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Django Unchained Pulled From China's Theaters

“Technical reasons” was the official cause but scenes were allegedly cut to satisfy Chinese censors.

Django Unchained arrives on DVD stateside April 16 but it seems the country of China will still have to wait a while longer before their audiences will be able to see the Academy Award-winning film in theaters. Django Unchained was abruptly pulled from theaters in China on Thursday — its opening day — according to The New York Times.

Workers at Bejing theaters say the film was pulled because of unspecified technical problems, but no official reason was given on why the movie's run was suspended. This apparently happened despite the fact that scenes from Django Unchained were edited to please Chinese censors.

Django Unchained director Quentin Tarantino is said to be scrambling to find out what went wrong so he can reopen the movie in China. The country is now the world’s second largest film market after the United States.

It was previously reported that the movie had been withdrawn because state censors missed a scene which contained nudity. But news reports confirm that Tarantino was involved in film edits, specifically altering the color of fake blood in violent scenes and limiting how far the blood splattered. Also, many dispute that the film’s broad celebration of rebellion is the cause for the movie being pulled from theaters.

Django Unchained tells the pre-Civil War South story of a slave, played by Jamie Foxx, and a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) who must outsmart a brutal slave owner so that the slave can be reunited with his wife (Kerry Washington).

During its domestic theatrical run, Django Unchained was deemed controversial for both its slavery subject matter and excessive violence. Still, it is said to be highly unusual for a prominent successful foreign film to be pulled on its opening day in China after screenings have begun.

Django Unchained was to be Tarantino's first film with a commercial release in China. 
Check out BET.com's interviews with film stars Foxx and Washington below.

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(Photo: Columbia Pictures)

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