15 Dark And Uncompromising British Films

1. The Devils (1971)

War is raging throughout France. The Huguenots are being persecuted and Cardinal Richelieu intones to the King "And may the Protestant be driven from the land". The destruction of city walls is ordered. In Loudon, a liberal priest - Father Grandier, opposes the knocking down of his walls. He is a handsome and charismatic man and also a libertine. He sleeps with the town's female population and he has caught the attention of Sister Jeanne, a hunchbacked nun who is obsessed with him. When Sister Jeanne learns that Grandier has performed a marriage ceremony between himself and a woman, she loses her mind. This involves making false accusations against Grandier that he 'defiled' her and he is an active witchcraft pursuer. Witch hunting priests descend upon Loudon. Sister Jeanne is given various nasty treatments including douches, to prove her claims. The nuns under her charge go crazy and join in with the wild shenanigans the witch hunter has unleashed. We see lots of naked nuns fiddling with each other and fiddling with a large crucifix - in what is known as the infamous 'Rape of Christ' sequence. Most of the above happens in front of a public audience who are rolling around in hysterical laughter at the shambolic proceedings. To show they mean business and to save face, the authorities arrest Father Grandier on spurious grounds of witchcraft. We are treated to scenes of Grandier's torture (having his legs crushed by a hammer) and his hideous death on a burning stake. Afterwards, the city walls are pulled down and all Sister Jeanne has left is a charred bone to remember Grandier by... An outstanding achievement from maverick director Ken Russell, The Devils has to rank up there with the greatest British films ever - there can be no doubt about it. Never has such an anti-clerical message been brought so vividly to life. Russell was a Catholic and he knew his religion well. This knowledge and passion underpins The Devils the whole way through the film. Russell also got to work with some of the finest British actors - including Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne - a woman torn apart and driven mad by unrequited love and sexual repression. Oliver Reed is masterful as Father Grandier. He is utterly believable as a man of the cloth and also a man who has a healthy libido. Unfortunately the two of these traits cannot happily co-exist in a Catholic priest and as a result, he must face the music. Russell captures beautifully the historical times in which the film is set. From the persecution of Protestants to the spread of bubonic plague, and the brutal quack methods used to treat it. With sets designed by Derek Jarman, the film has elaborate and striking aesthetics which make it very iconoclastic and a treat for the eyes. Russell is one of my favourite directors. He made many brilliant films, but The Devils remains his towering achievement - an uncompromising and dark view of a pitch black era.