The Devils (film)

Cultural impact

Huxley wrote his historical book about the trial of Urbain Grandier to explore how, what he saw as a basic human need for transcendence, could be perverted into mass hysteria and mob violence. However, the details of the film's plot owe rather more to Russell than Huxley or even the play by John Whiting. The characters are all extremes, their character a set of stylized absolutes - allegorical figures rather than people. The stark and anachronistic set, with walls of sterile white brick, designed by Derek Jarman, and expressionistic music by Peter Maxwell Davies give the film an avant-garde feel. However the narrative often seems to rely on a grand guignol of rotting corpses and masturbating nuns for sensational effect. Derek Jarman's designs were inspired by Fritz Lang's futuristic film Metropolis, which had made a tremendous impact on Ken Russell as a child. Russell wanted the sets to look both ancient and modern because he believed that the lessons to be learned from the events (about the corruption of religion and the abuse of power) were as relevant now and to the future as they were in the 17th century.

Related Topics:
Urbain Grandier - John Whiting - Derek Jarman - Peter Maxwell Davies - Grand guignol - Fritz Lang

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film caused enormous controversy. In the UK, it was banned by 17 local authorities, and everywhere, attracted many scathing reviews. Judith Crist called it a "grand fiesta for sadists and perverts", while Derek Malcolm called it "a very bad film indeed". However, it won the award for Best Director - Foreign Film in the Venice Film Festival, while the National Board of Review, USA, awarded Ken Russell best director for The Devils and his next film, The Boy Friend. In 2002, when 100 film-makers and critics were asked to cite what they considered to be the ten most important films ever made, The Devils featured in the lists submitted by critic Mark Kermode and director Alex Cox.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~