Indonesia's censors have banned the Hollywood film Noah, which has Australian Russell Crowe in the lead role, over respect to Muslim values.

New Crowe film Noah banned in Indonesia

Indonesia's censors have banned the Hollywood film Noah, which has Australian Russell Crowe in the lead role, over respect to Muslim values.

Australian actor Russell Crowe's portrayal of religious figure Noah won't be seen in Indonesian cinemas, with the film rejected by the censors.

The big-budget Hollywood epic, which opens in Australia on Thursday, has been blocked by censors in Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates because it could offend Muslim viewers by depicting a prophet.

Indonesia followed on Monday with a unanimous decision by the Indonesian Censorship Board.

Board member Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi told news website detik that anyone who shows the film would be punished.

The move disappointed some Indonesian film critics.

Mumu Aloha, managing editor of detik's entertainment website detikHot, branded the censorship board's reasoning as "stupid".

"This great nation is being `protected' by a bunch of dwarf people sitting in an institution which has the tendency to censor anything," he wrote to his Facebook followers.

"Pity us all!"

In Islam, depictions of prophets are taboo to avoid worship of a person rather than God.