De Palma's movie censored over lawsuit fears

Director Brian De Palma's montage of Iraq war casualties was censored in new movie 'Redacted' on the insistence of insurance companies, who feared relatives of the victims would sue the movie-makers.

The veteran director's anti-war film initially ended with a harrowing photo collection of real life fatalities, which De Palma hoped would help convey the true horrors of the conflict - which are largely ignored by the American media.

However, the identities of the victims have been disguised in the final cut of the film-maker's moving montage - over concerns a relative would watch the movie and file suit against the producers.

He tells British magazine Empire: "The insurance companies (didn't want their faces shown). They think that a relative of a dead baby will see the movie in the theatre and be so distressed that they'll bring a lawsuit against us."