China inflicts some cuts on 'Skyfall' as it goes on general release

16-Jan-2013 • Skyfall

Chinese censorship authorities have made some subtle changes to the new James Bond film "Skyfall" as it opens across the country. The 23rd 007 adventure had been scheduled to debut in November, but authorities delayed Western releases to protect home-grown films at the Chinese box-office towards the end of 2012.

The changes mostly involve tweaks to subtitle translations to avoid touchy subjects or undesirable themes in the Communist state, but one scene was deleted.

- When hitman Patrice enters the skyscraper in Shanghai, the sequence of him shooting the Chinese guard at the security desk was removed.

- As Bond grabs Severine's wrist and reveals his knowledge of the Chinese tattoos marking the sex trade and prostitution rings, the English dialog is kept, but the Chinese subtitles allude to her being coerced in to 'the mob' instead.

- The Chinese subtitles also blur over Silva's back story and hide the implication that a Chinese intelligence agency imprisoned and tortured him for months after the Hong Kong hand-over.

Sony declined to comment to the trade press on the alterations, which are mild compared to cuts made to other Hollywood films recently.

"Skyfall" will enjoy a clear run at the Chinese box-office with no major releases for the first 10 days of its screening. The competition coming up includes:
Jan 31 - Cloud Atlas
Feb 16 - Jack Reacher
Feb 21 - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey