We watched Scorsese’s beautiful Kundun. Some resonances with Russia’s ongoing effort to engulf Ukraine. Also, with Salman Rushdie in mind, I thought it worthwhile to post this from Wikipedia’s article on the movie.
Before the film was released, China’s leaders hotly objected to Disney’s plans to distribute the film, including to the point of threatening Disney’s future access to China as a market. Disney’s steadfastness stood in stark contrast to Universal Pictures, which had earlier “turned down the chance to distribute Kundun for fear of upsetting the Chinese.” Scorsese, Mathison, and several other members of the production were banned by the Chinese government from ever entering China as a result of making the film. China retaliated by banning Disney films and pulling Disney television cartoons.
Disney apologized in 1998 for releasing the film and began to “undo the damage”, eventually leading to a deal to open Shanghai Disneyland by 2016. Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has apologized for offending Chinese sensitivities, calling the film “a stupid mistake.” He went on to say, “The bad news is that the film was made; the good news is that nobody watched it. Here I want to apologize, and in the future we should prevent this sort of thing, which insults our friends, from happening.”
As of 2021, the movie is unavailable on US streaming platforms and can only be watched on DVD in that country. The film is, however, available on DVD and on streaming platforms elsewhere.