Following yesterday's incredibly exciting news that a 4K home video release of The Devils could be right around the corner, Warner Bros. new speciality label Clockwork has officially announced that Ken Russell's notoriously controversial historical horror masterpiece will be playing in theaters – not just uncut, but the definitive Director's Cut. Yep, you're going to be able to see that scene, and more, on the big screen.
Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, The Devils was Russell's take on Aldous Huxley's novel The Devils of Loudun and the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft and bewitching a convent of nuns, causing them to commit all kinds of blasphemous acts in the name of sexual hysteria.
Notoriously outrageous upon debut in 1971 due to its graphic violence and sexual content, The Devils was cut significantly by the BBFC and Warner Bros., meaning that Russell's true vision, which includes the sequence affectionately referred to as the ‘Rape of Christ', has had a troubled release history to say the least.
Clockwork's new 4K restoration is assembled from the original camera negative by London's Lucida Productions, referencing the edit that Russell privately constructed in 2004, finally uncut and unfiltered in all its blasphemous glory.
The film's sound has been remastered from original English Composite 35mm Mag Film, transferred at 96kHz, plus other original film elements in selected spots as needed. The Picture and Sound restoration was performed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services, Water Tower Color, and Warner Bros. Sound.
Stay tuned for more news on where exactly you can see The Devils in theaters this October during its exclusive one week engagement in both the U.S. and U.K.
