To celebrate the long-awaited return of Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS, we’ve brought together a selection of films that make suitably provocative companions to it. PAIRING WITH THE DEVILS moves through filmmakers who have challenged ideas around religion, censorship, sexuality and institutional power, from the spiritual torment of THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST and the transgression of IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES, to the confrontational worlds of SALÒ, ANTICHRIST and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. Also screening are BLACK NARCISSUS, MS. 45, DOGTOOTH and BENEDETTA, each approaching repression, desire or authority from a very different direction. With THE DEVILS itself screening extensively throughout November in 35mm and 4K, consider these the films to watch before, after, or alongside it.
Censored for over half a century, Ken Russell’s film returns in a landmark director’s cut reconstruction that reveals the full power of his original vision.
Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, The Devils lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption. The restoration many believed would never happen reaffirms Russell’s incendiary masterpiece as among the most overwhelming and uncompromising achievements in British cinema.
Assembled from original camera negative, this 4k restoration is Ken Russell’s 2004 preferred edit. Picture and sound restoration by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services, Water Tower Color and Warner Bros. Sound.
Eerie and unforgettable, MS. 45 is an essential snapshot of New York City in the early 1980s from Abel Ferrara (DRILLER KILLER, THE ADDICTION)—one of the greatest and most unique living filmmakers on the planet. Thana (Zoë Tamerlis) is a garment worker who’s had the ultimate bad day, as she’s assaulted twice in visceral fashion. Shocked to her core, Thana's nights become consumed by vengeful prowls through the city, which result in men winding up on the wrong end of a bullet. Knocking the DEATH WISH rip-off subgenre into a new stratosphere, MS. 45 showcases a haunting performance from Tamerlis and Ferrara's knack for transforming limited resources into genre revolutions.
Content Warning: Contains scenes of sexual assault that some viewers may find distressing. Further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.
With this orgiastic immersion in the mystic reveries of a real-life historical figure, the king of the erotic thriller Paul Verhoeven gives the nunsploitation flick a high-art makeover. Elegant, perverse, and teasingly scandalous, Benedetta critiques religious hypocrisy with an impish grin.