One could argue that there is something symbolic in the fact that the two major Hollywood studio titles being shown this year at Cannes are not in Official Competition but in the repertory Classics category. The first is to be Fast and Furious, which rolled into town Wednesday night with Universal where it will be screened at the Grand Lumière. The second was a very different proposition, courtesy of the new Warner Bros. store label. Clockwork, which officially premiered tonight in a new 4K director’s cut of Ken Russell’s infamous 1971 feature. The Devils.
Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, the film tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Catholic priest who was burned at the stake on suspicion of witchcraft. Although the film was inspired by true events and was drawn from past adaptations of the story, including John Whiting’s 1960 stage play, Russell’s version is different and was rejected at the time by critics who believed it to be too blasphemous.
The film was publicly criticized by the Vatican, which demanded that its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1971 be stopped. Select media on the Lido were shown the film, but the scheduled public screening was canceled to avoid protests. Russell went on to win Best Director at Venice, however The Devils later he was banned in Italy and several other places. The film was released with an X rating in the UK and US after critical editing.
Russell described the ordeal in 2002 as “heartbreaking” in an interview with his writer, Mark Kermode, and said that the deleted material contained not only his “best work” but also “the deepest heart of the film.”
Russell returned the uncut version of the The Devils in 2004, and was screened at the National Film Theater in London, but never received a public release. Over the years, the screened version of the film has been screened at various film festivals around the world. British Film Institute, participating The Devils decades, it released a DVD copy of the original show in 2011. Warner Bros, however, refused to release the uncut version until earlier this year, when the Cannes premiere was announced.
The Devils. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Clockwork.
Tonight’s screening was presented by Russell’s widow, Elisabeth, and Kermode, who recommended Warner Bros. Clockwork for their decision to release Russell’s complete version of the film and their restoration work. The new 4K print was collected from the original camera negative, and the image is stunning. See some of the animations from the photo above.
Among the festival goers in the room that evening was Palme d’Or winner Peter Jackson. The head of Cannes, Thierry Frémaux, told the audience that Jackson was one of the top filmmakers who came to him to get tickets for the first screening, which had already sold out.
“For them, Ken Russell and this film, in particular, are very important in their lives,” said Frémaux.
But there was no loud crying or fearful crying during the test. For everything written about it The Devils55 years later, its most infamous sequences, such as the much-talked-about ‘rape of Christ’ when naked nuns attack a statue of Jesus Christ, hardly shock the system. But there was laughter. The film is a satire of power and state corruption – a topic perhaps more relevant today than it was in 1971.
Ken Russell The Devils hits theaters on October 16 via Warner Bros. Clockwork.
Cannes runs until May 23.
