Here are 8 Out Of 12 Scenes That Were Cut In Bohemian Rapsody, Thanks LPF!

By Karissa Lund  •  16 Nov 2018 in Features

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

*Warning! Spoilers ahead*

20th Century Fox unveiled Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time at guild screenings in New York and Los Angeles early-October, and the buzz around Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury soared in first reactions posted on social media. The killer Queen biopic became a worldwide sensation as it hit a total of RM323.29 million in just the first week.

But… here in Malaysia, the movie can’t break free from our censorship, all thanks to the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia (LPF). At first, netizens were outrage when news went around Twitter that 24 minutes worth of scenes were being cut off as it is deemed homosexual in nature. Apparently, they couldn’t handle the energy.

via GIPHY

Turns out, that news was fake and LPF stated to Malay Mail that they only cut out 180 seconds worth of scenes. Okay not bad right? But the thing is, they also confirmed that they removed 12 scenes in the movie… Um, that’s lowkey a lot too, donchatink?

Although the movie was given an 18-rating, we’re still being treated like children for not getting to see adult content. So, with they help from our friends at SAYS, here are eight out of 12 key scenes that were “deleted” from Bohemian Rhapsody:

1. When Paul Prenter grabs Freddie’s face and kisses him after he played Love of My Life on the piano

This is a bit funny as this scene was actually featured in the official and final trailer for the movie. In Malaysia, the scene cuts out just after Paul (played by Allen Leech) says “If you say so” after Freddie explained that this song is written and dedicated to his then-fiancée Mary Austin. The scene resumes right after the supposed kiss.

2. When Freddie comes out as Bisexual to Mary

According to Billboard, Freddie cautiously looks up at his soon-to-be-former fiancée and says, “I think I’m bisexual.” She then responds, almost pityingly, with, “No, Freddie. You’re gay.”

For those who are not familiar with Freddie’s life story, without this emotional scene, it kind of leaves a small plot hole that can be very confusing for them.

3. When Freddie shows off his mansion to drummer Roger Taylor, one word was removed..

Yeap, you guessed it. The word is ‘gayer’.. According to IMDb, the scene is supposed to go like this:

Freddie: What do you think?

*Roger: [looks at Freddie’s moustache] Gayer.

Freddie: [gesturing to his face] Not this, darling. THIS. [zooms out to mansion]

4. When the events surrounding Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton’s first meeting

A huge chunk of three minutes was apparently removed in this sequence. Malaysian will not be able to see how they met, in which Freddie drunkenly hits on Jim as the latter and a couple of other servers cleaned up the aftermath of the wild party at his mansion.

Then, Jim rebuffed Freddie’s advances (“Put your hands on me again and I’ll thump ya”), prompting him to apologise profusely for his behaviour. In the next scene, the duo sat down for a brief conversation and even shared a kiss. The Malaysian cut only showed a few minutes of interaction between both characters without much context and ended with Jim saying, “I like you too, Freddie. Come and find me when you decide to like yourself.”

5. When Queen was filming the ‘I Want to Break Free’ music video

Remember when drag queens were made fun of by the media? Welp, this fun sequence shows Freddie ranting about getting the blame for dressing up in drag and how MTV banned the music video. And now, it’s still being ‘banned’ to show up in our cinemas.. Oh, well.

6. When Freddie revealed his AIDS diagnosis to his band members

This one is a bit weird as LPF literally muted the word “AIDS” from the scene. Apparently you can clearly see Freddie mouthing it and it was included in the subtitles. But why was it muted? A mystery nusantara..

7. When Freddie said a cheeky one-liner about Mary’s husband David, right before the band’s Live Aid performance

After the couple and Jim left the band’s trailer, Freddie asked the band what they think of David. Brian May (played by Gwilym Lee) said, “He’s alright,” to which Freddie remarked, “I think he’s gay.”

8. When a slide pops up before the credits on how Freddie and Jim lived the rest of their lives together

Obviously, we can’t see a happy gay couple living their best lives! Or not, we’ll become.. gay? This scene was confirmed removed by LPF chairman Mohd Zamberi Abdul Aziz himself in an interview with Malay Mail.

 

So now that you know some of the key pieces, try and connect the dots from here. And if you’re someone who hasn’t watched the movie yet, it’s a MUST–although some scene were removed, it was still very worth it. Bohemian Rhapsody at its core, is a story about and a celebration of Mercury’s life, not of his death.

For more pop culture, click here.