The Devils

The Devils

Based on the Aldous Huxley book The Devils of Loudon – itself based on the predicaments of a priest living in Poitiers in the 16th century, burnt at the stake for seeing that a group of nuns were “possessed” – Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave played the lead roles in this 1971 movie. Part of the controversy surrounding The Devils related to an orgy scene in which crazed nuns sexually assaulted an image of Christ, and a generally unfavorable commentary on Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church, throughout. Censorship and ratings boards denounced the movie – with the the British Board of Film Censors being pressured by the socially conservative pressure group the Festival of Light – which prompted a lengthy editing process on the final cut, including the deletion of the aforementioned scene and half of another involving a sister masturbating using one of the priest’s burnt bones. Further explicit nudity was cut in the US, and in Britain it was totally outlawed by no less than 17 local authorities.