Logo descriptions by Matt Williams and Kylejaker1988
Logo captures by V of Doom, Eric S., Logoboy95, and others
Editions by Eric S., V of Doom, Nathan B., Donny Pearson, Chowchillah, Betamaxtheflyer, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy of Eric S., Columbia-Pictures, and VideoMaster1994
Fox Film Corporation
Background: The Fox Film Corporation was an American film company that was formed in 1915 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox. Fox formed Fox Film Corporation by merging two companies he had established in 1913: Greater New York Film Rental, a distribution firm, which was part of the independents; and Fox (or Box, depending on the source) Office Attractions Company, a production company.
(November 19, 1914-November 28, 1935)
Logo: Here is the in-credit text of Fox Films. It would just say:
FOX FILM
PRESENTS
In other cases, it mentioned the name of William Fox:
WILLIAM FOX
PRESENTS
FX/SFX: The simple fade-in and fade-out.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Despite running a good 21 years, it is one of the rarest logos ever. Can be seen on very early films on the Fox Movie Channel. Occasionally will appear on TCM's Silent Sunday Nights.
Scare Factor: None.
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20th Century Pictures, Inc.
Background: Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an independent Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1932 by Joseph M. Schenck, the former president of United Artists, Darryl F. Zanuck from Warner Bros. Pictures, William Goetz from Fox Film Corporation, and Raymond Griffith. Their material was released theatrically under United Artists.
(October 7, 1933-April 17, 1936)
Nicknames: "The Searchlights", "Futuristic Structure", "Majestic Tower", "Pre-Fox Structure"
Logo: On a dark sky background, 3 rows of words, "20th","CENTURY", and "PICTURES, INC.", apparently carved out of stone and/or metal, are seen. The words are "stacked" on top of each other, with similarly carved lines separating the rows. The "20th" is the biggest row, with "CENTURY" and "PICTURES, INC." a bit smaller. A circular stage-like structure juts out from the base of the "stack," with a light on top of the structure that shines in front of the "stack." There are pedestals on both sides of the stack, each with a non-moving searchlight. In the background, several searchlights scan the sky. This logo was designed by Emil Kosa, Jr. The logo was created as a painting on several layers of glass and animated frame-by-frame.
Closing Title: Superimposed on a special background or sometimes on the last scene of a movie, fade in the words "The End" with fonts varies on different movies with the following disclaimers: "A 20th Century Picture", and below on a smaller font "Released Thru United Artists".
FX/SFX: The searchlights in the background.
Music/Sounds: The original fanfare, as composed and conducted by Alfred Newman.
Music/Sounds Variants: There were a couple of re-recordings of the fanfare that were different than the later re-recording used in the TCF logo. One of the two was used on 1935's Les Miserables and The Call of the Wild.
Availability: Extremely rare. Seen during rare chances on either Turner Classic Movies, American Movie Classics, or Fox Movie Channel, like Blood Money, for example. The first release to use this logo was The Bowery, released on October 7, 1933. The last release to use this logo was Folies-Bergère, released on April 17, 1936.
Scare Factor: Low to medium; the scratchy prints may get to some, though it is a little majestic.
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20th Century Fox Film Corporation
Background: In 1935, Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. and Fox Film Corporation merged together to form "Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation" (the hyphen in between "Century" and "Fox" was present until 1985), or simply "20th Century Fox". Currently, it's a subsidiary of News Corporation.
1st Logo
(February 22, 1935-July 30, 1966, December 14, 1975)
Nicknames: "The Searchlights II", "Fox Structure", "Majestic Tower II", "Futuristic Structure II"
Logo: It's the same as the 20th Century Pictures logo, except "FOX" appears in place of "PICTURES, INC.". This logo was once again designed by Emil Kosa, Jr.
Variants:
- This logo first appeared in black and white, which later switches to color in 1936. Many searchlights are visible in this logo.
- On colorized prints, depending on what studio colorized it, the logo would have different colors.
- The logo would either take place on a day or night sky.
- One extremely rare variant had a slightly altered version of the tower in the opening credits with "presents", in script, below it. This variant was used for Fox Movietone News newsreels.
- For early color releases (except for The Little Princess), the logo is sepia-toned.
- On a re-issue of Les Miserables, the logo fades into the NTA logo.
Closing Titles: Superimposed on a special background or sometimes on the last scene of a movie, fade in the words "The End" with fonts vary on the movie with the following text: "Released through Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation", "Released by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation", "Produced and Released by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation" or "Produced and Distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation".
FX/SFX: The searchlights in the background.
