COUNTERPUNCH LETTERS : Taking the Snip Out of Movie Ratings Code

Radnitz is a man who, by anyone’s standards, makes only sensitive and moral movies, yet he does not shy away from the artist’s obligation to examine a situation with clear, non-prejudiced eyes.

Every day, directors of less stature, but no less serious than the famous ones we read about, have their movies recut without their cooperation. I know; I’ve been there. Often their work is mutilated and the meaning changed. Sometimes the re-editing is so bad the film cannot be released.

I give thanks to the few distributors who have stood behind their filmmakers. How long will it be until the rest of the creative community stands up and puts the demigods of the censorial rating system in their place?

I don’t need someone implying that a serious work is pornographic. As Radnitz said, the American public can discern for itself. If it’s bad, word spreads fast.

ROBERT MARTIN CARROLL

Los Angeles