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Orion Pictures
Logo descriptions by James Fabiano, Jeffrey Gray and Matt Williams
Logo captures by Eric S. and Juniorfan88
Editions by V of Doom, Codyfinke6, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy of Eric S., JuniorFan88 and OmicronXI
Background: Orion Pictures Corporation was first started in 1978 under Warner Communications (now TimeWarner) for a while. In 1982, Orion bought Filmways, Inc., breaking apart from the parent company and becoming independent. Orion did very well as far as making big blockbuster hits and scoring numerous awards, but everything went sour in the mid-1990's when Orion was losing money. The company went bankrupt by the time the new decade rolled. In 1996, Orion Pictures under Metromedia acquired Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. Currently, most of the old films made by Orion are held mainly by MGM under the umbrella of Sony and its partners, except all 1979-1982 releases, which are owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment. However, Orion remains currently as an in-name-only unit of MGM.
1st Logo
(1979-1981)
Nicknames: "Red/Blue Split", "Splitting Rectangles", "The Orion/WB Combo"
Logo: On a black screen, two rectangles, one blue and one orange, each one tilted forward at a 45 degree angle (making them appear like the floor and ceiling of a tunnel), shoot out towards the center of the screen. When they both connect at the center of the screen, they tilt back 45 degrees, so that they are facing the viewer completely, and enlarge to fill the screen. In the blue rectangle, which is on the top, we see the \\' logo and the words "WARNER BROS." in orange. In the orange rectangle, which is on the bottom, we see the words "ORION (in the same font as in logo #2) PICTURES COMPANY (in a more plain font)" in blue. After a while, the blue and orange rectangles move to each other's spot, briefly overlapping. "A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY" and "presents" fade in under "WARNER BROS".
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Pretty much the way I've described it, the animation indeed reeks of early Macintosh/CGI animation or Scanimate.
Music/Sounds: None, or the opening theme of the movie.
Availability: Was originally seen on such films as Time After Time and Caddyshack among others, but recent videos and TV broadcasts of those films use the Warner Communications variation of Orion logo 2. When American Movie Classics or Turner Classic Movies shows Time After Time, the logo is intact, but in AMC's case, only on the letterbox airings. It might be seen on some Orion films on the Encore movie channel. Also, it was seen on earlier prints of Wolfen. A recent TV Land airing of Caddyshack kept the logo intact, but did not show the part with the rectangles zooming forth.
Scare Factor: Low, because of the rectangles reversing.
2nd Logo
(1981-1996)
Nicknames: "The Constellation", "Starry Sky"
Logo: We first see a starry sky, then a constellation of stars in the middle shine brighter than the rest. It moves to the left, forms a circle, and spins around until, in a small, but bright flash, it forms a letter "O." Then the letters "RION" appear (by a sliding effect) to complete the logo, which is stylized when a line is drawn across it. The traces of the line remain on the left side of each letter except the "I," which has the line across the whole thing. "An" and "PICTURES RELEASE" (all in blue) appear above and below the logo accordingly.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The constellation and "Orion" being formed.
Cheesy Factor: The way the whole Orion logo appears after the constellation appears is just cheesy, and the stars forming a solid "O" is also pretty cheesy. Still, the logo looks very, very good after over 25 years.
Music/Sounds: Generally, the opening theme of the movie, or it's silent. In some cases, a horn fanfare against the background of a futuristic sound effect.
Availability: Very common, can be found in a lot of '80s movies and early '90s movies such as the Robocop franchise. A shortened version can be seen at the end of the TV series Green Acres when it is rerun on TV Land or local stations. Also, the earlier variant with the WB byline was seen on Wolfen, as well on Arthur, The Wanderers and The Great Santini among others, plastering the first logo on some 1979-1981 releases. On television, the MGM logo precedes this on 1982-1996 releases except some films and First Blood. First Blood was the very first movie to use this logo without the Warner Bros. byline. Also found on the DVD release of The Thing With Two Heads.
Scare Factor: Low; the appearance of the O might scare a few, and the music may startle someone who took a snnoze with the TV on, but other than that, it's very popular and very famous.
