The Devils is a 1971 historical drama horror film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, and starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. A dramatised historical account of the fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft after the possessions in Loudun, France, the plot also focuses on Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites the accusations.

A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, The Devils is in part adapted from the 1952 non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, as well as John Whiting's subsequent 1960 play The Devils. United Artists initially pitched the idea to Russell but bowed out after reading his finished screenplay, as they felt it was too controversial in nature. Warner Bros. agreed to produce and distribute, and filming largely took place at Pinewood Studios in late 1970.

The film's graphic portrayal of violence, sexuality and religion ignited harsh reaction from censors, and it originally received an X rating in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It was banned in several countries, and heavily edited for exhibition in others. Although critics largely dismissed the film for its explicit content, it won awards for Best Director at the 33rd Venice International Film Festival, as well as from the U.S. National Board of Review. Although a restoration of Russell's director's cut of The Devils was given its first theatrical release in the UK in 2002, this version has not been made officially available on home media, and releases of edited versions of the film on DVD and streaming services remain scant.

Film scholarship primarily focuses on themes of sexual repression and political corruption. The Devils has been recognized as one of the most controversial films of all time by numerous publications and critics, and remained banned in Finland until 2001.

Plot
Note: This plot summary refers to the uncut version of the film. Some scenes in the description are omitted from other versions.

In 17th-century France, Cardinal Richelieu is influencing Louis XIII in an attempt to gain further power. He convinces Louis that the fortifications of cities throughout France should be demolished to prevent Protestants from rising up. Louis agrees, but forbids Richelieu from carrying out demolitions in the town of Loudun, having made a promise to its Governor not to damage the town.

Meanwhile, in Loudun, the Governor has died, leaving control of the city to Urbain Grandier, a dissolute, proud and popular priest. He is having an affair with a relative of Father Canon Jean Mignon, another priest in the town; Grandier is, however, unaware that the neurotic, hunchbacked Sister Jeanne des Anges, the abbess of the local Ursuline convent, is sexually obsessed with him. Sister Jeanne asks for Grandier to become the convent's new confessor. Grandier secretly marries another woman, Madeleine De Brou, but news of this reaches Sister Jeanne, who becomes jealous. When Madeleine returns a book by Ursuline foundress Angela Merici that Sister Jeanne had earlier lent her, the abbess attacks her and accuses her of being a "fornicator" and "sacrilegious".

Baron Jean de Laubardemont arrives with orders to demolish the city, overriding Grandier's orders to stop. Grandier summons the town's soldiers and forces Laubardemont to back down pending the arrival of an order for the demolition from King Louis. Grandier departs Loudun to visit the King. In the meantime, Sister Jeanne is informed by Father Mignon that he is to be their new confessor. She informs him of Grandier's marriage and affairs, and also inadvertently accuses Grandier of witchcraft and of possessing her, which Mignon relays to Laubardemont. In the process, the information is pared down to just the claim that Grandier has bewitched the convent and dealt with the Devil. With Grandier away from Loudon, Laubardemont and Mignon decide to find evidence against him.

Laubardemont summons inquisitor Father Pierre Barre, a "professional witch-hunter", whose interrogations involve depraved acts of "exorcism", including the forced administration of enemas to his victims. Sister Jeanne claims that Grandier has bewitched her, and the other nuns do the same. A public exorcism erupts in a church, in which the nuns remove their clothes and enter a state of "religious" frenzy. Duke Henri de Condé (actually King Louis in disguise) arrives, claiming to be carrying a holy relic which can exorcise the "devils" possessing the nuns. Father Barre then proceeds to use the relic in "exorcising" the nuns, who then act as though they have been cured—until Condé/Louis reveals the case allegedly containing the relic to be empty. The possessions and the exorcisms then continue unabated, descending into a massive orgy in which the nuns remove the crucifix from above the high altar and masturbate with it.

During the chaos, Grandier and Madeleine return. Grandier denies bewitching the nuns and condemns Sister Jeanne, but he and Madeleine are arrested nonetheless. The nuns are returned to the convent, where Sister Jeanne attempts to hang herself, but is cut down before she dies. After being given a show trial, Grandier is shaven and tortured. The judges sentence Grandier to death by burning at the stake. Laubardemont has also obtained permission to destroy the city's fortifications. Despite pressure to confess to the charges, Grandier refuses, and is taken to be burnt at the stake. His executioner promises to strangle him rather than let him suffer death by fire, but Barre starts the fire himself, and Mignon, visibly panic-stricken about the possibility of Grandier's innocence, pulls the noose tight before it can be used to strangle Grandier. As Grandier burns, Laubardemont orders for explosive charges to be set off and the city walls are blown up, causing the revelling townspeople to flee.

After the execution, Barre leaves Loudun to continue his witch-hunting activities elsewhere in the Vienne region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Laubardemont informs Sister Jeanne that Mignon has been put away in an asylum for claiming that Grandier was innocent, and that "with no signed confession to prove otherwise, everyone has the same opinion". He gives her Grandier's charred femur and leaves. Sister Jeanne kisses and masturbates with the bone. Madeleine, having been released, walks over the rubble of Loudun's walls and out of the ruined city.

Cast

Production

Development

In November 1965, following the Broadway opening of John Whiting's 1961 play The Devils—which was based on Aldous Huxley's non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun (1952), about the alleged 17th-century possessions in Loudun, France—producer Alexander H. Cohen announced plans to adapt the play for film, revealing that he had made a formal offer to Huxley's estate for the rights. After Cohen's deal failed to be materialize, United Artists signed a deal with producer Robert H. Solo to make the adaptation in August 1969. Following the success of Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969) in the United States, United Artists suggested to Russell that he adapt The Devils of Loudun. According to journalist John Baxter and Russell's widow Lisi Tribble, he was familiar with the story by the time United Artists proposed the project to him, having watched a production of Whiting's play in London and subsequently being inspired to research its historical basis. Russell said that "when I first read the story, I was knocked out by it—it was just so shocking—and I wanted others to be knocked out by it, too. I felt I had to make it." Russell later said at the time he made the film: "I was a devout Catholic and very secure in my faith. I knew I wasn't making a pornographic film... although I am not a political creature, I always viewed The Devils as my one political film. To me it was about brainwashing, about the state taking over." Though Russell admired Whiting's play, his screenplay mainly drew from Huxley's book as he found the play "too sentimental".

Some extraneous elements incorporated into the screenplay were not found in either source, including details about the plague, which were supplied by Russell's brother-in-law, a scholar of French history. Upon studying Grandier, Russell felt that he "represented the paradox of the Catholic church...  Grandier is a priest but he is also a man, and that puts him into some absurd situations." In Russell's original screenplay, the role of Sister Jeanne of the Angels, the disabled Mother Superior, was significantly larger, and continued after Grandier's execution. However, in order to shorten the lengthy screenplay, Russell was forced to cut down the role.

