Ken Russell’s The Devils coming to 4K UHD and Blu-ray in April 2027

The BFI, in partnership with Warner Bros. Clockwork, today announces that Ken Russell’s The Devils, the 4K restoration of the definitive, uncensored director’s cut, will be available for purchase in the UK and Ireland on 4K UHD Blu-ray disc on April 20, 2027. Following its BFI release in UK and Irish cinemas on 30 October, the film arrives in 4K UHD for the first time ever. The 3-disc collector’s edition will include the 4K UHD presentation of the director’s cut as well as all three versions of the film for the first time ever on Blu-ray. The standard 4K UHD edition will include the director’s cut and new bonus material.

This legendary and controversial 1971 masterpiece is set in 17th-century Loudun, where charismatic priest Father Grandier (Oliver Reed) finds himself at the centre of a political and religious conspiracy when the tormented Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) becomes consumed by obsession. As accusations of possession, corruption, and witchcraft ignite mass hysteria, a shocking struggle for power threatens to destroy an entire community. Written and directed by Ken Russell, this visually breathtaking epic remains one of cinema’s most provocative and enduring works.

In 1971, the film received Best Director awards from two of the most prestigious institutions in the world: the 33rd Venice International Film Festival and the US National Board of Review. Its critical reception in the following decades has only become more impassioned, championed by artists and film historians including Guillermo del Toro and Mark Kermode.

This definitive cut of The Devils was originally reconstructed in 2004 under the supervision of Russell and the film’s editor Michael Bradsell with the collaboration of Kermode. The 4K restoration was completed using the original camera negative at WB Water Tower Color, with audio restoration completed using original composite 35mm mag film at WB Sound.