Censored for over half a century, Ken Russell's visionary masterpiece The Devils will finally be available on 4K UHD Blu-ray on 20 April 2027, with both standard one-disc and collector's three-disc editions issued by the BFI in partnership with Warner Bros. Clockwork. Fully restored in 4K and cut to Ken Russell's specific direction, Ken Russell's The Devils is the first publicly released version of the film as intended by the filmmaker. Fifty-five years after its initial release, the definitive version of The Devils was unveiled at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival as an official selection in Cannes Classics.
An enduring masterpiece of cinema starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, Ken Russell's The Devils is a prescient epic of obsession and corruption—and a defining work of art from seminal filmmaker Ken Russell, the disruptive visionary behind classics like Tommy, Women in Love, and Altered States. Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, the film lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption.
In addition to powerhouse performances from Reed and Redgrave, Ken Russell's The Devils showcases the stunning work of artists at the peak of their craft: Academy Award-winning cinematographer David Watkin (Out of Africa); editor Michael Bradsell (Mahler); and visual artist Derek Jarman (Edward II), whose work as production designer marks his feature film debut. Produced by Warner Bros. in 1971, the film received Best Director awards from two of the most prestigious institutions in the world: the 33rd Venice International Film Festival and the US National Board of Review.
Ken Russell was a pioneering Academy Award-nominated British filmmaker who directed one Academy Award-winning performance: Glenda Jackson in Women in Love. Ken Russell's The Devils—which is in Dutch cinemas from today—is the definitive cut of The Devils, and no other director's cut formally exists. This version was originally reconstructed in 2004 under the supervision of Russell and Bradsell; the 4K restoration was completed using the original camera negative at WB Water Tower Color, with audio restoration completed using original composite 35mm mag film at WB Sound.
