Ken Russell’s ‘The Devils’ Returns in 4K as His Son Unveils ‘Mad Dad’

Marcus Bennett

Variety reports that Ken Russell’s The Devils has returned to cinemas uncut and uncensored in 4K, 55 years after its debut. Warner Bros. imprint Clockwork released the new director’s cut. The film premiered at Cannes this year, then screened at the London Film Festival.

Variety describes The Devils as one of the most controversial films ever for its graphic, blasphemous and sexually provocative imagery. It says the re-release offers an entirely new generation a way to discover Russell, whom the publication calls the overlooked “wild man” of British cinema. The restored film now sits beside a family documentary and a retrospective of Russell’s work.

What does the re-release change?

For viewers, the change is direct: the full film is available again without cuts. It can now be considered alongside family testimony and a British Film Institute retrospective scheduled for next year. The pairing supplies both the disputed work and material about the person who made it.

Rupert Russell reconstructs a public figure

Variety reports that Rupert Russell, the director’s filmmaker son, has unveiled Mad Dad, a feature documentary about his father. The publication calls it the “definitive portrait of Ken Russell.” The project is timed to the re-release and the BFI retrospective next year.

The film follows a tragicomic journey to discover who the enigmatic father really was. Rupert organizes that search through contrasts: dad and director, art and artist, myth and man, accolades and absurdity.

Variety reports the production credits:

• Rupert teamed up with Anna Hashmi, producer and founder of The Corner Shop.
• Andy Starke of Anti-Worlds Films and Sam Cryer of Intermission Films produce the project.
• Daniel Bergmann of Stink Films serves as executive producer.

Variety reports that the documentary draws on unseen family archives containing hundreds of personal letters, thousands of photographs and several home movies. It also features Ken Russell’s autobiographical docudrama A British Picture. In that film, Ken played his own antagonists, while Rupert, aged four, played young Ken.

Variety says family members who have never spoken publicly before contribute to the film. Other contributors include:

• Guillermo del Toro
• Steven Soderbergh
• Kathleen Turner
• Pete Townshend
• Oliver Stone
• Twiggy
• Ann-Margret

A documentary record

Variety lists Rupert Russell’s earlier films, including Freedom for the Wolf, which won the Audience Award at Slamdance Film Festival. At Berlinale 2019, the film earned a nomination for the Cinema for Peace Most Valuable Film of the Year Award.

His second documentary, Price Wars, aired on ARTE. He also wrote a book of the same name, published by Doubeday. His most recent film, The Last Sacrifice, reached theaters in 2025, and the horror streamer Shudder acquired it.

The Corner Shop expands its slate

Variety reports that The Corner Shop received BFI funding for The Mammoths That Escaped the Kingdom of Erlik Khan with two-time Oscar-nominated director Tamara Kotevska. The company continues to expand its film production slate.

Last year saw the release of another Kotevska feature, The Tale of Silyan. The film premiered at Venice and TIFF. Nat Geo acquired it. It won awards at IDA, Cinema Eye, Venice, Humanitas and Chicago, and earned two Emmy nominations.

For audiences, the re-release changes what can be seen and judged. Clockwork’s 4K edition restores The Devils in full. Mad Dad tests the public image against letters, photographs, home movies and family testimony. Next year’s BFI retrospective will extend that inquiry across Russell’s career.

The sequence could shape whether audiences remember Russell chiefly for one notorious film or for a body of work receiving sustained attention.