Fans of movies such as Swordfish and the Die Hard trilogy might have to second-guess their favorite picks.

Terrorist-themed movies are receiving special attention in video stores because of the Sept. 11 attacks. Some new releases are being delayed or released only with special warnings describing the nature of the movies.

Blockbuster announced late last month that it would begin placing special signage on terrorist-themed movies and video games in all retail locations. John Antioco, chairman and CEO for Blockbuster, explained in a press release why Blockbuster was focusing its efforts on terrorist-themed movies.

"Quite frankly, we have been faced with a dilemma," Antioco said.

"On one hand, we know that there is a heightened sensitivity to terrorist themes right now. On the other hand, we do not want to pull products from our stores."

Blake Lugash, public relations coordinator for Blockbuster, said the special signage will only be placed on new releases and will continue through the end of the year. Terrorist-themed movies and games will be labeled with stickers warning customers that they might find the themes offensive, Lugash said.

"We want to provide them with the information so they can choose what to watch," he said.

Lugash said the first new release stickered will be Swordfish, the recent cyberflick starring John Travolta. The opening scene of the movie portrays a terrorist and hostage situation that quickly terminates in a building exploding.

For the time being, Blockbuster will not be stickering movies for sale, Lugash said.

Other video stores are concerned about the terrorist themes of Swordfish as well.

Britte Earp, assistant manager of Hollywood Video, 724 S. Atherton St., said Hollywood officials have been under a lot of stress considering the release of Swordfish.

"They're thinking about pushing the release date back," Earp said.

Earp is not concerned about terrorist-themed movies.

She thinks the release date will not make any difference in how people view Swordfish.

"I don't see how a movie makes people want to act like a terrorist," Earp said.

Mike Negra, president of Mike's Video, said customers have been clamoring for terrorist-themed movies.

"There's been a heightened interest in them," Negra said.

Negra does not feel the need to recognize any specific themes in a movie, whether it is a new release, or of the Die Hard genre. He said customers can easily figure out the themes of the movies.

"I think our customers are intelligent enough to tell what the movies are about," Negra said.

Negra said that it remains to be seen whether or not Swordfish will move quickly, but he added that Travolta is usually a good draw.

Mark Comly, owner of the Video Center, 304 W. College Ave., said that his customer base is mainly college students and adults.

Therefore, he said he did not feel the need to identify movies with terrorist themes.

"We trust our customers to pick the stuff they want to watch," Comly said. "We're not pushing anything on anybody."

Regardless of how movies are labeled in video stores, the owners feel it is necessary to continue to release them.

"We see that as playing right into the hands of the people who would like to curtail our freedoms in this country," Antioco said.