Since that 2004 premiere, Warner Bros. has to bring The Devils to a wider audience. The British Film Institute (BFI) managed to release a region‑2 DVD of the cut theatrical version in the UK, but the uncut director’s cut has never been officially issued on any home video format. Offers from prestigious distributors such as The Criterion Collection were reportedly rejected by Warner executives who found parts of the film “distasteful.” In 2014, director Guillermo del Toro publicly lambasted the studio, stating: “There are powers that be at Warner Bros. that refuse to allow the movie to be seen. It’s not an accident. It’s not because of lack of demand. It’s a true act of censorship”. As of 2026, no official Blu‑ray exists anywhere in the world, and the film is unavailable on any major streaming platform such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+.
Fast-forward to the present day, and the Internet Archive has become a vital resource for film preservation and restoration. The organization's mission is to provide universal access to all knowledge, and in the case of "The Devils," it has played a crucial role in making the film available to a wider audience.
The film's influence can be seen in the work of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, who has cited Ken Russell as an inspiration, and Terry Gilliam, who has often spoken about the influence of Russell's films on his own work. the devils 1971 internet archive
: You can find listings like the The Devils (1971) 35mm Emulation Regrade , which attempts to provide a more visually faithful experience than standard edited releases.
Just don’t expect to feel clean afterward. Since that 2004 premiere, Warner Bros
In an era where physical media is becoming increasingly scarce, the Internet Archive's digital repository offers a vital lifeline for films that might otherwise be lost forever. As more classic movies are uploaded to the site, fans and researchers alike will continue to benefit from this invaluable resource.
Because Warner Bros. has historically restricted the film's distribution and has not officially released a definitive uncut version, the Internet Archive has become a key repository for various versions and supplemental materials. Offers from prestigious distributors such as The Criterion
has become a primary resource for fans seeking the most complete version possible. Searching the Internet Archive
When "The Devils" was first released in 1971, it was met with a mixture of shock, outrage, and confusion. The film's raw, unflinching portrayal of violence, sex, and revolution was deemed too provocative for audiences, and it quickly became a focal point for censorship debates. In France, the film was initially banned, and in the United Kingdom, it was heavily censored, with several scenes cut or altered to meet the standards of the British Board of Film Classification.