The Devils [widescreen] dir Ken Russell DVDrip

The Devils is a 1971 film directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, based on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley and the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book. Derek Jarman was responsible for the film's production design. It tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th century French priest executed for witchcraft.



While the film is based on historical events, as detailed in Huxley's book, director Russell took significant liberties with incidents, chronology, surrounding events, and the depiction of characters such as Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, who bear no resemblance to the historical figures. Louis XIII is depicted as an effeminate homosexual who amuses himself by shooting Protestants dressed up as birds, while Richelieu is borne about in a chair by servants, in the manner of royalty.



Since the time of its release, the film has caused enormous controversy. In the United Kingdom 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, despite being banned in the country. The United States National Board of Review 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.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devils_%28film%29