The Devils was one of the most soul-shaking experiences I have ever had. I was lucky to see this film in its X-rated first run, with no censoring at all. I watched it while tripping, which was risky, but it worked out. If I had a morbid nature, then it might not have. I suspect I wasn't alone. After all, 1971 was also the year of A Clockwork Orange, another mind-altering masterpiece.
Almost every character in this movie is outrageous: Louis XIII, Richelieu, his henchman the Baron, Grandier, the nuns, the inquisitor, the grotesque quack doctors.... Only one is human, sympathetic. Other reviews have outlined the story and gone into detail about the outrageousness, so I won't repeat them. Two things I need to point out:
The set design and costuming are incredible. Those walls of Loudon--I can still see them.
And that brings me to the second point. Reviewers here target the Catholic church. Indeed, considering what goes on, it's hard not to target the church. But really, this is political film. The church is serving the king and his cardinal. Richelieu tells Louis that he must centralize power to break France from its feudal yoke, manifested in its fortified, walled towns. Grandier, who is in effect Loudon's mayor, is not being cooperative with the Baron, whom Richelieu has dispatched to bring down the walls. Grandier is also a libertine. When the Baron gets wind of the lurid goings on from a prioress in a cloistered nunnery in Loudon, who is insane and lusts for Grandier, he sends the inquisitor to take care of Grandier. So, yes, the movie is about the horrors in Loudon, but also about the high political ends those horrors serve.
The final outrage is that the US version has been butchered by Warners, but the UK version not as badly. It's worth buying an all-region VCR and the UK version just to see this masterpiece, which deserves far better than its current score of 7.9, which doubtless is due to Warner's butchery.
Almost every character in this movie is outrageous: Louis XIII, Richelieu, his henchman the Baron, Grandier, the nuns, the inquisitor, the grotesque quack doctors.... Only one is human, sympathetic. Other reviews have outlined the story and gone into detail about the outrageousness, so I won't repeat them. Two things I need to point out:
The set design and costuming are incredible. Those walls of Loudon--I can still see them.
And that brings me to the second point. Reviewers here target the Catholic church. Indeed, considering what goes on, it's hard not to target the church. But really, this is political film. The church is serving the king and his cardinal. Richelieu tells Louis that he must centralize power to break France from its feudal yoke, manifested in its fortified, walled towns. Grandier, who is in effect Loudon's mayor, is not being cooperative with the Baron, whom Richelieu has dispatched to bring down the walls. Grandier is also a libertine. When the Baron gets wind of the lurid goings on from a prioress in a cloistered nunnery in Loudon, who is insane and lusts for Grandier, he sends the inquisitor to take care of Grandier. So, yes, the movie is about the horrors in Loudon, but also about the high political ends those horrors serve.
The final outrage is that the US version has been butchered by Warners, but the UK version not as badly. It's worth buying an all-region VCR and the UK version just to see this masterpiece, which deserves far better than its current score of 7.9, which doubtless is due to Warner's butchery.