Whether ignored or eagerly awaited, in-flight movies have become such a staple of the tedious long-haul journey that it is difficult to imagine that delicate work and a lot of preparation goes into what is shown on the tiny pull-down LCD screen by your seat.

For starters, no movies that deal with airplane accidents or hijackings can be shown. ¡°Air Force One,¡± ¡°Die Hard II,¡± and ¡°Passenger 57¡± are just some of the films that are on the blacklist for fear of provoking anxieties among passengers. Also, movies that are excessively violent, erotic and long are off the play list ? oddly, airlines say they keep out ¡°boring¡± films too, though few passengers will agree.

If a movie passes muster, it has a long way yet to go before it hits the screen. Next it is stripped of sexuality and abusive language that could offend passengers, who are a mix of all ages and religions, before finally being given the all-important label ¡°Airline Version¡±.

Film distributors offer movies to airlines one or two months after the new films debut in theaters. However, since it is difficult to fill in the movie list only with movies already released in Korea, passengers can sometimes enjoy the privilege of watching the latest Hollywood movies before they hit the big screen here. Airlines usually select about 10 films a month, rather more than the Hollywood movies being released in Korean theatres.

The U.S.-based Transcontinental Air Transport first started showing animation and news on the aircraft. In Korea, Korean Air showed its first on-board movie on its maiden flight across the Pacific Ocean in the early 1970s. In 2003, Asiana Airlines became the first carrier in the world to hold a small in-flight short film festival, screening entries from international film festivals on international routes.

(englishnews@chosun.com )