United Artists announced the film in August 1969, with Robert Sole to produce under a three-picture deal with the studio, and Russell to direct. Filming was set to start in May 1970. However, after United Artists executives read the screenplay, they "refused to touch it", abandoning plans to fund the production. At the time, production designer Derek Jarman had already constructed some of the sets for the film. It was subsequently acquired by Warner Bros., who signed on in March 1970 to distribute the film.

Casting

Oliver Reed, who had worked with Russell previously on Women in Love, was cast as Urbain Grandier, the philandering doomed priest. Richard Johnson, who had portrayed Grandier in a stage production of The Devils, had originally been attached to the project in 1969, but eventually dropped out of the production. Reed agreed to do the film for a percentage of the profits. Gemma Jones was cast as Madeleine de Brou, Grandier's wife. Sister Jeanne des Anges was originally to be played by Glenda Jackson, who had starred opposite Reed in Russell's Women in Love, as well as in Russell's The Music Lovers (1971). However, Jackson turned down the role saying: "I don't want to play any more neurotic sex starved parts." Russell later claimed that he felt Jackson had actually turned down the role because it had been truncated from his original screenplay. Jackson was replaced by Vanessa Redgrave.

Max Adrian was cast as inquisitor Ibert (in his second-to-last film performance), while Dudley Sutton, who had become a cult figure for his performance in The Leather Boys (1964), agreed to appear in the film as Baron de Laubardemont. Sutton recalled that all of the "respectable actors turned it down. They thought it was blasphemous, which it is not." In the role of Father Mignon, a priest who attempts to usurp Grandier's power, Russell cast Murray Melvin, despite the fact that he was decades younger than the character, who was intended to be in his eighties. Michael Gothard, an English character actor, was cast as self-professed witch hunter Father Barre. Russell cast Christopher Logue, an occasional actor who was mainly known as a poet and literary scholar, as the vengeful Cardinal Richelieu.

As Philippe, the young woman Grandier impregnates, Russell cast television actress Georgina Hale. Judith Paris, originally a dancer, was cast as Sister Agnes, Richelieu's niece who enters the convent under the guise of becoming a nun in order to gather information on Sister Jeanne. In the credits, her role is mislabeled as "Sister Judith".

Filming
Filming began 17 August 1970 in London at Pinewood Studios. The Devils marked Jarman's debut in the film industry; having previously worked in theatre, he was introduced to Russell by his friend, Hornsey College of Art teacher Janet Detuer and agreed to work on the film after seeing  Women in Love. His set for Loudun, which took three months to design, was the largest set constructed on Pinewood's backlot since Cleopatra (1963), and was influenced by the works of neoclassical artists such as Claude Nicolas Ledoux, Étienne-Louis Boullée and Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Russell and Jarman were further influenced by the blank white sets of Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1925) and the cityscape in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927). The interiors of many buildings, specifically the convent, were crafted with plaster and made to appear as masonry; the plaster designs were then nailed to plywood framework. According to Christopher Hobbs, the film's prop designer, Jarman "was very inexperienced, and found the work exhaustive and difficult", but Russell was very supportive of his ideas and designs.

Director Russell hired a large cast of extras, whom he later referred to as "a bad bunch" who were demanding, and alleged that one of the female extras appearing as a civilian was sexually assaulted by another male extra. Jones recalled that Reed, who at the time had a reputation for being disruptive and confrontational, was extremely kind to her on set, and "behaved impeccably". Sutton recalled of Redgrave that she was "always an adventurous type of person" on the set, in terms of exploring her character and interacting with the other performers. Russell echoed this sentiment, referring to Redgrave as "one of the least bothersome actresses I could ever wish for; she just threw herself into it."

Additional photography occurred at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, England. Jones recalled filming at the castle as challenging due to cold weather and having the flu during this period of the shoot, to which Russell was "frightfully unsympathetic". Throughout the shoot, Russell and Reed clashed frequently, and by the time principal photography had finished, the two were hardly on speaking terms.

Music
The film's score was composed for a small ensemble by Peter Maxwell Davies. Russell was reportedly intrigued by Davies' 1969 composition Eight Songs for a Mad King. Davies reportedly took the job because he was interested in the late medieval and Renaissance historical period depicted in the film. He went on to write a score for Russell's next film, The Boy Friend. Australian promoter James Murdoch, who was also Davies' agent, was involved in organising the music for both these films.

The score was recorded by Davies' regular collaborators the Fires of London who took on extra players as the score required more instruments than their basic line-up. Maxwell Davies' music is complemented by period music (including a couple of numbers from Terpsichore), performed by the Early Music Consort of London under the direction of David Munrow.

In 1974, the Fires of London and the Early Music Consort of London gave a performance of a concert suite of the music at the Proms. The soundtrack remains a popular choice for concert hall performances.

Themes

Addressing the film's initial reaction among critics, social groups and Warner Bros. executives, film historian Tim Lucas describes The Devils as "not merely an indictment of 17th Century conspiracies, but an indictment of political agendas which have been with us throughout the course of human history. When government is at its most immoral, history shows that it tends to ally itself with the Church, and to deflect public attention from its own corruption by demonizing convenient scapegoat—sartists, philosophers, progressives... in a word, liberals." Comparing Grandier's demonization to various issues of contention in the United States during various decades of the 20th century, from alcohol in the 1920s to tobacco smoking in the 1990s, he notes that although public opinion on such issues evolve over time, the film articulates that "in the crossfire of ideals and oratory, lives are sometimes destroyed."

Meanwhile, film scholar Thomas Atkins attests that, while The Devils contains overt themes regarding religion and political influence, the film is more concerned with "sex and sexual aberrations". He interprets the film as being centrally thematically interested in sexual repression and its cumulative effects on the human psyche. Commenting on the Sister Jeanne character, Atkins writes: "There are any number of examples of tormented visualization involving the Mother Superior...  What more stunning visual metaphor for the psychological suffocation of the Mother Superior than to stuff her deformed body into a tiny lookout space from which she watches her fantasy lover? The mere confinement of mass in congested space creates an understanding of the annihilating pleasures of her sexual drive." Atkins likens Sister Jeanne's erotic fantasy sequences to "eroticism from a deranged consciousness". Filmmaker Alex Cox concurs with this point, stating that The Devils "could have been a turgid tale of human rights versus intolerance", but instead became something "much more: an intense, at times surreal, at times hideously realistic story of sexual obsession and oppression".

The color white is featured significantly, specifically in the design of the cityscape, which largely consists of overtly white stone structures. Atkins insists that through this use of blank white, Russell establishes a "leitmotif of whiteness which resists and dissolves natural relationships"; Adam Scovell further notes that the "horrifying white-clean aesthetic" of Russell and Jarman's vision of Loudun appears to be inspired by Sister Jeanne's exorcism being compared to a "rape in a public lavatory" in the Huxley novel.