3rd Logo
(1996-1999)
Nicknames: "The CGI Constellation", "CGI Starry Sky"
Logo: Very much the same as the Starry Sky logo, but updated for the 1990's, with computer effects. The starfield behind the logo no longer zooms out as the logo forms, but shoots out towards the screen. The animation is the same, but the stars now have a "trail" that forms the "O", and the forming of the actual logo is different, with a laser light forming the line in the logo. The logo itself is now silvery and 3D, and only "PICTURES" appears below the logo, in the same font as last time.
Variant: There is a B&W variant of this logo for classic AIP movies in B&W.
FX/SFX: This is how you update a logo. The same thing as the popular "Starry Sky" logo, but the nice computer animation and trueness to the original have made this a favorite of those who have seen it.
Music/Sounds: Begins with a variation of the "futuristic sound effect" in the original Starry Sky, then a soft but majestic horn tune. As the logo begins to form, it gets faster and faster, culminating in a majestic hit and three-note sounder.
Availability: Can be found on movies that ranged from 1996 until the year they went bankrupt, which was 1998. On television, the MGM logo precedes this. The last movie with this logo was 1999's One Man's Hero (released under the Orion Pictures name, but actually released by MGM). It can also be seen on the DVD releases of Hell Up In Harlem and Bucktown. Also plasters the 1981 Filmways Pictures logo on the DVD release of Blow Out.
Scare Factor: None.
Logo captures by Eric S. and Juniorfan88
Editions by V of Doom, Codyfinke6, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy of Eric S., JuniorFan88 and OmicronXI
Background: Orion Pictures Corporation was first started in 1978 under Warner Communications (now TimeWarner) for a while. In 1982, Orion bought Filmways, Inc., breaking apart from the parent company and becoming independent. Orion did very well as far as making big blockbuster hits and scoring numerous awards, but everything went sour in the mid-1990's when Orion was losing money. The company went bankrupt by the time the new decade rolled. In 1996, Orion Pictures under Metromedia acquired Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. Currently, most of the old films made by Orion are held mainly by MGM under the umbrella of Sony and its partners, except all 1979-1982 releases, which are owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment. However, Orion remains currently as an in-name-only unit of MGM.
1st Logo
(1979-1981)
Nicknames: "Red/Blue Split", "Splitting Rectangles", "The Orion/WB Combo"
Logo: On a black screen, two rectangles, one blue and one orange, each one tilted forward at a 45 degree angle (making them appear like the floor and ceiling of a tunnel), shoot out towards the center of the screen. When they both connect at the center of the screen, they tilt back 45 degrees, so that they are facing the viewer completely, and enlarge to fill the screen. In the blue rectangle, which is on the top, we see the \\' logo and the words "WARNER BROS." in orange. In the orange rectangle, which is on the bottom, we see the words "ORION (in the same font as in logo #2) PICTURES COMPANY (in a more plain font)" in blue. After a while, the blue and orange rectangles move to each other's spot, briefly overlapping. "A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY" and "presents" fade in under "WARNER BROS".
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Pretty much the way I've described it, the animation indeed reeks of early Macintosh/CGI animation or Scanimate.
Music/Sounds: None, or the opening theme of the movie.
Availability: Was originally seen on such films as Time After Time and Caddyshack among others, but recent videos and TV broadcasts of those films use the Warner Communications variation of Orion logo 2. When American Movie Classics or Turner Classic Movies shows Time After Time, the logo is intact, but in AMC's case, only on the letterbox airings. It might be seen on some Orion films on the Encore movie channel. Also, it was seen on earlier prints of Wolfen. A recent TV Land airing of Caddyshack kept the logo intact, but did not show the part with the rectangles zooming forth.
Scare Factor: Low, because of the rectangles reversing.
2nd Logo
(1981-1996)
Nicknames: "The Constellation", "Starry Sky"
Logo: We first see a starry sky, then a constellation of stars in the middle shine brighter than the rest. It moves to the left, forms a circle, and spins around until, in a small, but bright flash, it forms a letter "O." Then the letters "RION" appear (by a sliding effect) to complete the logo, which is stylized when a line is drawn across it. The traces of the line remain on the left side of each letter except the "I," which has the line across the whole thing. "An" and "PICTURES RELEASE" (all in blue) appear above and below the logo accordingly.
Variants:
- On films from 1981-1982, under the logo itself, there was a byline that said "Thru Warner Bros., A Warner Communications Company," with a little \\' next to "A Warner Communications Company". A different starfield was also used.
- In 1984, there is a registered trademark symbol (R) that appears next to the Orion name.
