Warner Bros. has announced a theatrical release of Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Devils on Oct. 16 through Clockwork, the studio’s specialty film label. The release marks the first official theatrical showing of a restored version that includes the “Rape of Christ” sequence, a scene depicting nuns sexually defiling a crucifix that was entirely censored upon the film’s original release.
The Devils, based on Aldous Huxley’s novel and John Whiting’s play, examines religious hysteria and political power through the story of 17th-century French priest Urbain Grandier, portrayed by Oliver Reed, and the nun Sister Jeanne, played by Vanessa Redgrave. The film features stark production design and avant-garde musical scoring. British censors initially demanded removal of the controversial sequence in its entirety, and director Russell later believed the footage had been destroyed.
Film critic Mark Kermode undertook a decades-long effort to locate the missing material after interviewing Russell in 1995. By examining shipping logs at Warner Bros.’ UK vault, Kermode identified a canister labeled “C Cut 89″—matching the 89 seconds officially removed by censors. Upon retrieval, the deteriorating film stock contained two complete assemblies of the central sequence along with other excised material.
Russell approved the reconstructed cut before his death, though he did not live to see the completed restoration. The restoration process spanned multiple decades following the footage’s recovery. The theatrical engagement runs through Clockwork, led by former Neon marketing chief Christian Parkes, and represents the first official theatrical presentation of the restored sequence more than half a century after the film’s initial release.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI