MOVIES - Jan. 29, 1993

‘Extreme’ Rating: The NC-17 rating for “Extreme Justice,” a film about the Los Angeles Police Department’s special investigations section, was overturned Thursday and changed--with no cuts--to a less-restrictive R by the Motion Picture Assn. of America’s appeals board in New York. The vote was 9-2. In arguing against having to cut the Trimark production, director Mark Lester told the panel that brutality is inherent to the politically-charged film, and having to edit it would be “just as if they would have cut down the Rodney King footage when it was shown in court. The audience wouldn’t see what really happens.” The political climate in Los Angeles following last spring’s riots was thought to be a reason why the film was rated NC-17 in the first place. The film stars Scott Glenn and Lou Diamond Phillips.