Release

Box office
The Devils was one of the most popular films in 1972 at the British box office, grossing approximately $8–9 million in Europe. With an additional $2 million in the United States, its worldwide total gross comes to roughly $11 million.

Critical reception
The Devils received significant negative critical reaction upon its release due to its "outrageous", "overheated", and "pornographic" nature. The film was publicly condemned by the Vatican, who, though acknowledging that it contained some artistic merit, asked that its screenings at the Venice International Film Festival be cancelled. Judith Crist called the film a "grand fiesta for sadists and perverts", while Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a rare zero-star rating, sarcastically mocking it as overly self-important. Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker that Russell "doesn't report hysteria, he markets it." Vincent Canby, writing for The New York Times, noted that the film contains "silly, melodramatic effects", and felt that the performances were hindered by the nature of the screenplay, writing: "Oliver Reed suggests some recognizable humanity as poor Father Grandier, but everyone else is ridiculous. Vanessa Redgrave, who can be, I think, a fine actress, plays Sister Jeanne with a plastic hump, a Hansel-and-Gretel giggle, and so much sibilance that when she says 'Satan is ever ready to seduce us with sensual delights', you might think that Groucho Marx had let the air out of her tires."

Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times lambasted the film, writing that its message is "not anti-clerical—there's hardly enough clericalism to be anti anymore—it is anti-humanity. A rage against cruelty has become a celebration of it... you weep not for the evils and the ignorance of the past, but for the cleverness and sickness of the day." Ann Guarino of the New York Daily News noted that the film "could not be more anti-Catholic in tone or more sensationalized in treatment", but conceded that the performances in the film were competent. The Ottawa Citizens Gordon Stoneham similarly felt the film had been over-sensationalized, noting that Russell focuses so much on the "baroque effects, and concentrates so much on the Grand Guignol aspects of the affair, the narrative is never firmly in focus."

Bridget Byrne of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner alternately praised the film as "brilliant, audacious, and grotesque", likening it to a fairytale, but added that audiences "have to grasp its philosophy, work out the undercurrents of seriousness, close the structural gaps for [themselves], even as [they] are transported by a literal orgy of splendor." Writing for the Hackensack, New Jersey Record, John Crittenden praised the film's visuals as "genius", but criticised Reed's performance while asserting that Redgrave was underused. Stephen Farber of The New York Times noted the film as an ambitious work, conceding that the "ideas in Russell's film may seem overly schematic, but his terrifying, fantastical nightmare images have astonishing psychological power."

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Devils holds an approval rating of 69%, based on 32 reviews, and an average rating of 8.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grimly stylish, Ken Russell's baroque opus is both provocative and persuasive in its contention that the greatest blasphemy is the leveraging of faith for power." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Censorship history
The explicit sexual and violent content, paired with its commentary on religious institutions, resulted in significant censorship. Commenting on the controversial nature, Reed stated: "We never set out to make a pretty Christian film. Charlton Heston made enough of those... The film is about twisted people." The British Board of Film Censors found the combination of religious themes and violent sexual imagery a serious challenge, particularly as the Board was being lobbied by socially conservative pressure groups such as the Festival of Light at the time of distribution. In order to gain a release and earn a British 'X' certificate (suitable for those aged 18 and over), Russell made minor cuts to the more explicit nudity (mainly in the cathedral and convent sequences), details from the first exorcism (mainly that which indicated an anal insertion), some shots of the crushing of Grandier's legs, and a pantomime sequence during the climactic burning. Russell later said:

The most significant cuts were made by Warner Bros., prior to submission to the BBFC. Two notable scenes were removed in their entirety: One was a two-and-a-half-minute sequence featuring naked nuns sexually defiling a statue of Christ, which includes Father Mignon looking down on the scene and masturbating. Another scene towards the end showed Sister Jeanne masturbating with the charred femur of Grandier following his burning at the stake. Due to its content, the former scene has been popularly referred to as the "Rape of Christ" sequence.

The British theatrical cut, which runs 111 minutes, was given an 'X' certificate (no one under 18 years of age admitted); despite the BBFC's approval of this version, it was banned in 17 local councils across Britain. In the United States, it was truncated further for theatrical exhibition: The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) edited to approximately 108 minutes, and also awarded an 'X' rating. Russell expressed frustration, commenting that they "killed the key scene" [the Rape of Christ] and that "Warner Brothers cut out the best of The Devils." Speaking on the American version of the film, Russell said the cuts "adversely affected the story, to the point where in America the film is disjointed and incomprehensible." In 1973, in anticipation of a reissue of the film coinciding with their release of The Exorcist (1973), Warner Bros. resubmitted the American version of The Devils to the MPAA after further removing several allusions to lesbianism prior to Sister Jeanne's attempted suicide and a brief shot of Grandier's shattered legs during the torture scene; this version was awarded an 'R' rating.

The director's cut (approximately 117 minutes), with all aforementioned footage restored, was screened for the first time in London on 25 November 2002, along with a making-of documentary titled Hell on Earth, produced for Channel 4. The extended version was procured by Mark Kermode, who uncovered the footage in the Warner Bros. vaults. In a 2014 videoblog titled "Kermode Uncut: What To Do About The Devils", Kermode revealed that Warner Bros. was responsible for blocking various efforts to allow the director's cut of the film to be released on home media, as they considered the tone of the deleted material, specifically the "Rape of Christ" sequence, to be "distasteful", and that they also had turned down offers from distributors such as The Criterion Collection interested in buying the film or acquiring the North American sublicensing rights. The film remained banned in Finland for over 30 years, until it was lifted in November 2001.

Accolades

Home media
The Devils has had a complicated release history in home media formats, with various cuts being made available in different formats. The film made its America home media debut circa 1979-1980, when ON TV made the 1973 'R' rated version available as part of its late night programming. Warner Home Video released a clamshell VHS of the film in the United States in 1983, labelled as featuring a 105-minute cut of the film; however, this is a misprint, as this edition actually runs 103 minutes, due to time compression. Warner reissued a VHS edition in 1995, with a corrected label of a 103-minute running time. On May 30, 1995, the UK theatrical version made its debut on British television as part of BBC2's Forbidden Weekend, a series of films with troubled censorship histories; the screening was introduced by Cox and then-BBFC director James Ferman. This version was shown in a partially letterboxed aspect ratio of 1.80:1, with the credits being shown in the correct 2.35:1 ratio. Prior to this broadcast, the UK theatrical version had been shown on Sat.1 in Germany, with a 1.73:1 aspect ratio. A VHS was issued in the United Kingdom by Warner in 2002 as part of their "Masters of the Movies" series, reportedly running 104 minutes. However, according to film historian Richard Crouse, the VHS version available in the United Kingdom is identical to the American VHS editions, despite the labelled runtimes. Lucas notes that most VHS releases of the film featured either "sloppy" pan and scan work or poor letterboxing.

