HOW ’48 HRS.’ CLEANED UP ITS ACT FOR TV

Moviegoers who saw “48 HRS.” in a theater in 1982 may recall that one of the film’s most memorable characteristics was its intense profanity.

So how does the originating studio, Paramount Pictures, recut the film to meet network TV standards for its broadcast Sunday at 9 p.m. on NBC? The answer is v-e-r-y carefully, according to the film’s director, Walter Hill.

Hill said Friday that getting “48 HRS.” to TV required some “looping” (insertion of new and in this case less profane dialogue on the soundtrack) and use of some TV “coverage” footage, scenes typically reshot in a tamer manner while the film is being made.

But by and large, Hill said, “what they’ve done is just cut around everything they thought was objectionable.” Hill said the cutting was “surprisingly smooth,” though he emphasized that the resulting product “is not the movie I made.”