BEIJING — A huge fan of rock legends Queen, Peng Yanzi rushed to see “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the biopic about the band’s late lead singer,…
BEIJING — A huge fan of rock legends Queen, Peng Yanzi rushed to see “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the biopic about the band’s late lead singer, Freddie Mercury, while he was traveling in Britain last October.
It was a touching film that made him cry hard, Peng says. He loved it enough to watch it a second time in his home city of Guangzhou after the film garnered a surprise China release.
But the version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” he saw this past weekend was notably different from the original. Moviegoers in China say key scenes about Mercury’s sexuality have been either abruptly muted or cut altogether.
“The cut scenes really affect the movie,” said Peng, a Chinese LGBT rights activist. “The film talks about how (Mercury) became himself, and his sexuality is an important part of becoming who he was.