A bootlegged NTSC-format DVD was released by Angel Digital in 2005, with the excised footage reinstated, along with the Hell on Earth documentary included as a bonus feature. In 2008, it was suspected that Warner Home Video may have been planning a U.S. DVD release for the film, as cover artwork was leaked on the internet. However, Warner responded to the claim by deeming the leaked news an "error". In June 2010, Warner released The Devils in a 108-minute version for purchase and rental through the iTunes Store, but the title was removed without explanation three days later.

On 19 March 2012, the British Film Institute released a two-disc DVD featuring the 111-minute UK theatrical version (sped up to 107 minutes to accommodate the technicalities of PAL colour). The BFI release also includes the Kermode documentary Hell on Earth, as well as a vintage documentary shot during the production entitled Directing Devils, among other features.

In March 2017, streaming service Shudder began carrying the 109-minute U.S. release version of The Devils. In September 2018, FilmStruck began streaming the same U.S. cut and it was subsequently added to the Criterion Channel in October 2019, almost a year after FilmStruck shut down. The film has since been removed from Criterion's offerings.

Legacy
The Devils has been cited as one of the most controversial films of all time
by such critics as Richard Crouse, among others. Filmsite included it in their list of the 100 most controversial films ever made, and in 2015, Time Out magazine ranked it 47 on their list of the "50 Most Controversial Movies in History".

Following his transition into experimental filmmaking, Jarman produced the Super 8 short film The Devils at the Elgin (1974). Described by Sam Ashby as a "hypnotic, nightmarish monochrome that loops some of the more religious iconographic moments" from Russell's original, the film was captured from a screening of The Devils at the Elgin Theater in New York City. Jarman noted that Maddeline's escape from Loudun in the original film's ending gave the impression that "she walks into a blizzard of ashes" when rendered on Super 8 stock. When screening The Devils at the Elgin at festivals or his studio, Jarman would synchronize the film to a cassette tape recording of Nico's cover version of the Doors' song "The End".

Film historian Joel W. Finler described The Devils as Russell's "most brilliant cinematic achievement, but widely regarded as his most distasteful and offensive work." In 2002, when 100 filmmakers and critics were asked by Sight and Sound to cite what they considered to be the ten most important films ever made, The Devils featured in the lists submitted by Kermode and Cox; for the magazine's 2012 poll, the film appeared in the lists submitted by Kermode and Lucas, as well as those submitted by filmmaker Abel Ferrara and fellow critics Vic Pratt, Billy Chainsaw and David Sorfa. In 2014, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro publicly criticised Warner Bros. for censoring the film and limiting its availability in home video markets.

Despite the film's controversial status, a nun wearing the same habits seen in the film cameos among characters from numerous other Warner Bros. films in Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).

See also
 Mother Joan of the Angels – a 1961 Polish film also based on the Loudun possessions
 The Crucible – a 1953 play ostensibly about the Salem witch trials, but also a political allegory that shares several plot parallels with The Devils
 The Devils of Loudun – a 1968 opera by Krzysztof Penderecki also based on the Huxley novel and Whiting play
 Belladonna of Sadness – a 1973 anime film that shares several plot parallels with The Devils

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

External links

 The Devils at the British Film Institute
 Life magazine review (24 September 1971)
 Information on the Channel 4 UK screening in 2002

1971 films
1971 drama films
1970s American films
1970s British films
1970s English-language films
1970s historical drama films
American films based on plays
American historical drama films
British films based on plays
British historical drama films
Catholic Legion of Decency condemned film
Censored films
Cultural depictions of Cardinal Richelieu
Cultural depictions of Louis XIII
Films about capital punishment
Films about Catholic nuns
Films about Catholic priests
Films about sexual repression
Films about witchcraft
Films based on British novels
Films based on multiple works
Films based on non-fiction books
Films based on works by Aldous Huxley
Films directed by Ken Russell
Films set in convents
Films set in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Films set in the 1630s
Films shot at Pinewood Studios
Nunsploitation films
Obscenity controversies in film
Religious controversies in film
Religious drama films
Warner Bros. films

The Devils (film)


Crkva sv. Duha je crkva u gradu Jastrebarsko, zaštićeno kulturno dobro.

Opis dobra
Arhitektonski slojevita izvorno gotička kapela barokizirana je početkom 18.stoljeća, a današnji izgled rezultat je neogotičke obnove 19.stoljeća. Jednobrodna je, s izduljenim poligonalno zaključenim svetištem, sakristijom i zvonikom na glavnom pročelju. Dugo, usko poligonalno zaključeno svetište vjerojatno je ostatak gotičke građevine. Svođeno je križnim svodom, a apsida kalotom sa susvodnicama. Križni svod nad brodom rezultat je kasnije pregradnje i nema srednjovjekovno porijeklo. Inventar potječe iz 19.stoljeća.

Zaštita
Pod oznakom Z-2068 zavedena je kao nepokretno kulturno dobro - pojedinačno, pravna statusa zaštićena kulturnog dobra, klasificirano kao "sakralna graditeljska baština".

Izvori

Zaštićene sakralne građevine u Zagrebačkoj županiji
Katoličke crkve u Hrvatskoj
Građevine u Jastrebarskom

Crkva sv. Duha u Jastrebarskom


An Habenaria excelsa in uska species han Liliopsida nga ginhulagway ni Sarah Thomas ngan Phillip James Cribb. An Habenaria excelsa in nahilalakip ha genus nga Habenaria, ngan familia nga Orchidaceae. Waray hini subspecies nga nakalista.

Mga kasarigan

Habenaria

Habenaria excelsa


An Isachne chevalieri in uska species han Liliopsida nga ginhulagway ni Aimée Antoinette Camus. An Isachne chevalieri in nahilalakip ha genus nga Isachne, ngan familia nga Poaceae. Waray hini subspecies nga nakalista.

Mga kasarigan

Isachne

Isachne chevalieri


السنديانة قرية تتبع منطقة الدريب في قضاء عكار في لبنان.

مراجع

الدريب
قرى لبنان

السنديانة (عكار)


Mariano Ángel Hässell (nacido el 14 de febrero de 1986 en Campana, Buenos Aires, Argentina) es un futbolista argentino. Juega de centrocampista y su club actual es el FC Chiasso de la Challenge League de Suiza. Tiene .

Carrera

Comenzó su carrera en 2005 jugando para San Lorenzo de Almagro. Juega para el club hasta 2006. Ese año se marchó a Suiza para sumarse a las filas del FC Locarno. Juega para el club suizo hasta el año 2007. Ese año, Mariano regresó a la Argentina para volver a formar parte de las filas del San Lorenzo de Almagro. En 2009 se fue a Uruguay, en donde estuvo jugando para el Fénix. Ese año, en su segundo regreso a la Argentina, forma parte del equipo Sarmiento de Junín. En 2010 fue transferido al Comunicaciones de Buenos Aires. Ese año regresó a Suiza, para formar parte por segunda vez consecutiva de las filas del FC Locarno, en donde juega hasta 2012. Ese año se fue a Liechtenstein para formar parte de las filas del FC Vaduz, en donde jugó hasta 2013. En ese año regresó a Suiza para jugar nuevamente en el FC Locarno, en donde juega hasta 2014, cuando se marchó al FC Chiasso.

