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Not that it would ever be shown, uncut, on network primetime in the US, but Italian television, known to be more progressive than the US, has Italians up in arms over perceived censorship of Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain”, starring the late Heath Ledger, and Jake Gyllenhaal, aired on Italian state television, sans sex.
Via Fandango:
“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.”
“”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. RAI pledged to show the complete movie soon.“
“Massimo Gramellini, a top commentator for La Stampa daily, wrote in a front-page editorial: “I would like to understand why a kiss between two gays … should offend our sensibilities more than scenes of heterosexual sex or bloodthirsty violence.””
Thanks to YouTube, you can see what Italians did not, above.