Event

THE DEVILS

Monday, September 26 @ 7:00 PM
Music Box Theatre 3733 N. Southport Ave. Admission: $7

THE DEVILS
Directed by Ken Russell - 1971
Co-Presented by Odd Obsession Movies
Based on real events and Aldous Huxleys 1952 novel THE DEVILS OF LOUDUN, THE DEVILS is still regarded as one of the most controversial films of all time, at this point probably more for its garishness than its actual content (disclaimer: THE DEVILS is a beautiful film, no matter what your washed-out pan-and-scan VHS dupe might tell you). Directed by Roman Catholic Ken Russell with production design by Derek Jarman (JUBILEE, THE TEMPEST), the film stars Oliver Reed as a 17th-century French priest who is accused of being in league with the Devil and possessing an entire convent of nuns the unforgettable Vanessa Redgrave is Mother Superior. Despite overwhelming criticism and tussles with the British Board of Film Censors, Russell was awarded Best Director by the National Board of Review in New York. One of the films early champions was fellow midwesterner Father Gene D. Phillips, who immediately added the film to his curriculum at Loyola University Chicago. From Richard Crouses book RAISING HELL: Russell said that because the film is taught by Jesuits as if it were a good Catholic film, chances are it is. (JA)
108 min - Russo Productions - 35mm from Warner Brothers
Short: The Red Spectre (Segundo de Chomon, 1907) - 16mm - 7 min Film print courtesy of The University of Chicago Film Studies Center