Tag: Gemma Jones

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Restoration as Worship: The Everlasting Terror of Ken Russell’s The Devils

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A close-up of Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne des Anges in full 17th-century Catholic nun garb: stark white linen surrounds her pale face and neckline with a deep black exterior that sits atop as she gazes into the distance with her head bent at a strange, almost inhuman angle. Blurred in the background is the white brick sanctuary she and her fellow sisters are held in like a prison, her similarly "possessed" colleagues lined up neatly and acutely around her and an altar.

|Chris Polley| When I was transfixed watching Michaela Coel restore an ancient, priceless painting in Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers earlier this year, I found myself strangely moved. It was cold and calculating but also incredibly caring and artful. I thought of this scene again when I heard that BBC critic Mark Kermode and… Continue reading

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Ken Russell’s The Devils: Cinema at the Mercy of the Censors

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Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave), center, surrounded by her fellow nuns.

|Dan Howard| Over the last few decades, The Devils is a film that, ironically, is considered the ultimate holy grails for film buffs. One that audiences will snag any opportunity they can to watch even the most butchered version of, bootleg or otherwise. The first time I saw The Devils was in… Continue reading