Music/Sounds: A remixed variant of the original fanfare (as composed and conducted by Alfred Newman, once again) that has become one of the most famous pieces of music in the world.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- On some films, it has the opening of the movie's theme music.
- On some mid-1930s prints of classic 20th Century Pictures movie releases, the original fanfare was used, plastering the TCP logo.
- Zorba the Greek, one of the last films to use this logo, had the short version of the 1953 CinemaScope fanfare.
Availability: Very common; still saved on just about every 20th Century Fox release, and recently presented in letterboxed format on a daily basis. The color version can be seen on the original version of The Little Princess and colorized prints of Bright Eyes and Heidi. The first release to use this logo was The Little Colonel, released on February 22, 1935. The last release to use this logo was Batman: The Movie, released on July 30, 1966, although the first film to use the following logo was The Robe, released on September 16, 1953. One of the example films to use this was The Grapes of Wrath. It did however, make a strange re-appearance on The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, released on December 14, 1975.
Scare Factor: Low to medium. One of the most wonderful and majestic logos.
2nd Logo
(September 16, 1953-December 11, 1987)
Nicknames: "The Searchlights III", "Fox Structure II", "Majestic Tower III", "Futuristic Structure III"
Logo: A redrawn and more clearer version of the last logo, but the "0" on the top is crooked. This logo was designed by Rocky Longo, who was an artist at Pacific Title and Art Studio, Inc. He also designed the next logo.
Variants: The Fox logo has had many renditions over the years. Here are some of them:
- 1953-1965: The CinemaScope logo. The searchlights are slimmed down and the structure is placed in the center of the screen with a dark blue sky surrounding it. The logo fades to "TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX PRESENTS A CINEMASCOPE PRODUCTION/PICTURE". Two versions exist: One with a regular "0" and one with a slanted "0".
- The one with the regular "0" also had this text: "A CINEMASCOPE PICTURE IN CINEMASCOPE 55". In 1961, The King and I was re-released in a 70mm version, called "GRANDEUR 70".
- 1960-1965: For movies that were shot in Todd-AO, such as 1960's Can-Can, 1963's Cleopatra and 1965's The Agony and the Ecstasy, the 20th Century Fox logo with the regular "0" appear for five seconds and then fades to the words "TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX PRESENTS".
- 1965-1987: Like the CinemaScope logo, only without the fade-out and extra sky. Like the CinemaScope version, two versions exist: one with a normal zero and one with a slanted zero.
- There is an extended version of the 1953-1987 logo without the CinemaScope logo. It appeared only on 1976's High Anxiety and 1981's History of the World: Part I, both directed by and starring Mel Brooks.
- 1968-1987: The structure and the sky background are off-center and shifted to the left. Beginning in the 1970s, the Registered trademark symbol "®" was added to the bottom of the logo.
- There was a short version of this logo.
- The logo would take place on either a day or a night sky.
Closing Titles:
- 1953-1965: Same as above, but the "The End" words were moved to very top and the 20th Century-Fox text is pushed to the bottom to give space for the text "A CINEMASCOPE PRODUCTION" or "A CINEMASCOPE PICTURE".
FX/SFX: The searchlights in the background.
Music/Sounds:
- 1953-1957: The 1953 recording of the original fanfare, which debuted on How to Marry a Millionaire.
- 1953-1981: The original fanfare is extended for CinemaScope, as conducted by Lionel Newman and debuted on River of No Return; after CinemaScope is dropped, the extended fanfare is used in tandem with the shorter one.
- 1960: A different recording of the original fanfare debuted on Can-Can.
- 1965-198?: The 1935 recording of the original fanfare.
- May 21, 1980-: A new recording of the fanfare, played by the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor John Williams, which debuted on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
- 1979-1987: The re-orchestration of the fanfare debuted on Breaking Away. This was used in tandem with the 1935 recording of the fanfare.
- In other cases, the opening theme of the movie was used, or none.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- Marilyn Monroe's final and unfinished project Something's Got to Give has the short, slowed-down version of the 1997 fanfare.
- An abridged remix of the 1953 CinemaScope fanfare, beginning with 0:03-0:04 of the fanfare, then 0:05-0:09 and finally 0:18-0:23. This can be heard on some films, mainly Brubaker, Fatso and Damien: Omen II.
- There is also a slightly modified version of the 1953 CinemaScope extended fanfare; one film to use this was 1977's Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope).
