Hollywood's 'Babel' too steamy for China's censors

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-03-14 14:42

Rinko Kikuchi, one of the actresses in "Babel" [AFP]

The acclaimed Hollywood film "Babel" has made its debut in China, but five minutes shorter than its original length after censors cut nude scenes.

The actress portraying the teen, Rinko Kikuchi, earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her work in the film.

Staff at the China Film Association, which handles film censorship, declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

The film, which stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and received seven Oscar nominations, is a complex tale about cultural clashes in today's globalised world shot in several countries and five languages.

The newspaper did not say whether other scenes potentially offensive to censors in authoritarian China -- such as depictions of police brutality in Morocco -- had survived the scissors.

China allows only 20 foreign films to be screened domestically each year.

It has no movie-rating system but authorities often order producers to cut scenes that are deemed too violent, sexually explicit or politically sensitive.

The official version of "Babel" began screening in China on Monday. But illegal pirated DVD versions of the original cut are already freely available.