The British Film Institute, in partnership with Warner Bros. Clockwork, will release the definitive cut of Ken Russell’s 55-year-old masterpiece The Devils in UK and Irish cinemas on October 30th.
For those unaware, Ken Russell’s The Devils is “Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, the film lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption.”
The 1971 film had been censored for over half a century and is now fully restored in 4K and cut to Ken Russell’s specific direction. This is the first publicly released version of the film as intended by the filmmaker. It stars Oliver Reed as Urbain Grandier as well as the remarkable Vanessa Redgrave.
The Director of Programme and Distribution at the BFI, Stuart Brown, said: “Ken Russell’s The Devils is one of the great masterpieces of British cinema: a film of astonishing imagination, searing power and dazzling formal brilliance.
“The BFI is thrilled to be partnering with Warner Bros. Clockwork to present the new restoration, which reveals anew the extraordinary artistry of Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Derek Jarman and the many others who collaborated to create a truly singular work.
“The BFI has long supported Ken Russell’s film and television work across BFI Southbank, BFI home entertainment and BFI Player, and so it is a fitting privilege to help bring this landmark restoration to audiences across the UK and Ireland.”
In addition to this release, the BFI said in a statement that: “To mark the centenary of Ken Russell’s birth on 3 July 1927, in July and August 2027 BFI Southbank will present the most extensive retrospective ever mounted of one of Britain’s truly pioneering figures.
“Spanning more than five decades of restless creativity, the season will explore Russell’s extraordinary work, from his amateur films of the 1950s through the form-breaking BBC productions of the 1960s that transformed the possibilities of television arts broadcasting, before he embarked on one of the most distinctive careers in world cinema.
“The BFI celebration will bring together every one of Russell’s theatrically released feature films, alongside rare television works – many screening from original film prints preserved in the BFI National Archive’s collections – later digital productions and newly created materials by the BFI National Archive.”
Source: British Film Institute
Ken Russell’s The Devils will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 30 October 2026.
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