I've seen several Ken Russell films before, but I was NOT prepared for this mind boggling, trance inducing acid trip of a movie. Oliver Reed and Redgrave are absolutely BRILLIANT in their respective roles. That was PURE acting. I still can't get over some of the images and sounds of this film. It took some brass balls to make a movie like The Devils.
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Completely agree. Russell (may he rest in peace) was a brilliant film maker and it's such a shame that Oliver Reed's career was cut short by his health problems. He was an outstanding actor - his screen presence, his voice, his facial expressions, you don't get that much nowadays.
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Sure was one unbridled exercise in hysteric debauchery, but it does ultimately manage to amount to something kinda-sorta powerful, and come together somehow, leaving an impression that lasts longer than the credits run (which, as I gather, was quite rare for Russell). Although it´s probably accurate to say it would have given the kind of impression anyway - as a gratuitous, shallow and ludicrously over-the-top shockfest of shameless gore porn... if it weren´t for the final half hour or so, which turned out genuinely compelling (one assumes it also has a lot to do with Reed´s, who was off-screen for too long during the middle stages of the film, outstanding performance). 7/10 is fair enough, and more, for this often ill-conceived movie.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
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"The Devils" pretty much breaks the bizarro scale, with constant imagery to amuse, titillate and offend. I love Ken Russell through the ages, but I can't say this is one of my favorites of his because other than the imagery, there doesn't seem to be that much there. Still, it's a solid 7/10 in my book.
shareYeah, it's pretty wild.
shareBad-acid trip of a movie.
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