Entertainment · Film · 4 hrs ago
Ken Russell’s The Devils Gets a 4K Director’s Cut Restoration
A 4K director’s cut restoration of The Devils has been announced, bringing renewed attention to Ken Russell’s controversial film.
The movie is based on Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudun and is set in a convent in the French town of Loudun.
Oliver Reed plays Father Urbain Grandier, a priest accused of witchcraft by Sister Jeanne, played by Vanessa Redgrave.
The story shows corrupt church figures joining Grandier’s enemies to have him sentenced to death.
The film mixes comic satire with disturbing horror and targets religious hypocrisy.
Its history of controversy kept it difficult to find for decades, according to the reviewer.
A reviewer who saw it in 35mm in Chicago praised its force and artistry, while the restoration’s release plans are not stated.
Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Devils has received a 4K restoration of the director’s cut.
The restoration returns the film to the version Russell originally gave Warner Bros., including a previously missing sequence.
Film critic Mark Kermode helped locate the sequence in Warner Bros.’ archive more than 20 years ago.
A rough director’s cut assembled in 2004 with the original editor, Michael Bradsell, had Russell’s blessing.
The restored film is expanding beyond a planned one-week North American run and is due to open in the UK next weekend.
- Who
- Ken Russell’s film The Devils, restored with involvement from Mark Kermode and the film’s original editor, Michael Bradsell.
- What
- A 4K restoration presents the director’s cut, including a recovered sequence.
- When
- The restoration was reported on October 21, 2026. The film is due to open in the UK next weekend.
- Where
- The film is expanding its run across North America and is due to open in the UK.
- Why
- The restoration aims to present the version Russell originally handed to Warner Bros., restoring material removed from the film.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Mark Kermode searched Warner Bros.’ archive for material missing from The Devils.
Kermode and original editor Michael Bradsell assembled a rough DigiBeta director’s cut with Russell’s blessing.
Articles reported on the 4K director’s cut restoration.
The restored film is due to open in the UK.
- Film
- The Devils
- Director
- Ken Russell
- Original release year
- 1971
- Restoration
- 4K director’s cut
- Archive discovery
- Shipping log entry labeled “C-cut 86
- UK opening
- Due next weekend
2 sources
What people are saying
Ken had always said that the whole point of the film is that it’s a film about brainwashing.
It’s about the use of hysteria as a political tool, and the film is very clear about that.