This was on BBC television, dubbed into English, in the early sixties. No other film has had quite the same effect. I remember begging my father not to start watching the film as it was already 10.15 p.m. and we had to get up the next day for school and work respectively. In the end we were totally captivated by the harrowing story of a young man (Gérard Philipe) who causes the death, through adultery, of the wife of a serving WW1 soldier.
Particularly memorable is the use of flashbacks, introduced by the eerie sound of church bells winding down, as one might slow down a gramophone record, and the historical background, including a scene of premature celebration of the end of the war.
It is sad that the director, Claude Autant-Lara, turned out to be the French equivalent of a Nazi, and you wonder if that fact has led to a virtual embargo on the film, and that is why it seems to have disappeared. That is a pity. If that criterion were applied to works of art in general then a number of books or pieces of music, or whatever, would be banned because of the activities or opinions of their creators. 'Devil in the Flesh' is a shattering masterpiece, and deserves to be seen again. It is my favourite film of all time.
