Chinese platform cuts 12 minutes of “Fight Club” and changes ending

Brad Pitt, em “Clube da Luta”: China tem tradição em censurar filmes, mas propor finais alternativos é novidade, apontam internautas

Brad Pitt, in “Fight Club”: China has a tradition of censoring films, but proposing alternative endings is new, internet users point out| Photo: Reproduction/20th Century Studios

Chinese platform Tencent Video is streaming a version of the movie “Clube da Fight” with a changed ending, as commented by users of the social network Weibo, similar to Twitter, in the last few hours.

The version available on Tencent Video lasts 127 ) minutes, minutes less than the original work, directed by David Fincher and released in 1999.

In the original version, the character played by Edward Norton kills his alter ego, a product of his imagination and played by Brad Pitt.

After making this decision, Tyler Durden, Norton’s character, is seen watching the explosion of several buildings, part of his plan against modern society.

In the Tencent Video edit, however, the explosions are not seen, as they are replaced by a banner that explains: “The police discovered the whole plan and arrested the criminals, thus preventing the bombs from exploding. Later, Tyler was referred to a psychiatric facility for psychological treatment.”

Movie alteration is relatively common in China, where authorities or sometimes the platforms and distributors themselves tend to censor nudity, politically sensitive content or sexual scenes.

However, removing a scene and proposing an alternate ending is a step forward. “Are we facing a new type of censorship?”, asked an internet user.

In response, some users of the Zhihu network, a popular Chinese internet portal, sarcastically proposed alternative endings for films like “The Godfather”: “Michael (Corleone) confessed to the police all the crimes of his family and denounced others. Mafia families”.