MOVIES - Dec. 8, 1989

Scorsese Acquittal Upheld: An appeals court in Rome on Thursday upheld the acquittal of director Martin Scorsese, who was charged with contempt of religion for his film “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Scorsese and Biennale Festival director Paolo Portoghesi were cleared of violating Italian laws on obscenity and blasphemy in the showing of the movie at the Venice Film Festival. Judges initially decided to take no action against Scorsese or the festival organizer. But an appeals court in Rome ruled that the case should be considered by a Venice criminal court, which found Scorsese and Portoghesi innocent. The Rome court’s upholding of the acquittal is final, because the Supreme Court has declined to accept the case.