Orion Home VideoThis is a featured page

Logo descriptions by James Fabiano, Jeffrey Gray, and Matt Williams
Logo captures by Eric S., wisp2007, and V of Doom
Editions by Bob Fish and V of Doom
Video capture courtesy of Eric S.


Background: This was the home entertainment arm of Orion Pictures Corp. established in 1987 to distribute all Orion releases on video, but in 1997 it was folded into MGM Home Entertainment after MGM acquired the parent company. Same as above, all the Orion library, except all 1979-1982 releases, not including First Blood, is currently held by MGM under the umbrella of Sony and its partners.


1st Logo
(1987-1990)
Orion Home Video (1987)Orion Home Video (Alternate, 1987)

Nicknames: "The Constellation", "Starry Sky"

Logo: On the Orion star background, a comet streaks by, forming the familiar Orion logo (albeit chrome), with "HOME VIDEO" below it. The logo shines.

Variants:
  • On videos that did not have the Orion Pictures logo, the logo abruptly ends at this point. On videos that did have an Orion Pictures logo, the beginning of that logo would form, and the Orion Home Video logo would shrink into the top star. The Orion Pictures logo continued as normal.
  • On the VHS of Throw Momma From The Train, a screen freeze of this logo was found at the very beginning of the tape. There is no animation in this variation, nor does the animated logo pop up again on the VHS.

FX/SFX: Nice star effects, though nowhere near as good as the next effort...

Music/Sounds: None. But videotapes of motion pictures with the Pictures logo and the fanfare used an extended version of the fanfare. Sometimes, this logo used a shortened version of the fanfare.

Availability: Extemely rare; most of the back catalog's been reissued by MGM Home Entertainment; check your video store's backstock. Titles with this logo include Mac and Me, Robocop, Akira, the "Weird Al" Yankovic film UHF, Frog, and State of Grace, among others. The short and silent version also made a surprise appearance on the early 1990s Goodtimes Home Video release of Breaker! Breaker!

Scare Factor: None.



2nd Logo
(1990-1997)
Orion Home Video (1990)Orion Home Video (1990, B)Orion Home Video (Promo Variant, 1990)

Nicknames: "Enhanced Constellation", "
Enhanced Starry Sky"

Logo
: On a star background, the five stars fade into view. Instead of moving to form the O, they break formation and swirl around, forming an outline of the Orion logo
that quickly fills with chrome silver. "HOME VIDEO" then moves from the bottom of the screen to join the Orion logo, and they both shine.

Closing Variants: At this point, one of two endings would appear:
  • The stars from the beginning would return, swirling around the logo, causing it to disappear.
  • The beginning of the Orion Pictures logo begins behind the Orion Pictures logo, as the stars return again to swirl around the logo. "HOME VIDEO" shimmers out, and the Orion logo shrinks to the top star, playing the Orion Pictures logo from on out.

Promo Variant: "Sold Exclusively By" would appear above on various movie releases. This was not used as a HV-Picture logo combo.


FX/SFX: Outstanding animation. Many people prefer this to the movie logo, and the transition from this to the movie logo is just the icing on the cake.

Cheesy Factor: The "Sold Exclusively By" text for the promo variant looks like it was just cheaply chyroned in, I'm sorry to admit. And yet, it's a good logo, too...

Music/Sounds: The Orion fanfare. For movies that have Orion Pictures with fanfare, the music is extended to cover both logos.

Availability: Seen on releases from 1990-1997, such as The Silence of the Lambs and Robocop 3. The "Sold Exclusively By" is rare, but was seen on a VHS of Pinstripe Destiny.

Scare Factor: Low, because anyone who hasn't seen this logo before might be caught off-guard by the star animation changing into "ORION", as it is very fast-paced. However, it is a favorite of many.


VofDoom
VofDoom
Latest page update: made by VofDoom , Aug 26 2009, 8:10 PM EDT (about this update About This Update VofDoom Edited by VofDoom

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Kylejaker1988 Occurence. 0 May 12 2009, 5:10 PM EDT by Kylejaker1988
Thread started: May 12 2009, 5:10 PM EDT  Watch
The silent 1990 version appeared on a Goodtimes Home Video release of "Breaker! Breaker!"
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Logophile Not on RoboCop 2 0 Sep 26 2008, 1:19 PM EDT by Logophile
Thread started: Sep 26 2008, 1:19 PM EDT  Watch
On the VHS release of RoboCop 2, the logo just faded out, then went to the Orion Pictures logo.
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