Selección nacional

Ha sido internacional con la Selección de fútbol de Argentina Sub-17 en 2003.

Clubes

Enlaces externos

 Ficha en BDFA

Futbolistas de Campana
Futbolistas del Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro
Futbolistas de las inferiores del Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro
Futbolistas del Football Club Locarno
Futbolistas del Centro Atlético Fénix
Futbolistas del Club Atlético Sarmiento (Junín)
Futbolistas del Club Comunicaciones (Buenos Aires)
Futbolistas de la selección de fútbol de Argentina en los años 2000

Mariano Hässell


L'ordre n°1 du Soviet de Petrograd (en russe : Прика́з № 1, Prikaze n°1) est le premier ordre donné par le Soviet de Petrograd après la révolution de février 1917, à la garnison du district militaire de Petrograd, le  lors de la session plénière de la Section des ouvriers et des soldats du soviet.

Rédaction
L'ordre n° 1 est rédigé par une commission élue par le soviet et présidée par N.D. Sokolov. L'ordre n°1 donne force de loi aux comités de soldats qui se sont créés dans l'armée impériale russe. Cela implique que les troupes sont subordonnées au Soviet des ouvriers et soldats et aux comités de soldats élus.

Les ordres donnés par la Commission de guerre de la Douma d'État ne doivent être exécutés que s'ils ne contredisent pas les ordres et les décisions du soviet. Les armes doivent être disponibles et sous le contrôle des comités de compagnie et de bataillon, et en aucun cas elles ne doivent être remises aux officiers.

Il s'agit de contrecarrer les tentatives du Comité provisoire de la Douma d'État de rétablir le pouvoir illimité des officiers des unités. L'ordre n°1 légalise les comités de soldats, reconnaît aux soldats des droits civiques, les met sur un pied d'égalité avec les officiers quand ils sont en dehors du service, interdit de s'adresser de façon grossière aux soldats et supprime les saluts obligatoires obséquieux.

La portée de l'Ordre n° 1 dépasse largement les limites de la garnison métropolitaine. Il vise à la « démocratisation » de l'armée et à l'organisation de la masse des soldats en une force active au sens soviétique. Cependant, il ne reprend pas la principale revendication des militaires, la possibilité d'élire les membres du commandement de l'armée.

Cet ordre est le signe de l'influence des socialistes-révolutionnaires et des mencheviks. Bien que la possibilité d'élire les officiers ne soit pas mentionnée, dans beaucoup d'unités, les soldats démettent les officiers de leurs fonctions et élisent leurs favoris aux postes de commandement.

Libellé de l'ordre n° 1 du Soviet de Petrograd
« 1er mars (14e) 1917. À la garnison du district militaire de Petrograd ! À tous les soldats de la garde, de l'armée, de l'artillerie et de la marine pour une exécution immédiate et précise, aux ouvriers de Petrograd pour votre information ! Le Soviet des délégués ouvriers et soldats a décidé : 1. Dans toutes les compagnies, bataillons, régiments, batteries, escadrons, dans tous les bureaux des diverses administrations militaires ainsi que sur les navires de la marine, des comités sont élus immédiatement parmi les représentants élus des troupes ci-dessus énumérées. 2. Toutes les unités de troupes qui n'ont pas encore élu leurs représentants au Soviet des délégués ouvriers doivent élire un représentant pour chaque compagnie. Ces représentants doivent se présenter dans le bâtiment de la Douma le 2 (15 mars) à dix heures du matin avec une confirmation écrite. 3. Dans toutes les affaires politiques, chaque unité des troupes est subordonnée au Soviet des délégués ouvriers et soldats et à ses commissions. 4. Les ordres de la Commission militaire de la Douma d'État ne seront exécutés que s'ils ne contredisent pas les ordres et les résolutions du Soviet des délégués ouvriers et soldats. 5. Toutes sortes d'armes, telles que fusils, mitrailleuses, voitures blindées, etc., doivent être entre les mains et le contrôle des comités de compagnie et de bataillon et ne doivent en aucun cas être remises aux officiers, même s'ils en font la demande. 6. Dans l'exercice de leur service, les soldats doivent adhérer à la discipline militaire la plus stricte, mais en dehors de leur service, les soldats ne doivent en aucun cas être lésés dans leur vie politique, civile et privée dans les droits dont jouissent tous les autres citoyens. Le salut militaire hors service sera aboli. 7. De même, les titres d'officier : Excellence, Bien-Né, etc., sont abolis et remplacés par des expressions telles que : Général, etc. Les comportements brutaux, y compris l'utilisation du tutoiement avec les soldats, sont interdits. Ces derniers sont tenus d'informer leurs comités de compagnie de toute violation de cet ordre ainsi que de tout malentendu entre officiers et militaires. Cet ordre doit être lu dans toutes les compagnies, bataillons, régiments, batteries et autres unités militaires. Le Soviet des délégués ouvriers et soldats de Petrograd. »

Notes et références

Liens externes

1917 en politique
Source historique

Ordre n°1 du Soviet de Petrograd


Die Elstermühle Jessen befand sich an der Schwarzen Elster in Jessen (Elster).

Geschichte
Ein genaues Gründungsdatum lässt sich für die Mühle nicht mehr feststellen, jedoch wird erwähnt, dass der Müller in den Jahren 1419–1422 eine jährliche Erbpacht an das Amt Schweinitz zu zahlen hatte. Nachdem im Jahre 1510 die Mühle ein freies Lehnsgut wurde, übernahm das Amt Lochau die Verwaltung. Diese wird jedoch später vom Amt Schweinitz wahrgenommen, und so werden im Jahr 1526 217 Scheffel Korn, 240 Scheffel Malz und ein Schock Küchengeld als Einnahme durch die Mühle verzeichnet. Mit der Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts beginnenden Holzflößerei auf der Schwarzen Elster wird auch die Wassermühle in Jessen mit jedem Tag des Stillstandes durch das Flößen mit 1 1/3 Taler, sowie einer grünen Pfahleiche und zwei Brettbäumen für notwendige Reparaturen entschädigt.

Aufbau
Im Mühlenregulativ aus dem Jahre 1771, welches die Mühlenordnung von 1561 erweiterte, ist für die Mühle folgende Einrichtung festgelegt: die vordere Mühle verfügte über vier Mahlgänge mit zwei Vorgelegen an zwei Ziehpansterrädern, eine Ölmühle und Hirsestampfen an einem Staberwasserrad und eine Schneidemühle an einem Staberwasserrad. Die hintere Mühle verfügte über einen Mahlgang sowie einer Öl- und Walkmühle an einem Ziehpansterrad. 1902 wurde für 80.000 Mark die Anlage mit einer Dampfmaschine ausgerüstet.