Availability: Very common; still saved on just about every 20th Century Fox release, and recently presented in letterboxed format on a daily basis. Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back are also seen with this logo (which has been restored on the 2006 DVD releases of said films), but were replaced with the 1994 logo on the pre-2006 DVD releases. The non-US version of Chariots of Fire also originally had the 1953 logo, but was plastered with the 1994 logo on the current non-US DVD release. The original VHS releases of Moving Violations and Thunder and Lightning by Key Video had it plastered with the 1981 logo; the latter film is still plastered on the DVD release, but keeps the original fanfare. The DVD release of Alien had it plastered with the 1981 logo. The first release to use this logo was The Robe, released on September 16, 1953. The last release to use this logo was Wall Street, released on December 11, 1987. This logo can also be found on the original CBS/Fox Video releases of Revenge of the Nerds (which was one of the many films from 1984 to use the 1953 logo) and Moving Violations (one of the two films from 1985 to use the 1953 logo), but current DVD releases replace it with the 1981 logo. The CinemaScope logo with the "regular 0" can be found on Carousel and the original The King and I.
Scare Factor: Low to medium. One of the most wonderful and majestic logos. The tilted zero can be an eyesore to look at for some people, though.
3rd Logo
(August 28, 1981-August 5, 1994)
Nicknames: "The Searchlights IV", "Fox Structure III", "Majestic Tower IV", "Futuristic Structure IV", "Pre-Ultra Majestic Tower"
Logo: Another redrawn version of the last logo. This time, the structure is as off-center left as the late 1960s variant of the 1953 logo. This logo was designed when Rocky Longo repainted the eight-layered glass panels,
and straightened the zero. This design of the logo still continues to this day (albeit in a slightly modified form).
Variants:
- On some films, such as Porky's Revenge!, the front-left searchlight is pink.
- Some movies had the structure looking dark and washed out. This is either the cause of deterioration in the film reel, or a mistake at the studio.
- On American prints of Die Hard, the logo is stretched out horizontally.
Closing Titles: Same as the last logos, but the text reads as either: "Produced and Released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation" or "Released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation". In 1990, the text was shortened to either "Released by Twentieth Century Fox" or "Produced and Released by Twentieth Century Fox."
FX/SFX: The searchlights in the background.
Music/Sounds:
- 1981-1994: A re-orchestration of the long version of the 20th Century Fox fanfare, as conducted by Lionel Newman.
- 1981-1994: Same as the sixth variant of the previous logo. This was used in tandem with the long version.
- In other cases, the opening theme of the movie was used, or none.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- Sometimes, it would use the 1953 CinemaScope extended fanfare (this is usually when films originally had the 1953 logo, but were plastered by the 1981 logo).
- In 1983, a slightly modified 1980 recording, as played by the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor John Williams, was used on Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Availability: Very common. Notable movies to use this logo are Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Porky's II: The Next Day, Porky's Revenge!, Predator, Wall Street, Die Hard, Predator 2, Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Alien 3, among others. The first movie to use this logo was Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, released on August 28, 1981. The last movie to use this logo was Airheads, released on August 5, 1994, while the next logo debuted on True Lies, released on July 15, 1994. This also plasters the 1953 logo on the VHS release of Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) and most DVDs of Thunder and Lightning (with the original fanfare), Wizards, Alien, My Bodyguard, Revenge of the Nerds, Moving Violations, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise and Wall Street. This can be also seen in the non-North American prints of Crocodile Dundee and the live-action Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles film trilogy as well as the trailer for Deck the Halls.
Scare Factor: Minimal to low. One of the most wonderful and majestic logos.
4th Logo
(July 15, 1994-May 4, 2010)
Nicknames: "CGI Searchlights", "Ultra Majestic Tower", "The Searchlights V", "Futuristic Structure", "Majestic Tower V", "Futuristic Structure V", "Fox Structure IV"
Logo: We start on a black background. Then two searchlights swoop across the screen, revealing a top aerial view of the 20th Century Fox structure, redone in CGI. The camera pans down and then across the logo, revealing the starry and cloudy blue/purple/orange Los Angeles and Hollywood evening skyline in the distance, before settling into its more customary position and angle. The byline "A NEWS CORPORATION COMPANY" fades in at the bottom of the screen. The structure looks similar to the 1981 logo. This logo was designed by Kevin Burns and animated at Flip Your Lid Animation Studios.
Trivia: The first movie to use this logo was True Lies, released on July 15, 1994. If one looks very close in the far right hand corner before approaching the main structure, one can see the Hollywood sign. It is not very big, but it is visible if one looks hard enough. Also, if you look hard enough, you can see stars in the BG at the end of the logo.
Variants:
- On the "Special Edition" remastered versions of the Star Wars trilogy from 1997 onward and the Star Wars prequel trilogy, there is no camera panning; it just remains in its usual place until it fades to the Lucasfilm Ltd. logo, which is shown over the CinemaScope music extension.
