Ken Russell’s The Devils is finding an audience in theaters 55 years after its original release, and it’s doing so with an NC-17 rating.
Now Warner Bros. Clockwork is teasing something for November 10, sharing images of the film’s old VHS packaging with a simple promise: “You will blaspheme.”
The studio’s post suggests a home-release announcement, although it doesn’t specify whether that date means digital availability, subscription streaming, or further news. After everything this movie has been through, there’s plenty of reason to be excited.
The restored director’s cut has now earned $3,803,134 domestically. That includes another $275,452 over Halloween weekend from 217 theaters. A heavily censored 1971 film returning with an NC-17 and pulling in nearly $4 million? That’s a pretty fucking great theatrical comeback.
As we previously reported, its $1.725 million opening from 350 locations was strong enough to extend what had originally been planned as a one-week engagement. This has become one of the year’s most satisfying specialty box-office success stories.
Starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, The Devils takes place in 17th-century France, where Father Urbain Grandier’s efforts to protect the city of Loudun collide with church and state officials seeking greater control. A sexually repressed nun’s accusations of witchcraft give them the opportunity they need, unleashing religious hysteria, torture, and persecution.
It’s brutal, but it’s also incredibly funny. As I wrote after revisiting it during this theatrical run, I hadn’t seen The Devils in 20 years. Watching it with more adult eyes, I was struck by how hilarious its mean commentary on religion and hysteria really is. Then it turns around and breaks your heart. It’s a true masterpiece.
Getting this version in front of audiences has taken decades. The Devils was banned in multiple countries and heavily censored elsewhere, with different cuts circulating over the years. As detailed in our coverage of its new rating, the American release received an X in 1971 even after cuts, with further trimming beyond the British version. An edited version later received an R in 1979. The restored cut is now rated NC-17 for “sexual content/graphic nudity.”
The restoration returns to the cut reconstructed in 2004 under Russell and editor Michael Bradsell’s supervision, with Mark Kermode and Paul Joyce collaborating. Warner Bros. restored the picture from the original camera negative and the audio from original 35mm magnetic film. You can read more about the long fight over the film’s missing footage in our retrospective on its censorship history.
In his Beyond Fest review, Matt Konopka gave the restoration 5 out of 5, calling it “the definitive version of Russell’s stunning masterpiece.”
For a movie that spent so long being cut, restricted, and difficult to see, watching audiences actually show up for this version feels especially good. Hopefully, November 10 brings another way for people to finally experience it.
You will blaspheme.
11.10.26 https://t.co/V8MZtzUATx
— Warner Bros. Clockwork (@clockwork_wb) November 4, 2026
Categorized:News Streaming / Home Video