Eigentümer
1695 wird Müllermeister Michael Herrmann genannt, welcher die Entschädigungen für Betriebsausfälle aufgrund des Flößens von Holz bekommt. Im Jahre 1718 wird Müllermeister Christoph Herrmann erwähnt. 1802 ist das Mühlengrundstück an Johann Benjamin Weck verpachtet. In den Jahren 1812–1826 ist Johann Friedrich Förster Eigentümer. Abraham Wilhelm Rauchfuß, der die Besitznachfolge übernahm, musste am 17. März 1875 die Mühle durch eine Versteigerung an Karl Voigt verkaufen. 1902 erfolgte der Verkauf des Staurechts durch den damaligen Besitzer Georg Knie. Dieser brachte die Mühle und deren Einrichtung durch den Umbau des Antriebs auf einen der Zeit entsprechenden technischen Stand. Das Grundstück wurde jedoch kurze Zeit später von ihm an die Firma Langnes und Lange verkauft, welche es dann 1904 an die Brüder Geßner für 125.000 Mark weiterverkaufte.

Sonstiges
Durch die Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts begonnene Regulierung der Schwarzen Elster wurde den flussaufwärts befindlichen Mühlen mit ihren 12 Staustufen das Staurecht für den Fluss genommen. Dadurch konnte das Wasser nun hindernisfrei und mit höherer Geschwindigkeit bis Jessen fließen. Von hier bis zur Mündung in die Elbe war die Schwarze Elster jedoch noch nicht begradigt, und damit auch die Fließgeschwindigkeit des Wassers eher langsam. Dies führte bei erhöhten Wasserständen in der Elbe zum Rückstau und damit zu schweren Überflutungen. Um die Regulierung des Flusses weiter vorantreiben zu können, musste der Wasserstand desselben jedoch abgesenkt werden. Dadurch standen die Pfahlroste, auf denen die Fundamente der Mühle gebaut wurden, nicht mehr unter Wasser und verfielen durch Fäulnis. Die im Ersten Weltkrieg vorgenommene Getreidezuteilung ließ der Mühle nur noch Arbeit für einen Tag im Monat, so dass 1916 alle Arbeiter entlassen werden mussten.

Fußnoten und Einzelnachweise

Wassermühle in Sachsen-Anhalt
Bauwerk in Jessen (Elster)
Wassermühle an der Schwarzen Elster
Mühle im Landkreis Wittenberg
Mühle in Europa

Elstermühle Jessen


Adrian Lebedinschi (n. 12 august 1976, Colicăuți, Briceni) este un jurist și un om politic din Republica Moldova, care din octombrie 2015 până în iulie 2021 a fost deputat în Parlamentul Republicii Moldova, în cadrul fracțiunii Partidului Socialiștilor din Republica Moldova (PSRM), iar din noiembrie 2021, a devenit din nou deputat din partea BeCS.

Activitate profesională
Începând cu anul 2009 activează ca avocat, iar anterior a fost anchetator și comisar adjunct la mai multe comisariate de poliție din Chișinău.

Activitate politică
La alegerile parlamentare din 30 noiembrie 2014 din Republica Moldova a candidat la funcția de deputat de pe locul 26 în lista candidaților PSRM și inițial nu a reușit să acceadă în parlament. La alegerile locale din Chișinău din 14 iunie 2015 a fost ales consilier în Consiliul Municipal Chișinău din partea PSRM, însă, după ce colegul socialist deputatul Ion Ceban, la fel ales consilier, a decis să renunțe la mandatul de deputat în favoarea celui de consilier, Lebedinschi, fiind următorul pe lista de candidați supleanți a obținut mandatul său de deputat.

Viață personală
Adrian Lebedinschi deține gradul special de locotenent-colonel de poliție. Este căsătorit și are doi copii.

Referințe

Legături externe
Profil pe site-ul Parlamentului Republicii Moldova

Nașteri în 1976
Nașteri pe 12 august
Deputați moldoveni
Juriști moldoveni
Membri ai Partidului Socialiștilor din Republica Moldova
Moldoveni în viață
Oameni din raionul Briceni
Politicieni moldoveni

Adrian Lebedinschi


An Eragrostis squamata in uska species han Liliopsida nga syahan ginhulagway ni Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, ngan ginhatag han pagkayana nga asya nga ngaran ni Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel. An Eragrostis squamata in nahilalakip ha genus nga Eragrostis, ngan familia nga Poaceae. Waray hini subspecies nga nakalista.

Mga kasarigan

Mga sumpay ha gawas

Eragrostis

Eragrostis squamata


Peccatum je bio norveški avangardni metal sastav. Među njegovim utjecajima nalazili su se black metal, progresivni metal, industrijalna glazba, simfonijski metal i gothic metal, ali i klasična te suvremena klasična glazba.

Ime grupe u prijevodu s latinskog jezika znači "grijeh".

Povijest
Peccatum su 1998. godine osnovali Ihriel (Heidi Solberg Tveitan), njen suprug Ihsahn (poznat kao član black metal grupe Emperor) te njen brat Lord PZ. Godinu dana poslije sastav objavljuje svoj debitantski album Strangling from Within; navedeni je album objavila diskografska kuća Candlelight Records. Sljedeće godine bio je objavljen prvi EP grupe Oh, My Regrets, nakon kojeg je uslijedio drugi studijski album, Amor Fati, posljednji album koji je objavio Candlelight. Godine 2004., ubrzo nakon što ju je Lord PZ napustio, skupina je objavila svoj konačni studijski album, Lost in Reverie, na kojem je krenula klasičnijim i avangardnijim glazbenim smjerom.

Lost in Reverie i naknadni EP The Moribund People objavila je diskografska kuća Mnemosyne Productions koju predvode Ihriel i Ihsahn.

Dana 4. ožujka 2006. Peccatum se raspao te se Ihsahn posvetio svojem samostalnom glazbenom radu, a Ihriel svojem projektu Starofash.

Diskografija
Studijski albumi
Strangling from Within (1999.)
Amor Fati (2000.)
Lost in Reverie (2004.)
EP-ovi
Oh, My Regrets (2000.)
The Moribund People (2005.)

Članovi sastava

Konačna postava
 Ihsahn – vokali, gitara, bas-gitara, klavijature, programiranje (1998. – 2006.)
 Ihriel – vokali, elektronika, klavijature, programiranje (1998. – 2006.)

Bivši članovi
 Lord PZ – vokali (1998. – 2004.)

Izvori

Vanjske poveznice
Mnemosyne Productions

Norveški sastavi heavy metala
Sastavi avangardnog metala

Peccatum


Ahmed Bedoui (Teboulba, Tunis, 1. prosinca 1993.), tuniški rukometni vratar. Nastupa za Espérance Sportive de Tunis i reprezentaciju Tunisa.

