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Orion Pictures
Compiled by James Fabiano, Jeffrey Gray and Matt Williams
Logo Pictures by Eric S. and Juniorfan88
Editions by V of Doom, Codyfinke6, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy by Eric S., JuniorFan88 and OmicronXI
Background: Orion Pictures was first started in 1978 under Warner Bros. Communications for a while. In 1982, Orion bought Filmways, Inc. 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 millenium rolled. Most of the old films made by Orion are part of MGM arm of Sony's corporate body, except all 1979-1983 releases, which are owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
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/Cheesy Factor: Pretty much the way I've described it, the animation indeed reeks of early Macintosh/CGI animation.
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 (1981). 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 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.
Earlier Variant: On films released from 1981-1983, extra text appeared below and to the right of the logo reading "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: 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 alot of '80s movies and early '90s movies such as Robocop. A shortened version can be seen at the end of the TV series Green Acres when it is rerun on TV Land. Also, the early variant with the WB bug was seen on Wolfen (1981), as well as Arthur (1981). On television, the MGM logo precedes this on 1983-1996 releases.
Scare Factor: Low; the appearance of the O might scare a few, but other than that, it's very popular and very famous.
3rd Logo
(1996-1998)
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.
FX: 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.
Scare Factor: None.
Logo Pictures by Eric S. and Juniorfan88
Editions by V of Doom, Codyfinke6, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy by Eric S., JuniorFan88 and OmicronXI
Background: Orion Pictures was first started in 1978 under Warner Bros. Communications for a while. In 1982, Orion bought Filmways, Inc. 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 millenium rolled. Most of the old films made by Orion are part of MGM arm of Sony's corporate body, except all 1979-1983 releases, which are owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
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/Cheesy Factor: Pretty much the way I've described it, the animation indeed reeks of early Macintosh/CGI animation.
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 (1981). 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 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.
Earlier Variant: On films released from 1981-1983, extra text appeared below and to the right of the logo reading "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: 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 alot of '80s movies and early '90s movies such as Robocop. A shortened version can be seen at the end of the TV series Green Acres when it is rerun on TV Land. Also, the early variant with the WB bug was seen on Wolfen (1981), as well as Arthur (1981). On television, the MGM logo precedes this on 1983-1996 releases.
Scare Factor: Low; the appearance of the O might scare a few, but other than that, it's very popular and very famous.
3rd Logo
(1996-1998)
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.
FX: 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.
Scare Factor: None.
Latest page update: made by BobFish
, Jul 11 2008, 5:28 AM EDT
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Edited by BobFish
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view changes
- complete history)
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