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Though it's not like any of you care, since any movie that can break Spider-Man 2's box office record in the US is damn well going to be showing up on DVD here (it might have, already?) The New Zealand press reports:
Chinese censors have refused to allow the film to be screened.Reports suggest the Film Bureau, which is government controlled, didn't approve of the movie's portrayal of souls of the dead or the ferocious "octopus-faced" character, Davy Jones, played by actor Bill Nighy.
Film blog Cinematical says that there still might be a chance for Pirates 2:
At any rate, the Beijing News reports that if the film passes a second round of examination the film might still be shown in China. Apparently the first-round censors didn't like the portrayal of dead souls in film, and looked askance at octopus-faced Davy Jones. The first Pirates flick screened in China, but only earned about $3.4 million, a fraction of its total take.
Looking through the Chinese press, we found similar answers. A recent report (in Chinese) suggests that the spirits of the dead, the overly violent and vicious looking characters, and perhaps the cannibalism -- which, by the way has offended certain Dominican (?) groups and tribes, who are calling for a boycott of the film -- is what lead to the xiao mafan that is now keeping the film from theaters. It seems increasingly hard to please people these days -- think of the Da Vinci Code, which not only offended true believers (or at least some of them) but also the albino community.
It's a real sad thing, if you think about it. We know the Film Bureau folks don't hate movies, but sometimes we can't help but think that that's the way it looks.
Photo from fun.china.com.
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I've already seen it on the streets near Hongqiao Lu and around Xujiahui. The cover is off by quite a bit (called something like "Pirate Story") but I've yet to try it.
I fear that that DVD is not Pirates of the Cbn 2, but some other knock off b-movie.
You know Superman is about a flying man. That offends me and I wish the film boycotted.
Cannibalism? You know a few but some Chinese ate their own babies in the 50s, and some still eat placenta today.
Does it seem ironic to anyone else that the Film Bureau is objecting to Pirates II partially on the basis of the grotesque octopus-faced Davy Jones character, and yet the movie Octopus II, discussed on Shanghaiist just yesterday, is legal? Sounds like a double standard to me. I'm sure the German film as just as grotesque, and, moreover, "utter garbage".
It should be noted that the 'upcoming attractions' poster at UME in Xintiandi (as of yesterday) listed Pirates as the foreign film for October. So someone at least is planning on releasing the film...albeit much delayed.