The Devils

The Devils is set in seventeenth-century France, where Cardinal Richelieu pushes to strip provincial towns of their independence and fortifications. In Loudun, Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic and influential priest, resists the removal of the town walls, aware that it would end local autonomy. His popularity and his reputation as a libertine earn him enemies among local notables, and the mother superior of a nearby Ursuline convent becomes obsessed with him. When she and her nuns claim to be possessed by devils, the accusations against Grandier escalate into a witchcraft affair exploited by church and state authorities.

Ken Russell directed and wrote the screenplay, producing with Robert H. Solo. It was his third film as director, following Women in Love (1969) and preceding Savage Messiah (1972). Vanessa Redgrave plays Sister Jeanne des Anges and Oliver Reed plays Father Urbain Grandier, with Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian, Gemma Jones and Murray Melvin among the cast of thirty-eight credited actors.

The British production had a budget of two million dollars and took twenty-two million dollars worldwide. On TMDB it holds 7.5 out of 10 from 458 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 8.2 out of 10 from thirty-three reviews, placing critical appraisal above the audience score.