How a Martin Scorsese epic became a casualty of corporate diplomacy with China
In short: When Martin Scorsese released his 1997 biographical film about the 14th Dalai Lama, he expected an artistic triumph. Instead, he triggered a diplomatic firestorm. Disney, fearing for its future access to the Chinese market, buried the film, apologized for its existence, and banned its own director from entering China.
Kundun, a 1997 epic directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Melissa Mathison, chronicles the life of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, from his discovery as a child in 1937 to his forced exile in 1959. The project was born from Mathison’s direct interviews with the Dalai Lama, who granted her his blessing and time. Scorsese, who had been fascinated by Tibet since watching the 1950s film Storm Over Tibet, brought a distinct visual and auditory style to the production, utilizing forty matte paintings and a hypnotic electronic score composed by Philip Glass.
The film’s release was met with intense hostility from the Chinese government, which viewed the depiction of Tibet as a challenge to its sovereignty. Universal Pictures, the original studio, had already abandoned the project to avoid upsetting Chinese officials. Disney eventually took it on, but after the film’s release, the studio faced severe retaliation, including the banning of Disney cartoons and threats to its market access. Disney CEO Michael Eisner later apologized for the film, calling it a 'stupid mistake' and ensuring its distribution was severely limited.
Despite being nominated for four Academy Awards—including Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins—the film was effectively buried by its own distributor. Scorsese and his team were banned from China for years, a restriction that seemingly persisted until at least 2015. While critics praised the film’s 'sublime synergy' of imagery and music, its legacy remains inextricably linked to the tension between creative freedom and the massive economic influence of the Chinese market. It stands as a rare example of a major Hollywood studio actively suppressing its own work to appease a foreign government.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Kundun
- Also: Wikidata — Kundun · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — 1st Dalai Lama · CC0
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