The Devils (Russell, 1971): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 8.40pm
The Vintage Festival at BFI Southbank starts tonught with this genuinely shocking movie which is introduced by critic Mark Kermode.
Tom Huddleston's review in Time Out sums it up well. Go out and beg, borrow or steal a ticket for this event and I'll see you there:
'The unexpurgated cut of Russell's ornate, near-unwatchable taboo-busting masterpiece receives only its third British screening. The only major addition is the infamous 'rape' of Christ, in which the 'possessed' nuns use a life-size statue of the Saviour as a rutting post, but although that sequence may seem relatively tame by modern standards, there's plenty here that's still incredibly shocking. The scenes of plague are truly vile, as are the climatic torture scenes. But what horrifies most is Russell's nihilistic view of the world in general, and humanity in particular: almost without exception, we are shown to be vain, lustful, perverse, self-serving, murderous, disease-ridden, exploitative, decadent, deluded creatures unworthy or incapable of salvation. Approach with extreme caution.'
Here is an extract to give you a flavour.
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