Let’s be blunt: Uploading a copyrighted film to the Internet Archive is, technically, copyright infringement. Warner Bros. owns The Devils in perpetuity.
However, the ethical argument for the Archive’s preservation is overwhelming.
Warner Bros. has sent the occasional takedown notice over the years, but the files reappear within days under new titles, slightly altered file hashes. It’s a digital game of whack-a-mole that the studio has largely abandoned.
Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) is a provocative, hallucinatory historical drama adapted from Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudun and John Whiting’s stage play. It combines religious hysteria, political repression, and sexual transgression into a deliberately shocking cinematic experience.
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If you want, I can summarize a specific print or release notes from the Internet Archive entry for The Devils (1971).
The Internet Archive features several versions and materials related to Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Devils the devils 1971 internet archive
. Because of the film's history of being banned and heavily edited, the "features" available on the Archive often focus on providing the most complete versions of the movie or rare supplementary content. Key features you can find on the Internet Archive include:
The "Hell on Earth" Documentary: Many uploads include this 2002 documentary, which explores the film's production and its legendary battle with censors.
Restored Footage: Some listings feature "fan-restored" versions that attempt to reintegrate scenes previously cut by the studio (Warner Bros.), such as the infamous "Rape of Christ" sequence.
Full Feature Versions: You can find various cuts of the film, including the UK X-Rated version and the US R-Rated version, which differ significantly in runtime and graphic content.
Original Trailers and Promos: High-quality scans of the original 1971 theatrical trailers and promotional featurettes.
Production Materials: Occasionally, the Archive hosts scanned PDF versions of the original script or vintage press kits. Let’s be blunt: Uploading a copyrighted film to
Note on Availability: Due to copyright restrictions held by Warner Bros., these uploads are frequently removed and re-uploaded. If you are looking for the most stable high-definition version, the BFI Player offers a licensed rental of the film in the UK.
To understand why the Internet Archive’s copy is so vital, one must first understand the war waged against The Devils.
Set in 17th-century Loudun, France, the film stars Oliver Reed as Father Urbain Grandier, a charismatic and sexually active priest who runs afoul of Cardinal Richelieu. When a convent of sexually repressed Ursuline nuns, led by the hysterical Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave, in a staggering performance), accuses Grandier of witchcraft, the state uses the ensuing hysteria to destroy him. Grandier is tortured, tried, and burned at the stake.
Upon completion, the film was deemed an obscene blasphemy. Critics like Roger Ebert championed it as a masterpiece, but the establishment recoiled. The film’s infamous "Rape of Christ" sequence—where hysterical nuns desecrate a crucifix in a phantasmagoric orgy—was too much for the censors.
Seeing the uncut The Devils is a transformative experience. The "Rape of Christ" is not merely shock for shock’s sake. In context, it is a depiction of mass psychosis—the nuns, driven mad by enforced chastity and religious terror, sublimate their desire into a violent, delusional theater of blasphemy. The scene is terrifying, absurd, and deeply tragic. The censored cuts ripped the psychological core out of the film. The Internet Archive restores it.
The original 35mm negative of the complete The Devils is reportedly rotting. Warner Bros. has no plans for a 4K restoration. The Internet Archive versions—even if derived from lower-generation prints—are the closest thing to a master that exists for the public. Without these uploads, Russell’s full vision would be a memory, not an experience. Warner Bros
In the annals of cinema history, few films have endured a purgatory as prolonged and unjust as Ken Russell’s 1971 masterpiece, The Devils. Based on Aldous Huxley’s non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun, the film is a blistering, hallucinatory assault on religious hypocrisy, political corruption, and mass hysteria. For over five decades, it has been treated like a contagion—censored, banned, buried, and chopped into pieces by its own distributor, Warner Bros.
Yet, in the 21st century, a digital phoenix has risen from the ashes of this celluloid bonfire. The unlikely savior? The Internet Archive (archive.org). This article explores the turbulent history of The Devils, why it remains terrifyingly relevant, and how the Internet Archive has become the primary digital sanctuary for Russell’s "unfilmable" vision.