Egypt has banned Hollywood’s latest biblical movie, “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” because of "historical inaccuracies."
The movie, based on the book of Exodus in the Bible in which Moses leads Jewish slaves to freedom and out of Egypt, stars Christian Bale as Moses.
Egypt’s censors said "Exodus" inaccuracies include depictions of Jews building the pyramids and that an earthquake, rather than a miracle, caused the Red Sea to part.
“One of the key historical mistakes made by this film is that it claims the Jews were the ones who built the Pyramids,”
Deadline quoted Abdul Sattar Fathi, the head of Egypt’s state censorship board. “The film treats Moses as an army general, not as a prophet. Furthermore, it shows ancient Egyptians as a mob group persecuting peaceful Jews. Our board has refused this out of respect for Egyptians’ feelings.”
Gaber Asfour, the country’s minister of culture, had tried to ensure the movie would be released in Egypt, Deadline said. But, the entertainment site said, “it appears that Asfour has been overruled.”
Multiple reports say Morocco has also banned the film, although a reason for the decision has not been made public.
The film “Noah” was also banned in Egypt earlier in 2014.
"Exodus: Gods and Kings" opened Dec. 12, but it has not received great reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, just 39 percent of the audience said they liked it. And the critic consensus, the site said, was, “While sporadically stirring, and suitably epic in its ambitions, 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' can't quite live up to its classic source material.”
The movie took in $24.5 million on its opening weekend; it cost about $140 million to make.
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