Natjecao se na Svjetskom prvenstvu u Danskoj 2019., gdje je reprezentacija Tunisa završila na 12. mjestu.

Izvori

Tuniški rukometaši
Rukometni vratari

Ahmed Bedoui


The Calliphoridae (commonly known as blow flies, blow-flies, carrion flies, bluebottles, or greenbottles) are a family of insects in the order Diptera, with almost 1,900 known species. The maggot larvae, often used as fishing bait, are known as gentles. The family is known to be polyphyletic, but much remains disputed regarding proper treatment of the constituent taxa, some of which are occasionally accorded family status (e.g., Bengaliidae and Helicoboscidae).

The name blowfly comes from an older English term for meat that had eggs laid on it, which was said to be flyblown. The first known association of the term "blow" with flies appears in the plays of William Shakespeare: Love's Labour's Lost, The Tempest, and Antony and Cleopatra.

Description

Characteristics
Calliphoridae adults are commonly shiny with metallic colouring, often with blue, green, or black thoraces and abdomens. Antennae are three-segmented and aristate. The aristae are plumose their entire length, and the second antennal segment is distinctly grooved. Members of Calliphoridae have branched Rs 2 veins, frontal sutures are present, and calypters are well developed.

The characteristics and arrangements of hairlike bristles are used to differentiate among members of this family. All blowflies have bristles located on the meron. Having two notopleural bristles and a hindmost posthumeral bristle located lateral to presutural bristle are characteristics to look for when identifying this family.

The thorax has the continuous dorsal suture across the middle, along with well-defined posterior calli. The postscutellum is absent or weakly developed. The costa is unbroken and the subcosta is apparent on the insect.

Development
Most species of blow flies studied thus far are anautogenous; a female requires a substantial amount of protein to develop mature eggs within her ovaries (about 800 µg per pair of ovaries in Phormia regina). The current theory is that females visit carrion both for protein and egg laying, but this remains to be proven. Blow fly eggs, usually yellowish or white in color, are about 1.5 mm × 0.4 mm, and when laid, look like rice grains. While the female blow fly typically lays 150–200 eggs per batch, she is usually iteroparous, laying around 2,000 eggs during the course of her life. The sex ratio of blow fly eggs is usually 50:50, but one exception is females from two species of the genus Chrysomya (C. rufifacies and C. albiceps), which are either arrhenogenic (laying only male offspring) or thelygenic (laying only female offspring).

Hatching from an egg to the first larval stage takes about 8 hours to a day. Larvae have three stages of development (instars); each stage is separated by a molting event. The instars are separable by examining the posterior spiracles, or openings to the breathing system. The larvae use proteolytic enzymes in their excreta (as well as mechanical grinding by mouth hooks) to break down proteins on the livestock or corpse on which they are feeding. Blow flies are poikilothermic – the rate at which they grow and develop is highly dependent on temperature and species. Under room temperature (about 20 °C), the black blow fly Phormia regina can change from egg to pupa in 150–266 hours (six to 11 days). When the third larval stage is complete, it leaves the corpse and burrows into the ground to pupate, emerging as an adult 7–14 days later.

Food sources
Adult blowflies are occasional pollinators, being attracted to flowers with strong odors resembling rotting meat, such as the American pawpaw or dead horse arum. Little doubt remains that these flies use nectar as a source of carbohydrates to fuel flight, but just how and when this happens is unknown. One study showed the visual stimulus a blowfly receives from its compound eyes is responsible for causing its legs to extend from its flight position and allow it to land on any surface.

Larvae of most species are scavengers of carrion and dung, and most likely constitute the majority of the maggots found in such material, although they are not uncommonly found in close association with other dipterous larvae from the families Sarcophagidae and Muscidae, and many other acalyptrate muscoid flies.

Predators
Predators of blow flies include spiders, beetles, frogs, and birds, including chickens.

In the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico, a fungus, Furia vomitoriae  (from the family of Entomophthoraceae) affects bluebottle flies. It forms masses of conidiophores erupting through the intersegmental areas (or clear bands) on the abdominal dorsum of the flies and eventually kills them

Diversity
About 1,900 species of blow flies are known, with 120 species in the Neotropics, and a large number of species in Africa and Southern Europe.

The typical habitats for blow flies are temperate to tropical areas that provide a layer of loose, damp soil and litter where larvae may thrive and pupate.

Genera

Sources: MYIA, FE, Nomina, A/O DC

This is a selected list of genera from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Malaysia (Japan) and Australasia:

 Abago Grunin, 1966
 Amenia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Angioneura Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1893
 Apaulina Hall, 1948
 Cynomya Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Aphyssura Hardy, 1940
 Auchmeromyia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891
 Bellardia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1863
 Bengalia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Booponus Aldrich, 1923
 Boreellus Aldrich & Shannon, 1923
 Caiusa Surcouf, 1920
 Calliphora Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Callitroga Hall, 1948
 Catapicephala Macquart, 1851
 Chloroprocta Wulp, 1896
 Chrysomya Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Cochliomyia Townsend, 1915
 Compsomyiops Townsend, 1918
 Cordylobia Gruenberg, 1903
 Cyanus Hall, 1948
 Dyscritomyia Grimshaw, 1901
 Eggisops Rondani, 1862
 Eucalliphora Townsend, 1908
 Eumesembrinella Townsend, 1931
 Eurychaeta Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891
 Euphumosia Malloch, 1926
 Hemilucilia Brauer, 1895
 Hemipyrellia Townsend, 1918
 Lucilia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Melanomya Rondani, 1856
 Melinda Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Mufetiella Villeneuve, 1933
 Nesodexia Villeneuve, 1911
 Neta Shannon, 1926
 Onesia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Opsodexia Townsend, 1915
 Pachychoeromyia Villeneuve, 1920
 Paralucilia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891
 Paramenia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1889
 Paraplatytropesa Crosskey, 1965
 Phormia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Phumosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
 Platytropesa Macquart, 1851
 Polleniopsis Townsend, 1917
 Prosthetosoma Silvestri, 1920
 Protocalliphora Hough, 1899
 Protophormia Townsend, 1908
 Ptilonesia Bezzi, 1927
 Rhynchoestrus Séguy, 1926
 Sarconesia Bigot, 1857
 Silbomyia Macquart, 1843
 Stilbomyella Malloch, 1935
 Toxotarsus Macquart, 1851
 Triceratopyga Rohdendorf, 1931
 Tricyclea Wulp, 1885
 TricycleopsisVilleneuve, 1927
 Trypocalliphora Peus, 1960
 Xenocalliphora Malloch, 1924

Economic importance

Myiasis
Blowflies have caught the interest of researchers in a variety of fields, although the large body of literature on calliphorids has been concentrated on solving the problem of myiasis in livestock. The sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina causes the Australian sheep industry an estimated AU$170 million a year in losses.

