Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of 'The Devils'

Hell on Earth (2002)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Ken Russell's THE DEVILS is the subject of this documentary, which covers its production, its controversial release and how the controversy stayed with the film decades after its release. We get to hear from the likes of Russell, Vanessa Redgrave, the editor, critics and even several of the actresses who played nuns in the movie.

I find it rather silly that so many people can get so bent out of shape over a movie. I mean, we all know that there are some very controversial movies out there like THE BIRTH OF A NATION and TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. I've never understood how people could be so offended or upset that they demand no one be able to watch a movie. THE DEVILS fell victim to some major controversy (and poor reviews), which resulted in the infamous "The Rape of Christ" scene being taken out of the movie.

This documentary does a very good job at showing how nutty the production was and it also goes into very good detail on what it was like on the set. The most fascinating stuff has several of the nuns talking about what it was like being on the set with the nudity and the various other strange things that were going on. The other great thing deals with the controversy of the picture, the missing sequence and how Russell looked at all of it.

If you're a fan of THE DEVILS then you'll certainly want to check this documentary out.