Shlockjock81
09-01-2010, 09:20 PM
Hey all. As some of you may know, Rue-Morgue held a screening of Ken Russell's lost masterpiece "The Devils" in Toronto on August 29th. Shown here is my post on IMDB (cut and paste) describing the evening:
I just got back from the screening of "The Devils" with Ken Russell in person, here in Toronto, Ontario Canada. This was a night I will never forget as long as my memory will allow it, though it was not without its flaws.
The Bad: There's not much to complain about except for the fact that the print was most definitely NOT uncut. What irks me is how Rue Morgue had advertised that it was indeed the UNCUT version. The rape of christ was missing in its entirety. In fact, the scene ended as soon as Father Barre was struck from behind with the crucifix by the crazed nun. As expected, the "tibia scene" at the end was also missing. What irked me further were the short little snippets that were cut out.
1-Sister Jeanne masturbating while Sister Agnes watches through the door was shortened by a few frames. You barely see Sister Jeanne's twitching leg before the camera pulls out to reveal Sister Agnes behind the door.
2-Sister Jeanne's scourging of herself was reduced to about one or two whips.
3-For some odd reason, the dialogue "Reverend Father, I notice that you aren't speaking to them in Latin as is usual.. why is that?" and Father Barre's response to the question were missing.
4-Father Grandier's torture scene was missing the very quick dolly-in shot of the damage being done to his legs.
5-Father Grandier's burning was also tinkered with. During the last few lines where he says "If you are to remain free men, fight. Fight them or become their slaves", the actual footage of Grandier burning (where you see the grizzly sight of one of his eyes completely blackened) was replaced by footage of the burning fire. Therefore, you don't see Grandier scream those words. You hear them coming from the flames.
6-As mentioned, the tibia scene was absent. This was to be expected. But what I DIDN'T expect was the scene cut in late, so you don't see Sister Jeanne loading up her enema. Instead, the scene began as soon as Baron De Laubardemont places his hand on her shoulder, making her line "I'm purging my own devils" completely pointless.
Ok. Enough complaining. On with the good.
The print looked AMAZING. I can't stress to you how incredibly colorful and crisp it looked. I will NEVER look at my Angel Bootleg the same way again. I am not lying when I say the print made the film look as though it had been made in the last 5 years. The aspect ratio was, as expected, correct, and does it ever do the film justice. The sets, the shots... everything. It was almost like seeing the film for the first time. A standout for me were the scenes taking place inside of the church. The tinted light shining through the stained glass and onto the actors was as vibrant as could be.
Not to complain again, but the fact that Warner Bros has apparently spent so much time remastering a CUT version of the film upsets me to no end. This confirms what another poster on this forum stated. If the film is to get any release at all, it will be this one. I think our chances of having an uncut version of this film are next to none, unless Warner FINALLY (and wisely) gives the rights up to another, more competent company (*cough* Criterion *cough*).
And now onto the man himself. As expected, he was rather slow and had to have many of the audience's questions repeated for him. He would trail off from time to time, but he always kept his responses jovial and the audience had a good chuckle at his witty retorts. There's not much more to say about it than that. It was sad to see such a cinematic genius in such a slow, tired state, but that's life. He's still with us, and I was honored to be in the same theater as him. I wanted to shake his hand but I figured, who would I be to him? Another Joe Shmoe off the street, gushing about how great an influence he is to me. To be in his presence was enough, and it will stay with me forever.
I just got back from the screening of "The Devils" with Ken Russell in person, here in Toronto, Ontario Canada. This was a night I will never forget as long as my memory will allow it, though it was not without its flaws.
The Bad: There's not much to complain about except for the fact that the print was most definitely NOT uncut. What irks me is how Rue Morgue had advertised that it was indeed the UNCUT version. The rape of christ was missing in its entirety. In fact, the scene ended as soon as Father Barre was struck from behind with the crucifix by the crazed nun. As expected, the "tibia scene" at the end was also missing. What irked me further were the short little snippets that were cut out.
1-Sister Jeanne masturbating while Sister Agnes watches through the door was shortened by a few frames. You barely see Sister Jeanne's twitching leg before the camera pulls out to reveal Sister Agnes behind the door.
2-Sister Jeanne's scourging of herself was reduced to about one or two whips.
3-For some odd reason, the dialogue "Reverend Father, I notice that you aren't speaking to them in Latin as is usual.. why is that?" and Father Barre's response to the question were missing.
4-Father Grandier's torture scene was missing the very quick dolly-in shot of the damage being done to his legs.
5-Father Grandier's burning was also tinkered with. During the last few lines where he says "If you are to remain free men, fight. Fight them or become their slaves", the actual footage of Grandier burning (where you see the grizzly sight of one of his eyes completely blackened) was replaced by footage of the burning fire. Therefore, you don't see Grandier scream those words. You hear them coming from the flames.
6-As mentioned, the tibia scene was absent. This was to be expected. But what I DIDN'T expect was the scene cut in late, so you don't see Sister Jeanne loading up her enema. Instead, the scene began as soon as Baron De Laubardemont places his hand on her shoulder, making her line "I'm purging my own devils" completely pointless.
Ok. Enough complaining. On with the good.
The print looked AMAZING. I can't stress to you how incredibly colorful and crisp it looked. I will NEVER look at my Angel Bootleg the same way again. I am not lying when I say the print made the film look as though it had been made in the last 5 years. The aspect ratio was, as expected, correct, and does it ever do the film justice. The sets, the shots... everything. It was almost like seeing the film for the first time. A standout for me were the scenes taking place inside of the church. The tinted light shining through the stained glass and onto the actors was as vibrant as could be.
Not to complain again, but the fact that Warner Bros has apparently spent so much time remastering a CUT version of the film upsets me to no end. This confirms what another poster on this forum stated. If the film is to get any release at all, it will be this one. I think our chances of having an uncut version of this film are next to none, unless Warner FINALLY (and wisely) gives the rights up to another, more competent company (*cough* Criterion *cough*).
And now onto the man himself. As expected, he was rather slow and had to have many of the audience's questions repeated for him. He would trail off from time to time, but he always kept his responses jovial and the audience had a good chuckle at his witty retorts. There's not much more to say about it than that. It was sad to see such a cinematic genius in such a slow, tired state, but that's life. He's still with us, and I was honored to be in the same theater as him. I wanted to shake his hand but I figured, who would I be to him? Another Joe Shmoe off the street, gushing about how great an influence he is to me. To be in his presence was enough, and it will stay with me forever.