Thorn EMI Video

Background : Thorn EMI Video was the home video division of Thorn EMI, a multimedia and electronics company. In 1984, the parent company formed a joint venture with HBO that was known as Thorn EMI/HBO Video and this company was absorbed into the new partnership.

1st Logo (November 15, 1981-Early 1982)

Logo : On a blue (or dark blue) background, we see the 1979 Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment logo, only it is in black and white and there is now a black box under "THORN EMI" that says "VIDEO".

FX/SFX : None.

Cheesy Factor : The box with "VIDEO" in it looks poorly tacked on to the logo.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Extremely rare. You can find this on the earliest Thorn EMI Video releases, including their first twelve releases (The Tubes Video, April Wine Live in London, I Am a Dancer, Can't Stop the Music, Times Square, Death on the Nile, The Cruel Sea, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, The Best of Benny Hill, Scars of Dracula, Sophia Loren: Her Own Story and S.O.S. Titanic), and The Mirror Crack'd.

Scare Factor : Virtually none. If it comes up quickly, it could be mildly startling, but otherwise it's very boring.

2nd Logo (March 20, 1982-1985)

Nicknames : "The Thorn II", "Thornimated"

Logo : Against a black background, a blue circle of light zooms up into the screen, spins around, and turns rainbow, then splits into two light circles which spin and shrink into a shape that looks like an upside down "T" with pointed ends, most likely representing a thorn. A white box with a blue aura is drawn around the shape, and it backs away. As this happens, a white box with the words "THORN EMI" appears under that box, which has since turned blue, and when that backs away a white box surrounds that, the bottom of which contains the word "VIDEO".

FX/SFX : The Scanimated circles of light spinning and splitting, then turning into the logo. Also, the "drawing" effects and boxes being added on.

Music/Sounds : A light, synthesized tune that ends in the beating of a drum.

Availability: Rare. Appears on Ready, Steady, Go!: Volume One, the first few collections of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and Danger Mouse. Thorn EMI also distributed releases from Thames Video, Hemdale Film Corporation, The Saul Zaentz Company, Kings Road Entertainment and Carolco Pictures, as well as early HBO material like Flashpoint (1984). Several releases that had this logo were Xtro, The Evil Dead, The Terminator and First Blood. Among the first were Queen's Greatest Flix, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Lord of the Rings, Rockshow, The Burning, and Heartland. This logo is also found on various pre-cert releases in the United Kingdom, including First Blood, A Passage to India, certain copies of The Wicker Man and the later pre-cert release of Watership Down (the very first release, from 1982, has no logo at all).

Scare Factor : Low. It could be a bit startling, but it is nice and the music is light and catchy.