Censors Cut 40 Minutes from CLOUD ATLAS Before Theatrical Release in China

Adapted for the screen and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas began it's theatrical roll out in North America and internationally in October 2012.

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.

Cloud Atlas is making it's theatrical debut in China this week, but not before major cuts were made. Chinese censors -- who are notorious for editing/modifying films that may show the country in a negative light (i.e. removing one of Javier Bardem's lines from Skyfall that stated Chinese government agents had tortured his character Silva) -- have shaved off 40 minutes from the 3+ hour long film.

Director Lana Wachowski, who is in Beijing promoting the movie, told the press: "It sucks really, but I believe you can watch the full version online."

Tom Tykwer, one of the film's other two directors, also commented but seemed a bit more agreeable to the change: "Although the mainland version is a bit constrained, [we] fully believe in the regulator's editing standards."

There's no word yet exactly which scenes and/or dialogue were removed from the new theatrical cut.