Along the way, there are disembowelments, hangings, wild boars chomping on victims, slit throats. Scenes from the movie have come under fire for their gratuitous violence. There were calls in Italy, Germany and Australia to give it the strictest possible rating. Hopkins bristles at the suggestion. Before he came to Japan, he was in Germany, where he lashed out at criticism of the film's violence.
Censorship is tyranny.
That would ruin the film. In Italy, a lot of people are already running to their psychiatrists - even without having seen the film. Hopkins said he could be tempted to make another sequel if the material is right. Even with this project, there was a lot of discussion over whether or not to change the ludicrous ending of the book. We decided to make a fantastic, original love story with a shocking end that audiences will remember.