Learning on ScreenThe Devils
2012. GB. DVD. 107 minutes (plus 2 hours of extras). BFI Home Video. Certificate 18. Price: £19.99
About the Author: Dr Brian Hoyle lectures in film studies at the University of Dundee and is currently completing a monograph on the films of John Boorman and researching articles on Ken Russell and the Pre-Raphaelites; Music in the films of Powell and Pressburger and Benjamin Britten at the BBC. He has also recently contributed entries on ‘British Art Cinema’ and several key British art films to Intellect Press’ forthcoming Directory of British Cinema.
E-mail: B.P.Hoyle@dundee.ac.uk
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a filmmaker who has never been fully appreciated in his native country, Ken Russell has not been very well served on DVD in the UK. A number of major films are still not available and until now only Tommy has received anything like ‘Special Edition’ treatment. Thankfully, this new edition of The Devils goes some way towards making amends for this. It is only a shame that Russell did not live to see the film that many consider to be his masterpiece finally get its due release.
The BFI have put together an impressive package. The film itself looks superb.
The BFI have put together an impressive package. The film itself looks superb. Even the film’s most vociferous detractors could not help but praise David Watkin’s cinematography and Derek Jarman’s sets, and more than ever one can see why. Jarman imagines Loudon as an ultra-modern city, with walls built from bleach white bricks and tiles and interiors constructed from jet black marble. Watkin, however, adds some expressionist splashes of colour to some scenes, giving the impression of light pouring in through a stained glass window. These little touches were barely noticeable on the previous VHS release of the film, but they come through strongly on this restored print. The video was also noticeably cropped from the original anamorphic ratio, but this too has thankfully been corrected, thus restoring Russell’s superb widescreen compositions.
