi Olmi.
For the inclusion of Ken Russell's film "The Devils" in the program of the Venice Film Festival, the Vatican tried to excommunicate Gian Luigi Olmi from the church. He was saved from excommunication by Patriarch Luciani, who 7 years later was elected Pope under the name of John Paul I. However, the Venice Film Festival was the only film forum in which the "The Devils" took part.
Interestingly, despite the success of the film in Italian Venice, the film was banned in Italy itself shortly after its demonstration began in September 1971. Moreover, the Italian government has banned not only the film, but also the entry into the country of the main actors Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. They were threatened with a 3-year prison sentence if they violated the ban.
Ken Russell himself gave the following explanations about the strict restrictions applied by the church to his film: "I was a devout Catholic and very secure in my faith. I knew I wasn't making a pornographic film... although I am not a political creature, I always viewed The Devils as my one political film. To me it was about brainwashing, about the state taking over."
As for the ratings of the film by professional film critics, it is difficult to give an example of another film that would have such contradictory reviews as "The Devils". Roger Ebert gave the film a unique rating for himself-zero stars. At the same time, his review can hardly be called exclusively negative: "A burning at the stake, an afternoon in the rack, headscrews, a douche with boiling water, nails into hands, induced vomiting, ripped tongues, dead babies, human target practice, possession by devils, rape, transvestism, nude orgies in the nunnery. Put them all together and they spell Committed Art--because these are modern times and I certainly hope none of us is opposed to truth.... And Ken Russell ... has stripped the lid of respectability off the Ursuline convent in Louden, France. He has exposed Cardinal Richelieu as a political schemer. He has destroyed our illusions about Louis XIII. We are filled with righteous indignation a we bear witness to the violation of the helpless nuns; it is all the more terrible because, as Russell fearlessly reveals, all the nuns, without exception, were young and stacked....And make no mistake. The Devils has a message for our time. For we learn from the mistakes of the past. We live in a time of violence, and it is only by looking in the mouth of the Devil that we can examine his teeth. In a time when our nation is responsible for violence on a global scale, it is only by bearing witness to violence on a personal scale that we can bring the war home."
But the film reviewer of The New York Times, the mouthpiece of the US Democratic Party, Vincent Canby, in his review, subjected Ken Russell's film to the most severe obstruction: "Ken Russell's "The Devils," an adaptation of Aldous Huxley's "The Devils of Loudun," and of the play that John Whiting based on the Huxley book, is a movie that carries its head (and its mind) tucked underneath its arm. It's a see-through movie composed of a lot of clanking, silly, melodramatic effects that, like rib-tickling, exhaust you without providing particular pleasure, to say nothing of enlightenment.......Russell, as writer and director, has simplified and reduced the complexity of the drama to the dimensions of that most boring kind of Pop art, which tries to forestall criticism by making fun of itself."
Ken Russell's film "Devils" was not shown in cinemas of the Soviet Union. But the film was rated quite highly by Russian film critics. Thus, one of the most authoritative film critics in Russia, Sergey Kudryavtsev, gave the film 8.5 points on a 10-point scale and explained his high assessment in the review as follows: "Russell's manner, formed by him while working on television, is characterized by an unrestrained, unrestricted rampage of fantasy, it combines difficult, seemingly articulate styles and genres - sometimes almost on the verge of complete tastelessness and confusion. Nevertheless, he is saved by an original talent, although not recognized by everyone unconditionally, but still constantly arousing increased interest."The Devils” is one of the best, and serious films of this director, if you can even use the word “serious” in relation to his unusual work. In terms of the feast of colors, the boldness of artistic techniques, the scope and “staging”, Ken Russell is not inferior, perhaps, to maestro Federico Fellini himself. But the English director is characterized by high-strung, "crazy" style, a kind of mannerism. They are also related to some extent by the fact that sometimes in the flight of fantasy both can lose the plot harmony, the clarity of the narrative. However, "The Devils” is the most verified, figuratively almost geometrically constructed film (its main artist is the future famous representative of avant-garde cinema Derek Jarman). However, inside, bubbling like volcanic lava, possessed by a rebellious, demonic spirit, like the heroine-nun, Sister Jeanne, who believed that the devil himself had instilled love in her."
Another Russian film critic, Vladimir Gordeev, in his review emphasized the relevance of the film" Devils": "The easiest way would be to call the film anticlerical. He caused indignation in Catholic Italy (which, of course, happened not without the influence of the Vatican), but even Britain with its Anglican Church and Protestants was slightly out of touch. Russell poked his sword sharply: the film condemns the greed, cynicism and unscrupulousness of the church... but if during the Reformation her greed reached the limit, now, apparently, her greed has surpassed all limits... "The Devils" is the final product of the hippie era of the 60s, which has disappeared irrevocably."
Despite serious restrictions, Ken Russell's film "The Devils" collected a significant amount at the box office - $ 11 million. The modern moviegoer also rated this film quite highly: 65% of IMDB and Kinopoisk users gave this film ratings from 8 to 10.
With that said, FilmGourmand rated Ken Russell's The Devils at 8.307, placing it 401st in the Golden Thousand.
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