The Devils (1971) BFI Upscale 1080p DVDRip x265 HEVC AAC-SARTRE

The Devils was the Ken Russell film version of the controversial play by John Whiting. The story, based on Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudun, concerns controversial 17th century French priest Urbain Grandier, whose radical political and religious notions and profligate sex life earn him many enemies. When a group of nuns appears to have been "bewitched" by Grandier, his rivals feed on the resulting mass hysteria, using this incident as an excuse to have the priest arrested. Refusing to confess to being in league with Satan and to renounce his "heretical" views, Grandier undergoes appalling tortures, and is finally burned at the stake. Vanessa Redgrave co-stars as the head nun.

This turned out pretty good. It's a little flat in some places and there's distortion in the first few frames of some scenes but fidelity is much improved compared to the dvd. I'll probably do it again in the future when the algorithms improve.

Extras

• Hell on Earth - A documentary exploring the film's production and controversial history. (2002, 48 mins)

• Onstage Q&A with Ken Russell - The director in conversation with Mark Kermode at the NFT in 2004. (2012, 13 mins)

• Director of Devils - A documentary featuring candid Ken Russell interviews and unique footage of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies recording his score. (1971, 22 min)

• On-set footage - 8mm footage of the set with commentary by Michael Bradsell. (2012, 8 mins)

• Deleted Scene: The Rape of Christ - The infamous orgy scene scene never officially released. (1971, 2 mins)

• Deleted Scene: Grandier's Bone - In this often cut scene, Sister Jeanne appears to masturbate with the charred bone of Grandier, given to her by Laubardemont. (1971, 1 min)

• Trailers - Original UK and US theatrical trailers for The Devils. (1971, 5 mins)

• James Ferman - The former secretary of the BBFC discusses censorship of 'The Devils'. (3 mins)

• UK Censors - A short excerpt on the campaign to censor 'The Devils' in the UK. (1 min)

• Year of Censorship - Interviews with film critic Alexander Walker, Ken Russell, and BBFC examiner Ken Penry on the controversies of 'The Devils'. (5 mins)