Earlier this year, IndieWire.com posted a news story about the recreation of the director’s cut of Ken Russell’s most provocative film, The Devils, noting that it was available for streaming online. So in case you hadn’t fully blocked out all your binge-watching for the coming weekend, you might add this.
IndieWire’s story starts out:
“Blasphemers, rejoice! For the first time ever, you can now stream ‘The Devils,’ the 1971 Ken Russell film that critic Judith Crist called a ‘grand fiesta for sadists and perverts.’
“When ‘The Devils’ was released in 1971, it faced harsh criticism and censorship due to its Holy Trinity of intense violence, sexuality, and religious themes. It received and X-rating in the U.K. and the U.S., until a heavily edited version was eventually released. Until recently, film historians thought the original cut was lost forever. Now, cinephiles can stream a re-assembled cut on the horror streaming platform, Shudder.”
Read the whole piece here: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/03/devils-ken-russell-banned-horror-streaming-shudder-x-rated-1201793838/.
Stream the film here: https://www.shudder.com/watch/the-devils/2938212/1.
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glad to hear it! thanks for the thumbs up!
The version on Shudder is NOT the restored version that was thought to be “lost forever” but rather the British ‘X’ certificate theatrical release version from 1971 (minus almost 2 minutes of censored footage).
It IS longer than the version Americans have been able to view for decades but it is also important to point out that this version was shown in cinemas here in the UK back in 1971 as well as being released on vhs back in the 1990s.
The restored version that recreates Ken Russell’s original vision (or as close to it as possible) is the one that utilises footage discovered that for decades was thought to be lost. That version restores an important scene as well as some other smaller trims but is still missing a few moments here and there that were no doubt so small that the snippets of film were never retained.
This version – as close as we will likely EVER get to Russell’s original pre-BBFC vetted cut – has never been allowed released in any form since its restoration other than a handful of retrospective cinema screenings granted permission by Warner Bros.
The version on Shudder is still very much valid though. Ken Russell has called his original pre-BBFC vetted cut his ‘director’s cut’ in the past but has also referred to the BBFC vetted version as something he is content to call his ‘director’s cut’ at other times also.
So, give the version Shudder has a watch as it is as close as we are going to get to his full vision until such a day as someone influential can somehow convince Warner Bros to allow the 99% restored edit to be released.
The decline of Internet “journalism” just keeps rolling on. Why can’t these “writers” do their research before uploading their babbling? This isn’t a “restored directors cut”, as noted by the above poster; Russell did put such a version together and took it on a appearance tour shortly before his death, but it hasn’t been released in any form, yet.
please to provide some citations from credible sources to support your claim, otherwise you’re doing what you’re criticizing; we’re always glad to be educated, so please do so.