Django Unchained removed from Chinese cinemas

The Chinese government seemed to be offend by the color of the blood during the films more violent portions.  

  It is the first Quentin Tarantino film to gain an official release in China. But when Django Unchained hit cinemas yesterday all screenings of the film were cancelled due to an unspecified technical problem – leading to speculation that the film has fallen foul of the country’s censors.

At about 10am local time yesterday China Film Group, the government-supported body who controls the import of foreign films into the country, ordered cinemas across the country to pull the film.

Sony Picture Entertainment’s spokesman in Los Angeles Steve Elzer issued a statement expressing “regret” about the decision and saying that the company is “working with the Chinese authorities to determine whether the film can be rescheduled”.

Tarantino, who is notorious for his ultra-violence, had already toned down the gore in his pre-Civil War slavery drama starring Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio in order to secure its release in the lucrative Asian market.

The film hit Chinese cinemas with “slight adjustments” which included “tuning the blood to a darker colour” and “lowering the height of the splatter of blood”, according Zhang Miao, director of Sony Pictures’ Chinese branch, said.