This is where the story takes a sharp, radical turn. While studios abandoned The Devils , the fans—the archivists, the cinephiles, the digital scavengers—refused to let it die.
Warner Bros. has infamously refused to release Russell’s original cut on DVD or Blu-ray in the US. The version you find on streaming is usually the chopped UK “X” cut (107 mins), missing nearly 20 minutes, including the infamous “Rape of Christ” sequence. the devils 1971 internet archive
Set in 17th-century Loudun, France, the film stars Oliver Reed as Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic and sexually active priest who runs afoul of Cardinal Richelieu. When a convent of sexually repressed Ursuline nuns, led by the hysterical Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave, in a staggering performance), accuses Grandier of witchcraft, the state uses the ensuing hysteria to destroy him. Grandier is tortured, tried, and burned at the stake. This is where the story takes a sharp, radical turn
This is why the copy of The Devils is not just a file; it is an act of cinematic archaeology. has infamously refused to release Russell’s original cut