Internet Archive: The Devils 1971

The Devils is not an easy watch. It is a fever dream of flagellation, ecstasy, and screaming faith. It asks uncomfortable questions: Is sanctity possible without sexuality? Is mass hysteria a form of political rebellion? Is God merely a justification for cruelty?

For decades, Warner Bros. answered those questions by locking the film in a vault. The Internet Archive answered by picking the lock.

Today, any curious viewer with an internet connection can watch Sister Jeanne writhe in convulsive ecstasy, hear Father Grandier’s bones crack on the rack, and witness the nuns defile a crucifix—all in 111 unbroken, uncensored minutes. Ken Russell is gone. The film’s negative is rotting. But the digital version—messy, illegal, and miraculous—lives on.

Go to the Internet Archive. Search for "The Devils 1971." And witness one of the most dangerous, beautiful, and sacred films ever made.

Just don’t expect to feel clean afterward.

Let’s be blunt: Uploading a copyrighted film to the Internet Archive is, technically, copyright infringement. Warner Bros. owns The Devils in perpetuity.

However, the ethical argument for the Archive’s preservation is overwhelming.

Warner Bros. has sent the occasional takedown notice over the years, but the files reappear within days under new titles, slightly altered file hashes. It’s a digital game of whack-a-mole that the studio has largely abandoned. the devils 1971 internet archive

Introduction: The Cursed Masterpiece Ken Russell’s The Devils is not merely a film; it is a historical scar. Based on John Whiting’s play The Devils and Aldous Huxley’s non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun, the film dramatizes the 1634 persecution of Father Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed). In Russell’s hands, it becomes a punk-rock opera of religious hysteria, state-sanctioned sadism, and sexual mania. Upon release, it was banned, cut, censored, and effectively excommunicated by Warner Bros. For decades, it has been a holy grail of “lost cinema”—unavailable on official Blu-ray in its uncut form, and often reduced to grainy VHS rips.

This is why the Internet Archive’s copy of The Devils is not just a file; it is an act of cinematic archaeology.

The Print: A Flawed Testament The version hosted on the Internet Archive is typically a standard-definition rip (often around 1.5–2 GB), sourced from the 2004 Warner Bros. DVD (Region 2, UK). This is not the legendary, fully uncut “Rape of Christ” version. That sequence—where possessed nuns desecrate a crucifix and a statue of Christ—remains largely lost to the public domain, existing only in fuzzy 16mm dailies.

What you get: A serviceable, if grimy, anamorphic widescreen transfer. The colors are muted compared to Russell’s intended psychedelic palette (the original prints popped with sickly yellows and blood reds). The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0—clear enough for Oliver Reed’s booming baritone and Peter Maxwell Davies’ screeching, modernist score, but lacking the subsonic terror of a restored surround mix.

Why the Archive Version Matters Despite its technical limitations, the Internet Archive’s copy is the most democratic version of The Devils ever released.

The Film Itself (Performance & Direction) Even in compromised quality, the power of Russell’s direction is undeniable. Oliver Reed’s Grandier is a titan of pride and eros—a priest who loves sex and justice equally. His final scene, walking to the stake with his leg bones crushed, is the stuff of silent-film agony. Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne—a hunchbacked, necrophiliac prioress who projects her lust onto Grandier—gives a performance that transcends acting. Her contorted, ecstatic writhing during the “exorcisms” is both grotesque and pitiable.

Russell shoots the Loudun convent like a madhouse designed by Goya. The production design (Derek Jarman’s first film credit) replaces period accuracy with brutalist white walls and phallic towers—a blank, sterile canvas for human filth. The orgy sequences are not titillating; they are clinical, terrifying, and drenched in mud. The Devils is not an easy watch

The Verdict: Preserve or Perish Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 for the Archive copy; 5/5 for the film itself)

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Final Thought: The Devil in the Details The Internet Archive is the perfect purgatory for The Devils. Like the relics of a martyred saint, the film exists here in a state of beautiful decay. It is not the pristine restoration the film deserves (Criterion, where are you?), but it is a vital, functioning copy that keeps Russell’s nightmare alive. If you watch it, do so in a dark room. Turn the volume up. And prepare to have your faith—in cinema, in the church, in humanity—shattered.

Where to find it: Search “The Devils 1971 Ken Russell” on archive.org. Look for the file labeled “The Devils (1971) - UK Theatrical Cut.” Download it. Share it. Warner Bros. won’t.

To understand why the Internet Archive’s copy is so vital, one must first understand the war waged against The Devils.

Set in 17th-century Loudun, France, the film stars Oliver Reed as Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic and sexually active priest who runs afoul of Cardinal Richelieu. When a convent of sexually repressed Ursuline nuns, led by the hysterical Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave, in a staggering performance), accuses Grandier of witchcraft, the state uses the ensuing hysteria to destroy him. Grandier is tortured, tried, and burned at the stake. Let’s be blunt: Uploading a copyrighted film to

Upon completion, the film was deemed an obscene blasphemy. Critics like Roger Ebert championed it as a masterpiece, but the establishment recoiled. The film’s infamous "Rape of Christ" sequence—where hysterical nuns desecrate a crucifix in a phantasmagoric orgy—was too much for the censors.

Unlike a commercial Blu-ray (which doesn’t exist), the Internet Archive versions are often bundled with scholarly commentary. You can watch the film while listening to Mark Kermode explain which frame was cut by the BBFC and why. This transforms the viewing into a film history lecture. You’re not just watching a movie; you’re witnessing a legal and cultural battle.

A search for "the devils 1971 internet archive" typically yields:

⚠️ Note: Uploads come and go due to copyright flags. If a link is dead, search again for “Ken Russell The Devils uncut” or check the film’s dedicated fan archives.

In the annals of cinema history, few films have endured a purgatory as prolonged and unjust as Ken Russell’s 1971 masterpiece, The Devils. Based on Aldous Huxley’s non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun, the film is a blistering, hallucinatory assault on religious hypocrisy, political corruption, and mass hysteria. For over five decades, it has been treated like a contagion—censored, banned, buried, and chopped into pieces by its own distributor, Warner Bros.

Yet, in the 21st century, a digital phoenix has risen from the ashes of this celluloid bonfire. The unlikely savior? The Internet Archive (archive.org). This article explores the turbulent history of The Devils, why it remains terrifyingly relevant, and how the Internet Archive has become the primary digital sanctuary for Russell’s "unfilmable" vision.

The original 35mm negative of the complete The Devils is reportedly rotting. Warner Bros. has no plans for a 4K restoration. The Internet Archive versions—even if derived from lower-generation prints—are the closest thing to a master that exists for the public. Without these uploads, Russell’s full vision would be a memory, not an experience.