Italy: Furor after TV cuts 'Brokeback Mountain'

[cboy4]

ROME (AP) — Italian state television cut a gay sex scene from Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," as well as a sequence showing the lead characters kissing when it aired the movie, drawing allegations of censorship from gay rights groups on Wednesday.

Activists protested that RAI TV would never have dropped similar scenes had they involved a heterosexual couple, and politicians called for the incident to be discussed in parliament. RAI said it had aired the cut version by mistake.

"Brokeback Mountain" is a cowboy romance about two ranch-hand buddies who start an affair when they meet on the fictional mountain in the 1960s. The 2005 movie won three Oscars, including the best director award for Lee, as well as the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

RAI's second channel aired the film late Monday. Gay groups and Italian media said the movie was missing a passionate sex scene in a tent as well as a sequence showing a kiss between the lead characters, played by the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

"I don't believe it was an oversight, I believe it was preventive censorship," said gay rights advocate and former lawmaker Vladimir Luxuria. In an interview with La Repubblica daily, Luxuria said cutting the key scenes was "like showing the Mona Lisa without its head."

RAI said in a statement the film had arrived from the distributor already cut so that it could be shown in prime time. When it was decided to air it late at night, no one checked for the uncut version, it said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gnPXzcSHdfkDP929HBbLRDHT6bzQD94VUQAO1

[cboy4]

1. This is like showing the Titanic, but editing out all of the shots of

the ship.

What's the point? :wtf:

[zbdent]

3. or the very real editing of "Rain Man" shown on airlines

which totally removed the reason why they had to go cross-country via car instead of flying ...

(airlines took out the scene where Raymond was citing all the airline crashes which caused Raymond to not fly)

[cboy4]

4. Ah, I had no idea they did that.

Good analogy.

[Renew Deal]

2. What's the point of showing the film?

That makes no sense. If you're going to do that, then don't show it and spare yourself the controversy.