We didn’t cut Jesus scenes – Censorship Board

KUALA LUMPUR: The Film Censorship Board (LPF) yesterday said it did not censor scenes involving Jesus Christ from the Hollywood remake of Ben-Hur that was released locally on Thursday.

LPF chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid further said he did not recall seeing such scenes from the movie submitted, adding that it was possible the Malaysian version is a “different” version from those shown elsewhere.

“Maybe, but not by us, probably by producers when they sent the film to Malaysia, they already cut the scenes, they know (there’s) some sensitivities,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.

Abdul Halim said that filmmakers sometimes have different versions of their movies when exporting it to different regions.

Asked if the LPF made any cuts to the movie, Abdul Halim said he could not recall due to the number of submissions the board must approve, adding that he would have to refer to the official records on Monday. But Abdul Halim was certain that the board did not remove the scenes that included Jesus, which were pivotal to the plot of the story.

“That one is for sure, I can’t remember about Jesus in that film,” he said.

Local viewers had taken to Facebook to complain of censorship of Ben-Hur, with scenes of Jesus forming key plot points allegedly taken out.

One Facebook user, Jasmine Sia, who watched the film on Friday night, said no scenes involving Jesus was shown at all.

“I felt cheated. The novel from which this movie is adapted is Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ. It means Jesus is central to the plot. It was censored so much the storyline made no sense! How did Judah’s mother and sister get cured from leprosy?” she told Malay Mail Online

“No, they did not show anything with regards to healing. They just appeared at the end of the movie healed. That’s why it made no sense. The original story was that when Jesus died, they got healed,” she added, estimating that about 20 minutes was cut out since the local screening for the two-hour film lasted 100 minutes.

She also confirmed that she did not see Rodrigo Santoro, the actor who played Jesus in the movie, at all in the local screening.