The most common causes of myiasis in humans and animals are the three dipteran families Oestridae, Calliphoridae, and Sarcophagidae. Myiasis in humans is clinically categorized in six ways: dermal and subdermal, facial cavity, wound or trauma, gastrointestinal, vaginal, and generalized. If found in humans, the dipteran larvae are usually in their first instar. The only treatment necessary is just to remove the maggots, and the patient heals naturally. Whilst not strictly a myiasis species, the Congo floor maggot feeds on mammal blood, occasionally human.

Screwworms
The New World primary screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax), once a major pest in Southern United States, has been eradicated from the United States, Mexico, and Central America through an extensive release program by the USDA of sterilized males. The USDA maintains a sterile screwworm fly production plant and release program in the eastern half of the Republic of Panama to keep fertile screwworms from migrating north. Currently, this species is limited to lowland tropical countries in South America and some Caribbean islands.

The Old World primary screwworm (Chrysomya bezziana) is an obligate parasite of mammals. This fly is distributed throughout the Old World, including Southeast Asia, tropical and subtropical Africa, some countries in the Middle East, India, the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian and Philippine Islands, and Papua New Guinea.

The secondary screwworm (Cochliomyia macellaria) has become one of the principal species on which to base post mortem interval estimations because its succession and occurrence on decomposing remains has been well defined. The secondary screwworm is found throughout the United States and the American tropics, and in southern Canada during summers. This species is one of the most common species found on decomposing remains in the US South.

Maggot therapy
Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is the medical use of selected, laboratory-raised fly larvae for cleaning nonhealing wounds. Medicinal maggots perform debridement by selectively eating only dead tissue. Lucilia sericata (Phaenicia sericata), or the common green bottlefly, is the preferred species used in maggot therapy. MDT can be used to treat pressure ulcers, diabetic foot wounds, venous stasis ulcers, and postsurgical wounds.

Disease
Adults may be vectors of pathogens of diseases such as dysentery. Flies, most commonly Calliphoridae, have frequently been associated with disease transmission in humans and animals, as well as myiasis. Studies and research have linked Calliphora and Lucilia to vectors of causal agents of bacterial infections. These larvae, commonly seen on decaying bodies, feed on carrion while the adults can be necrophagous or vegetative. During the process of decay, microorganisms (e.g. Mycobacterium) may be released through the body. Flies arrive at the scene and lay their eggs. The larvae begin eating and breaking down the corpse, simultaneously ingesting these organisms which is the first step of one transmission route.

The bacterium which causes paratuberculosis in cattle, pigs and birds (M. a. avium) has been isolated and recovered from these flies through several different experiments.

Other potential and threatening diseases include rabbit haemorrhagic disease in New Zealand and flystrike. Although strike is not limited to blow flies, these maggots are a major source of this skin invasion, causing lesions, which, if severe enough, may be lethal. Strike starts when blow flies lay eggs in a wound or fecal material present on the sheep. When the maggots hatch, they begin feeding on the sheep and thus irritating it. As soon as the first wave of maggots hatch, they attract more blow flies, causing the strike. Insecticides are available for blow fly prevention (typically containing cypermethrin), and precautionary measures may be taken, such as docking tails, shearing, and keeping the sheep healthy overall.

Salmonellosis has also been proven to be transmitted by the blow fly through saliva, feces and direct contact by the flies' tarsi. Adult flies may be able to spread pathogens via their sponging mouthparts, vomit, intestinal tract, sticky pads of their feet, or even their body or leg hairs.

As the flies are vectors of many diseases, the importance of identifying the transmissible agents, the route of transmission, and prevention and treatments in the event of contact are becoming increasingly important. With the ability to lay hundreds of eggs in a lifetime and the presence of thousands of larvae at a time in such close proximity, the potential for transmission is high, especially at ideal temperatures.

Pollination
Calliphoridae are, alongside managed and wild bees, likely to be the main crop pollinating insect. They visit (and thus may pollinate) flowers of a wide range of plants, including crop plants (e.g. avocado, mango, onion, leek, carrot, cauliflower). Their sponging mouthparts mean that when visiting flowers, their head and upper body must broadly contact the inside of the flower. They have numerous hairs, including on the head and thorax, which may help them carry pollen, and indeed calliphorids in the wild have been observed carrying large amounts of pollen. Compared to honey bees, blow flies are active under a broader range of environmental conditions. However, it is unknown how their pollination abilities compare to those of bees, there are few studies assessing their contribution to pollination, and the exact species that pollinate are often not identified.

Forensic importance
Blow flies are usually the first insects to come in contact with carrion because they have the ability to smell dead animal matter from up to  away. Upon reaching the carrion, females deposit eggs on it. Since development is highly predictable if the ambient temperature is known, blow flies are considered a valuable tool in forensic science. Blow flies are used forensically to estimate the minimum post mortem interval (PMImin) for human corpses. Traditional estimations of time since death are generally unreliable after 72 hours and often entomologists are the only officials capable of generating an accurate approximate time interval. The specialized discipline related to this practice is known as forensic entomology.

In addition to being used to estimate the PMImin, assuming colonization occurred after death, blow fly specimens found infesting a human corpse are used to determine if the corpse was relocated or if the individual ingested narcotics prior to death.

Calliphora vicina and Cynomya mortuorum are important flies of forensic entomology. Other forensically important Calliphoridae are Phormia regina, Calliphora vomitoria, Calliphora livida, Lucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata, Lucilia illustris, Chrysomya rufifacies, Chrysomya megacephala, Cochliomyia macellaria, and Protophormia terraenovae. One myth states that species from the genus Lucilia can sense death and show up right before it even occurs.

References

Identification
 Fritz Konrad Ernst Zumpt Calliphorinae, in Lindner, E. Fliegen Palaearkt. Reg. 64i, 140 p. (1956)
 Fan, C. T. Key to the common synanthropic flies of China. Peking [= Beijing]. xv + 330 p. In Chinese but really excellent illustrations. (1965).
 Kano, R. and Shinonaga, S. Calliphoridae (Insecta: Diptera) (Fauna Japonica), Tokyo Biogeographical Society of Japan, Tokyo.( 1968). In English.
 Lehrer, A. Z., Diptera. Familia Calliphoridae. In: Fauna R.S.R., Insecta, vol. XI,(12), Edit. R.S.R., Bucuresti, 1972, 245 p. In Romanian.
 Rognes, K. Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, Volume 24. E. J. Brill/Scandinavian Science Press Ltd. Leiden.(1991).

External links

 Image Gallery
 Secondary screwworm on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website

Brachycera families
Insect vectors of animal pathogens
Insect vectors of human pathogens
Taxa named by Friedrich Moritz Brauer
Taxa named by Julius von Bergenstamm

ko:검정파리

Calliphoridae