- A short version of this logo exists on The Making of The Pagemaster.
- A bylineless version of this logo exists exclusively on the theatrical release of Garfield: The Movie.
Closing Titles:
- Same as recent until 2006.
- On Titanic, the text reads as: "Produced and Released by Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures".
FX/SFX: The panning of the camera across the Fox structure.
Music/Sounds:
- July 15, 1994-January 30, 1998: A re-orchestration of the long TCF fanfare, as conducted by Bruce Broughton. The fanfare has more reverberation/echo than other TCF fanfares. The last release (officially) to use this fanfare was Great Expectations, released on January 30, 1998, however, Wing Commander, released on March 12, 1999, and Krabat, released on October 9, 2008, used this fanfare instead of the 1997 fanfare for some weird reason.
- November 14, 1997-: A slightly slower re-orchestration of the long TCF fanfare, as performed by the 20th Century Fox Studio Orchestra conducted by David Newman, whose father Alfred Newman composed the fanfare in 1933, as well as its extended counterpart in 1953. The first movie to use this fanfare was 1997's Anastasia. After the release of Anastasia, Fox films kept using the 1994 fanfare until January 1998.
Music/Sounds Variants: - On the "Special Edition" version of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, it--without the camera panning--and the Lucasfilm logo used the 1953 recording of the fanfare as played by the 20th Century Fox Studio Orchestra and conductor Lionel Newman.
- On the "Special Edition" versions of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as well as the Star Wars prequel trilogy, it--again without the camera panning--and the Lucasfilm logo used the 1980 recording of the fanfare as played by the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor John Williams.
- Probably not used on any films, but there was also a short version of the 1997 fanfare.
Availability: Very common. First seen on True Lies, and in front of almost every subsequent 20th Century Fox film from this time period. Surprisingly, this also appears on some trailers, behind-the-scenes clips and interviews for Predators, as well as the international trailer for Vampires Suck, in tandem with the new logo. On some prints of Speed, it plasters the previous logo, either with the 1981, 1994 or 1997 fanfare (the previous logo is preserved on HBO and Starz airings). This also plasters the 1953 logo on international DVD releases of Chariots of Fire, where 20th Century Fox originally distributed it (i.e. United Kingdom).
Scare Factor: None.
5th Logo
(December 18, 2009- )
Nicknames: "CGI Searchlights II", "Ultra Majestic Tower II", "The Searchlights VI", "Majestic Tower VI", 'Fox Structure V", "Decade Tower", "2010 Fox", "Celebrating 75 Years", "20th's 75th", "Happy Anniversary, Fox!" "Happy 75th, 20th!", "2010s Tower"
Logo: A redone and more realistic version of the 1994 tower; this time, it is in a dark/orange evening environment. When the structure is in its distance, we can see an extra searchlight and a pair of palm trees on the bottom right hand corner. This structure, like the 1994 structure, also looks similar to the 1981 logo. This logo was designed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha and was animated at Blue Sky Studios, 20th Century Fox's sibling company and creator of Ice Age.
Trivia: This logo debuted on August 20, 2009 for the very first time. Afterwards, this logo first appeared on Avatar, released on December 18, 2009. Like the previous logo, if one looks very close in the far right hand corner before approaching the main structure, one can see the Hollywood sign. It is still not very big, but it is still visible if one looks hard enough. And still, you can see stars at the end of the logo, but there are fewer than the previous logo. The "Celebrating 75 Years" variant for TCF's 75th anniversary is a well done contemporary throwback of--and a contemporary homage to--the 20th Century Fox CinemaScope logo, where the 20th logo faded after 10 seconds into the CinemaScope logo.
Variants:
- For the logo's first official year (2010, even though the logo actually debuted in 2009), while the logo finishes its move into position, the camera pans up and two streaks of light draw "75" with the word "CELEBRATING" above the numbers and "YEARS" below. The camera pans the words and numbers in position. Also, the registered trademark symbol "®" and the News Corporation byline are engraved on different parts of the structure.
- Trailers and TV spots for Avatar and newer 20th Century Fox games had a very orange sky on the logo.
Closing Title: Same as recent.
FX/SFX: Same as before.
Music/Sounds: Same as the second variant of the previous logo.
Availability: First appeared on Avatar, and the trailer for the Aliens vs. Predator video game (PS3/XBOX 360). This logo with the phrase "Celebrating 75 Years" and an engraved News Corporation byline officially first appeared on Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Also on most international releases of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movies, starting with Hot Tub Time Machine.
Scare Factor: None; it is a suitable successor to 20th Century Fox's original CGI searchlights.