FX/SFX: The constellation and "Orion" being formed.
Cheesy Factor: The way the whole Orion logo appears after the constellation appears is just cheesy, and the stars forming a solid "O" is also pretty cheesy. Still, the logo looks very, very good after over 25 years.
Music/Sounds: Generally, the opening theme of the movie, or it's silent. In some cases, a horn fanfare against the background of a futuristic sound effect.
Availability: Very common, can be found in a lot of '80s movies and early '90s movies such as the Robocop franchise. A shortened version can be seen at the end of the TV series Green Acres when it is rerun on TV Land or local stations. Also, the earlier variant with the WB byline was seen on Wolfen, as well on Arthur, The Wanderers and The Great Santini among others, plastering the first logo on some 1979-1981 releases. On television, the MGM logo precedes this on 1982-1996 releases except some films and First Blood. First Blood was the very first movie to use this logo without the Warner Bros. byline. Also found on the DVD release of The Thing With Two Heads.
Scare Factor: Low; the appearance of the O might scare a few, and the music may startle someone who took a snnoze with the TV on, but other than that, it's very popular and very famous.
3rd Logo
(1996-1999)
Nicknames: "The CGI Constellation", "CGI Starry Sky"
Logo: Very much the same as the Starry Sky logo, but updated for the 1990's, with computer effects. The starfield behind the logo no longer zooms out as the logo forms, but shoots out towards the screen. The animation is the same, but the stars now have a "trail" that forms the "O", and the forming of the actual logo is different, with a laser light forming the line in the logo. The logo itself is now silvery and 3D, and only "PICTURES" appears below the logo, in the same font as last time.
Variant: There is a B&W variant of this logo for classic AIP movies in B&W.
FX/SFX: This is how you update a logo. The same thing as the popular "Starry Sky" logo, but the nice computer animation and trueness to the original have made this a favorite of those who have seen it.
Music/Sounds: Begins with a variation of the "futuristic sound effect" in the original Starry Sky, then a soft but majestic horn tune. As the logo begins to form, it gets faster and faster, culminating in a majestic hit and three-note sounder.
Availability: Can be found on movies that ranged from 1996 until the year they went bankrupt, which was 1998. On television, the MGM logo precedes this. The last movie with this logo was 1999's One Man's Hero (released under the Orion Pictures name, but actually released by MGM). It can also be seen on the DVD releases of Hell Up In Harlem and Bucktown. Also plasters the 1981 Filmways Pictures logo on the DVD release of Blow Out.
Scare Factor: None.
VofDoom |
Latest page update: made by VofDoom
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| ELIEB | first and second logo | 0 | Jun 16 2009, 4:06 PM EDT by ELIEB | ||
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Thread started: Jun 16 2009, 4:06 PM EDT
Watch
1. ORION PICTURES 1ST LOGO WITH WARNER BROS LOGO. (1979-1981)
THIS RARE LOGO IS FOUND ON 1991 VHS RELEASES OF "EXCALIBUR" AND IS DIFFERENT IN THIS WAY... 1) THE WARNER HOME VIDEO LOGO IS IN FAKE STEREO. 2) THE ORION/WB LOGO IS IN FULL, BUT ALSO IN FAKE STEREO, SO IS THE MOVIE. 2. VARIANT OF THE SECOND ORION LOGO--FIRST BLOOD ON MOST VHS COPIES OF FIRST BLOOD, THE ORION LOGO HAS TOO MUCH GREEN TINT AND IT IS ZOOMED IN VERY CLOSE, ALMOST LIKE A STRETCHED 4:3 SCREEN. THIS SHOWS UP ON...THE ORIGINAL VHS RELEASE OF FIRST BLOOD--THORN EMI 1982 VHS/HIFI, AVID VHS 1994 RELEASE AND THE ARTISTAN 1999 VHS RELEASE. SOME LATER VERSIONS LIKE THORN HBO EMI OR CAROLCO HOME VIDEO/IVE MAY HAVE THE ORIGINAL 1982 CAROLCO LOGO.
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Keyword tags:
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| Kylejaker1988 | Plastered | 0 | May 12 2009, 5:07 PM EDT by Kylejaker1988 | ||
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Thread started: May 12 2009, 5:07 PM EDT
Watch
The DVD release of 'Blowout" replaces the Filmways logo with the 1996 Orion pictures logo.
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