The Devils

Ken Russell’s “The Devils” is a fevered portrait of 17th-century France, where a charismatic priest, Father Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed), finds himself at the center of a maelstrom of sexual obsession and religious fanaticism. When a nun, Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave), accuses him of witchcraft, Grandier’s fate becomes a pawn in a political game orchestrated by corrupt officials eager to silence his dissent. The film’s stark, baroque visuals and operatic intensity underscore the clash between religious fervor and human desire, painting a dark tableau of power, guilt, and sexual repression.