Review of The Devils (1971) by Dave C — 06 Jul 2007
The potential for great satire is undermined by typical Ken Russell crassness. Comically camp and OTT in its portrayal of medieval religious nutters, it is oddly entertaining for the wrong reasons. Derek Jarman designs the sets of Grandier's fortified town, a sad, bleak, austere world surrounded on the outside by hanging carcasses.
It does come across as something of a statement on medieval Christendom's tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater. But could Ken Russell have done the same thing in accentuating the worst excesses of the Catholic church and the French aristocracy? What we have with the Devils is not necessari;y satire so much as pornopgrahy geared towards the most morbid viewer.
This review of The Devils (1971) was written by Dave C on 06 Jul 2007.
The Devils has generally received positive reviews.
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