Compared are the US Version (Spanish DVD by Warner) and the UK Theatrical Version (UK DVD by BFI).

France, 1643. Cardinal Richelieu is eager to unite religion and state. King Ludwig XIII is more interested in an excessive lifestyle and shenanigans than policy. As a result, Richelieu can basically do whatever he wants. A real thorn in the side is Loudon because it is protected by the king and basically enjoys statehood. Richelieu sends Baron De Laubardemont to Loudon in order to tear down the city wall but player and priest Urbain Grandier, temporary head of the city administration, is the reason the plan is not being put into action. De Laubardemont searches for a way to take down Grandier. According to sister Jeanne, head of the local covenant, Grandier is the devil when in fact she was secretly in love with him and now she is disappointed that he married another woman. In Loudon, a witch hunt starts and priest Barre is called for assistance. The nuns turn more and more insane and Grandier is being put on trial.

With The Devils, Ken Russel created a visually stunning masterpiece in which madness is everything. Even nowadays, the movie is still controversial becomes it shows sex and violence with a religious context. Masturbating nuns, very worldly priests and a very critical portayal of the Catholic church at the time of witch huntings are the reasons The Devils is still a trick, for Warner in particular, even though the movie actually questions some of the doctrines of the Catholic church. Due to an amazing cast and an incredible present, everyone should have seen The Devils at least once.

As far as censorship goes, there is a lot to tell about The Devils. In order to get an X in the UK, Russel was required to make a few small cuts. The most striking ones are the two scenes the studio had removed beforehand. The first one is the climax of the orgy at church aka the so-called "Rape of Christ" scene in which the nuns take a Christ statue off the wall and up the level of insanity. The second scene is the one with Jeanne masturbating with Grandier's bone at the end of the movie. It is important to emphasize that the X-Rated Version was censored in advance. And this censored version is the one the US Version is based on. That being said, the US Version contains a lot of further cuts and also alternate, rather harmless footage. Every single scene that shows a woman's private parts are either cut or have been replaced by alternate footage. In addition to that, some sex & violence cuts have been made as well. For a long time, this heavily censored US Version was the only option because even VHS tapes in the UK were based on said vesion. This did not change until a further VHS release in the UK as part of their "Maverick Directors" series. For the very first time, the X-Rated Version was available for home theaters.
In 2002, Hell on Earth, a documentary about both the actual movie and also its censorship, was released. In the process, the two missing scenes wee found. The documentary contains the complete "Rape of Christ" scene and so is the mastubation scene with the bone - except the latter is being voice-over'd by Vanessa Redgrave. Some clever film afficionado from the UK used the "Maverick Directors" VHS as basis and added the "Rape of Christ" scene. The masturbation scene is still missing though due to the voice-over. This version was distributed on DVD by Angel Digital and it is in fact the longest version available.
In 2004, BFI released a reconstructed version that probably contains the two missing scenes as well. Unfortunately, this version has only been shown in theaters so far.
The very first DVD of The Devils was released in Spain but the DVD only contains the US Version and there are no bonus features at all. That Warner has still their issues with the movie is being proven by the fact that BFI intended to release a Blu-ray of their reconstructed version but Warner only green-lit a DVD release of the X-Rated Theatrical Version. It was released on 03/19/2012. Moreover, alterations for the documentary "Hell on Earth" were required hence no more sleazy footage. A huge disappointment for any fan but at least the X-Rated Version is now available on DVD and the quality is pretty decent.

Keeping one's eyes open for the Angel Digital DVD is a waste of time by the way. There are several superior fan edits that also contain the "masturbating with a bone scene". The UK DVD by BFI is recommendable though. Qualitywise, there is no superior release and thanks to Warner's stubbernness, it is very unlikely that the reconstructed version will be released any time soon.

Screenshot Comparison:

Spanish DVD:

UK DVD:

Angel Digital DVD:

Duration:

US Version: 103:37 min
UK Version: 106:42 min
Angel Digital DVD: 108:24 min

[00:04:08][00:04:08]

Subsequent to the title, Cardinal Richelieu adds "And may the Protestant be driven from the land." whie making the sign of the cross.

UK Version: 5 sec


[00:16:25][00:16:32]

When Grandier has passed the fire, the UK Version contain a shot of some woman screaming in pain.

UK Version: 3 sec


[00:17:09][00:17:18]

The alchemist says nobody had ever complained about the exam so far. Probably cut because one can see the woman's private parts.

UK Version: 2 sec


[00:17:17][00:17:27]

Shot of the two women in the US Version.

The UK Version contains an alternate shot of the women, followed by Grandier removing the blanket. Once again, one can see the genital area.

US Version: 3 sec
UK Version: 6 sec


[00:17:34][00:17:47]

In the US Version, Grandier tosses stuff out of the room.

The UK Version shows the plague victim instead.

US Version: 1 sec
UK Version: 1 sec


[00:17:44][00:17:57]

Shot of the woman screaming in agonizing pain in the UK Version.

UK Version: 2 sec


[00:33:05][00:33:20]

The camera pans from Grandier to Jeanne who starts licking his wound plus two shots of Jeanne praying.

UK Version: 16 sec


[00:33:14][00:33:45]

Grandier and Jeanne making out on the ground plus Jeanne praying.

UK Version: 22 sec


[00:42:38][00:43:31]

The shot of Jeanne masturbating starts earlier.

UK Version: 4 sec


[00:43:40][00:44:37]

Shot of the nun watching Jeanne's self-flagellation, followed by Jeanne and finally the nun earlier.

UK Version: 5 sec


[00:50:50][00:51:52]

When the father says "Is that not evidence enough?", the US Version cuts to De Laubardemont. The doc and shows up and says "Evidence of fornication, certainly."

