HONG KONG (AP): Ang Lee's new spy thriller ``Lust, Caution,'' known for its explicit sexuality, will be released in China on Nov. 1, its distributor said on Monday.
The movie's steamy scenes, which had already earned restrictive ratings in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, had prompted concerns on whether the movie could clear Chinese censors known for their aversion to sex and violence. Lee said earlier censors have approved an edited version with fewer sex scenes, but a release date had not been announced.
The mainland Chinese market is important to Lee because ``Lust, Caution'' is mainly targeted at the Chinese-speaking market and isn't getting a wide release in the U.S. The movie also went over its US$12 million (euro8.5 million) budget _ big by Chinese standards _ and Lee said he fronted another US$2 million (euro1.4 million).
Zhang Hongyan, a publicist at the Beijing office of Hong Kong-based Edko Films, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that ``Lust, Caution'' will be released nationally in China on Nov. 1.
She said she didn't know how much was edited from the movie, but Lee said earlier in an interview on CNN he cut 7 or 8 minutes, less than the 11 minutes he cut from the Malaysian version.
