The 2026 presentation builds on a reconstruction supervised by the director in 2004.
The restoration of The Devils involves both an editorial version and physical film materials. BFI Distribution identifies its foundation as a cut reconstructed in 2004 under Ken Russell and editor Michael Bradsell, working with Mark Kermode and Paul Joyce. BFI Distribution’s restoration account.
For the 4K picture restoration, Warner Bros. used the original camera negative at WB Water Tower Color. The sound work at WB Sound used an original composite 35mm magnetic film element. The picture and audio therefore come from separately identified source materials. BFI Distribution’s restoration account.
That technical history accompanies a film centered on Father Urbain Grandier in seventeenth-century Loudun. Oliver Reed plays the priest, who becomes the subject of accusations involving Sister Jeanne, played by Vanessa Redgrave. The accusations and their consequences are part of Russell’s historical dramatization. BFI’s film synopsis and cast record.
David Watkin handled cinematography, Derek Jarman designed the production, and Shirley Russell designed the costumes. Their work belongs to the 1971 film; the later restoration and reconstruction determine how that existing material is assembled and presented. BFI Distribution’s restoration account.