Films banned, edited, or censored in China?

[NateM]

Anyone know where I can find a current list of movies, etc, banned in China? I picked up Xiu Xiu: the sent-down girl at a DVD market yesterday which surprised me because I thought it had been banned. Perhaps the ban was lifted?

I've been told that Farewell My Concubine was initially banned, then unbanned, briefly shown in theaters, banned again, and unbanned several times. It appears to be readily available now, at least in Tianjin, but I'm not sure if you're getting the whole 170 minute movie with it. There's at least one censored and edited version out there, and that might be what's available.

Also, does anyone know where I could find Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang, (the Emperor and the Assassin)? I've looked everywhere, and the closest thing I've been able to find are some Chinese-only MPEG's on DVD. It's been incredibly frustrating, as this should be a popular movie. But given the director and some of the underlying themes that seem to be apparent, I wonder if there's been pressure to keep this film off the streets, too.

Xiu Xiu appears to be the real deal, although I haven't watched the whole thing yet to see what they cut out. Maybe I'll pop it in and give a report, (I've seen the uncut version in the U.S. so I should be able to spot it if it's missing anything important). I'll also try out my copy of FMC soon to check on that as well.

I know even though it was pirated Chinese-style that there are some sorts of controls placed on these things. I was watching Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and noticed that they edited out a part where Sam Rockwell is doing target practice and shoots a poster of Mao in the head. I also sure haven't seen any copies of Kundun or any other similar film out there, so I was wondering if there's a definative list out there that anyone might be aware of.

[niubi]

here's a list of films from the 90s on that are banned or have been banned at one time or another: http://www.asianfilms.org/china/jinpian.html.

[Cyberian]

Some obvious ones such as Kundun and Red Corner is not even on the list.

[NateM]

Yeah, that one does seem to be missing quite a lot. Still, thanks for the effort.

[Bob Dylan Thomas]

I've been told that Farewell My Concubine was initially banned, then unbanned, briefly shown in theaters, banned again, and unbanned several times.

I think i read somewhere that FMC was permitted because it was the first (?) chinese film to land the palme d'or at Cannes and the government wanted to use this a source of national pride and evidence that china was developing its way onto the world scene, in the arts as well as in other areas.

[laolee]

Some obvious ones such as Kundun and Red Corner is not even on the list.

That's because they weren't made by Chinese. The asianfilms.org list above is a list of films produced by China that were banned. Some on the list were eventually approved years later. China has a restrictive foreign film import quota, something like 20 or 30 films a year. I think just last year the quota was slightly increased but it is still very low. The quota applies to not just Hollywood (hard to believe, huh) but all foreign films. It seems now the common direction is co-productions to skirt the quotas. What's available on DVD is a whole different matter.

For instance, on the list, Postman made in 1995 was just recently approved last year: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-02/25/content_309074.htm

Other recent articles on quotas:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/27/content_334203.htm

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/26/content_1491076.htm

[arthurdent]

nothing is really banned out there.

I picked up at least 10 of the films on that banned list in my travels across China. There are no regulations at all really, it's just a matter of what someone buys in one country and presses up in a factory over there - they don't care, it's all illegal anyway.

The 1st incident of finding a 'legit' dvd was when 'Hero' came out at a reasonable price to beat the bootleggers. Even then, the 'official' release was usually nestled between 20 bootleg copies that were half the price.

Soft porn was also available 'under-the-counter' in most places.