Ken Russell’s The Devils 4K Restoration
BFI Distribution in partnership with Warner Bros. Clockwork releases new trailer today unveiling never-before-seen footage of the 4K restoration
Opening in cinemas in the UK & Ireland on 30 October 2026
London, Thursday 13 August 2026 BFI Distribution and Warner Bros. Clockwork release the trailer
The release of this definitive cut marks a historic event 55 years in the making – this restoration is the only version of the film that Ken Russell wanted audiences to see. “a holy grail” for film lovers the world over, this version has never been released theatrically or available on home video/streaming.
On the scale of the restoration award-winning filmmaker and BFI Fellow Guillermo del Toro said, “The restoration of the material is like cleaning the Sistine Chapel with saliva. It is insane, the epic size of the film – I mean, I’ve seen it on the big screen in Telluride at a theater – I’ve never seen the movie until I saw this restoration.”
An enduring masterpiece of cinema starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS is a prescient epic of obsession and corruption – and a defining work of art from seminal filmmaker Ken Russell. Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, the film lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption. In addition to powerhouse performances from Reed and Redgrave, KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS showcases the stunning work of artists at the peak of their craft: Academy Award®-winning cinematographer David Watkin (Out of Africa, Chariots of Fire); editor Michael Bradsell (Local Hero, Jabberwocky); and visual artist Derek Jarman (Jubilee, Caravaggio), whose work as production designer marks his feature film debut.
The definitive version of KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS received its restoration world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival as an official selection in Cannes Classics to overwhelming critical acclaim, before being screened at Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna. Warner Bros. Clockwork will present the restoration’s North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival before releasing the film in US cinemas on 16 October for an exclusive one-week engagement.
To mark the centenary of Ken Russell’s birth on 3 July 1927, in July and August 2027 BFI Southbank will present the most extensive retrospective ever mounted of one of Britain’s truly pioneering figures. Spanning more than five decades of restless creativity, the season will explore Russell’s extraordinary work, from his amateur films of the 1950s through the form-breaking BBC productions of the 1960s that transformed the possibilities of television arts broadcasting, before he embarked on one of the most distinctive careers in world cinema. The BFI celebration will bring together every one of Russell’s theatrically released feature films, alongside rare television works – many screening from original film prints preserved in the BFI National Archive’s collections – later digital productions and newly created materials by the BFI National Archive.
KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS will be released in cinemas in the UK & Ireland on 30 October 2026
UK / 1971 / 114 mins / 18
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