US prison bans gay cowboy movie

The graphic nature of the film's sex scenes was deemed unsuitable

A US prison officer is to be disciplined for showing the gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain to inmates.

Correctional authorities in Massachusetts said the film was unsuitable for a prison setting because of its "sexually explicit scenes".

A spokesman said the officer failed to follow guidelines requiring films to be vetted for violence, nudity or sex.

Brokeback Mountain is about two men who meet and fall in love while wrangling sheep in Wyoming in the 1960s.

'Graphic' scenes

"It was not the subject matter," said Diane Wiffin, of the Massachusetts Department of Correction.

"It was the graphic nature of sexually explicit scenes."

She said the decision was not related to the critically-acclaimed film's plot involving a gay love affair.

Ms Wiffin would not discuss what discipline the officer would face.

The film was shown to inmates in the state's largest prison in Norfolk, about 40km (25 miles) south-west of Boston.

Directed by Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain was feted by film critics and secured three Oscars last month, although it lost out on best film to racial drama Crash.