China finds Cold Mountain scenes hot

Anthony Minghella's Oscar-nominated saga Cold Mountain has come in for flak in China.

Even before its April release, Chinese censor board regulators have cut some love scenes from the film. A spokesman for the State Administration for Broadcasting, Movie and Television Administration, is quoted to have said that the excluded scenes were 'not in accord with national conditions, not in accord with Chinese tradition and not in
accord with Chinese customs.'

Censors in China are rather arbitrary since they lack a rating system. Thus any content pertaining to sex, nudity or which can be politically harmful to the Communist Party could be chopped off.

Cold Mountain has won seven Oscar nominations, including Best Actor for Jude Law and Best Supporting Actress for Renee Zellweger. The actress recently won the British Academy of Film and Television Awards for Best Supporting Actress. The film also stars Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman (The Hours).