The UK Version contains the very same dialogs but the footage is different: Here, the father steps aside and the doc's appearance is alternate as well. As a result, one here gets to see the daughter's genital area as well.

US Version: 5 sec
UK Version: 4 sec


[00:51:11][00:52:12]

The daughter is being takes away, the guys walk straight forward and talk about evidence.

Alternate shot of that in the UK Version. Once again, the daughter's privates are visible.

US Version: 6 sec
UK Version: 5 sec


[00:57:56][00:58:56]

The syringe is getting closer to Jeanne's genital area.

UK Version: 3 sec


[00:57:59][00:59:02]

Shot of the audience in the US Version.

In the UK Version shows what is being done to the daughter with the syringe instead.

US Version: 2 sec
UK Version: 2 sec


[00:58:16][00:59:19]

Further shot of the audience in the US Version.

The UK Version shows the doctors instead.

US Version: 2 sec
UK Version: 2 sec


[00:58:29][00:59:32]

Further shot of the doctors.

UK Version: 2 sec


[01:04:28][01:05:32]

The nun a little longer.

Some weird fluid is being administered to one of the nuns.

Subsequently afterwards, a few shots of the nun undressing.

UK Version: 10 sec


[01:05:37][01:06:51]

The US Version contains two shots of the convent action.

In the UK Version, the bowl with the puke in it is being taken to the table.

US Version: 6 sec
UK Version: 6 sec


[01:06:42][01:07:57]

Barre earlier. One of the nuns is with him. In thebackground, another one the nuns shows her privates.

UK Version: 1 sec


[01:07:59][01:09:16]

The US Version cuts to Louis XIII when Barre says "Rouse yourself in the name of Our Lord, Jesus Christ."

The UK Version sticks to Barre and the nun. Once again, the genital area of one of the other nuns is visible.

US Version: 3 sec
UK Version: 5 sec


[01:08:04][01:09:23]

Shot of the audience in the US Version.

In the UK Version, Barre crawls over to Louis XIII who wonders why Barre was not speaking in Latin. Barre explains there were educated and uneducated devils. Some explains she was a travelling monkey. Barre walks up to her and grabs her.

US Version: 3 sec
UK Version: 27 sec


[01:08:09][01:09:52]

The nude nun a little earlier.

UK Version: 1 sec


[01:08:15][01:09:58]

Cut to the nuns.

The UK contains more explicit footage of the action.

US Version: 2 sec
UK Version: 3 sec


[01:08:18][01:10:03]

In the US Version, Louis XIII asks Barre if he could give it a shot.

Shot of a nun with a candle in the UK Version.

Louis XIII watches what is going and asks Barre if he could give it a shot.

US Version: 6 sec
UK Version: 17 sec


[01:09:05][01:11:01]

The nude nun a little earlier.

UK Version: 1 sec


[01:09:07][01:11:03]

The nun turns aside.

UK Version: 2 sec


[01:09:47][01:11:46]

Pan shot of the laughing audience in the US Version.

In the UK Version, the two doc were just about to administer an enema to some nun when they start laughing.

US Version: 3 sec
UK Version: 2 sec


[01:10:20][01:12:19]

The nuns prey on the priest.

UK Version: 3 sec


[01:10:27][01:12:29]

Pan shot of the audience in the US Version.

In the UK Version, the nude nun grabs the cross and runs off instead.

US Version: 2 sec
UK Version: 2 sec


[01:14:32][01:16:34]

Further shot of Grandier getting his tongue pierced.

UK Version: 2 sec


[01:14:49][01:16:53]

The nuns are doing it earlier in the UK Version.

UK Version: 12 sec


[01:15:30][01:17:47]

The UK Version cuts to Jeanne. The nuns rushes to the body that is being cut down from the tree. Then further shots of the nuns.

In the UK Version, the body is being cut down from the tree without any kind of intercut.

US Version: 12 sec
UK Version: 16 sec


[01:29:40][01:32:01]

Barre throws another punch after the priest tells him to. Grandier is in some real pain.

UK Version: 15 sec


[01:31:25][01:34:01]

Shot of Barre throwing a punch in the US Version.

In the UK Version, the shot of Barre is longer. Then Grandiers bloody legs.

US Version: 1 sec
UK Version: 1 sec


[01:33:29][01:36:05]

Grandier longer when he gets kicked to the stake.

UK Version: 14 sec


[01:34:40][01:37:30]

The US cuts to the audience.

The UK Version shows the actors making obscene gestures on stage instead.

US Version: 1 sec
UK Version: 1 sec


[01:37:28][01:40:18]

The US Version cuts to the priest when Grandier says at the stake: "You're freedom is destroyed also."

The UK Version sticks with Grandier.

US Version: 5 sec
UK Version: 5 sec


[01:37:45][01:40:35]

Shot of the stake when Grandier says "If you would remain...".

The UK Version contains a shot of heavily burned Grandier instead.

US Version: 2 sec
UK Version: 2 sec


[01:37:49][01:40:39]

Shot of the stake when Grandier says "...free men.".

Once again, the UK Version contains a shot of Grandier instead.

US Version: 1 sec
UK Version: 1 sec


[01:37:52][01:40:43]

The US Version contains a shot of the stake when Grandier yells "Fight!".

And again, the UK Version contains a shot of Grandier instead.

US Version: 1 sec
UK Version: 1 sec


[01:37:55][01:40:45]

Shot of the stake when Grandier yells "Fight them or become their slaves".

As before, the UK Version shows him burning at the stake instead.

US Version: 4 sec
UK Version: 4 sec


[01:38:33][01:41:24]

Jeanne earlier when she uses a syringe on her genital area.

UK Version: 16 sec