Iran is bracing for a large international release in March, at least in the English- and Arabic-speaking worlds. Majidi’s state-sponsored film, which is the first part of an ambitious trilogy about the prophet’s life, tells the story of Muhammad from his birth to the age of 12, ending with his first visit to Sham (Syria) where Bahira, a Christian monk, is believed to have predicted he would one day become a prophet. Majidi has had his own doubts about Akkad’s biopic, which he said failed to do justice to Muhammad’s life by showing “only Jihad and war” and also because “the image of Islam in that film is the image of a sword”. The first was Moustapha Akkad’s 1976 The Message, starring Anthony Quinn, which sparked controversy despite not showing the prophet on screen to avoid hurting Muslim sensitivities. The film, to be released as Muhammad, Messenger of God” in the festival’s opening ceremony, is made by Majid Majidi, a leading pro-establishment Iranian director who has worked for more than five years – with a great deal of secrecy – to produce what is only the second big-budget feature made about the prophet. The short version cuts straight from Sada waking up to the shot of her standing over Ishida's body.Iran has been a vocal critic of the prophet’s portrayal in the west, recently expressing strong condemnation of the Charlie Hebdo cover cartoon in the aftermath of the deadly attacks in Paris, which depicted Muhammad weeping and holding up a sign reading Je Suis Charlie. The original version shows Sada lying on the floor and apparently panicking, walking around the room and opening doors for no obvious reason.
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The scene in which Sada wakes up after her final night with Ishida is cut by one minute.The original version has slightly different dialogue and has an additional minute of footage where Ishida actually does fall asleep for a short time.
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Criterion DVD features the cut footage as an extra. The French DVD includes both versions (via seamless branching), while the U.S. This version has been distributed theatrically in some countries (such as France) and is available on video in Australia, the UK, the United States, and France. Producer Anatole Dauman received Oshima's permission to recut the film, resulting in a shorter 102-minute edit.