PolyGram Video (UK)

Background: PolyGram Video was the home entertainment arm of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. On December 10, 1998, PolyGram was sold to Seagram & Sons (the former parent of Universal Studios, now part of "NBCUniversal"), the video division was sold to USA Networks, Inc. and folded into USA Home Entertainment. They also distributed BBC Video tapes in Australia until 1996, where distribution was taken over by Roadshow Entertainment and ABC Video (the Australian "ABC")

1st Logo

(1982-1992, 2000)

Nickname: "Pixie Dust & Red Line"

Logo: On a black background, yellow dust begins to form the PolyGram Video logo. Like a roller-coaster (and the 1980s RKO logo), it zooms forward, dipping down, then flying back up again, also showing a line with red stars underneath it. “presents” flies in from the right one-by-one, and a white bar of light passes through the logo.

Variants: FX/SFX: It's all in Scanimate animation.
 * Releases from Spectrum had their own special variant of this logo including the German one, which can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfYQvJSoQTc
 * The German "Arena" version of this logo has the word "PolyGram" with several shadows of the word flying up from the bottom and "flashing" as the main word flashes several colors. The red stars appear below, and the Arena logo is wiped in (a white box with "ARENA" in thick letters in an arc and a "swoosh" around the top, making the whole thing resemble a disc).

Cheesy Factor: While the light and "presents" animation look very top-notch, the dust animation looks really, really dated. The German version has better animation, but the wiping-in of the Arena logo is done in really cheesy chyron effects.

Music/Sounds: An eerie synthesized humming sound, complete with two “whooshes” at the end. The Arena variant uses the music from the Spectrum version (Magnum: On The Wings of Heaven however, uses the Spectrum version on the standard logo). In case you did not notice, the jingle was also used for the normal version, only on Spain VHS releases.

Availability: Extremely rare. Check thrift stores or eBay for VHS releases containing this logo. It can be seen on the UK pre-cert release of An American Werewolf in London. The German version can be seen on German PAL tapes such as The Vindicator. This logo was seen on the Image DVD release of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, and PolyGram DVD of Magnum: On The Wings of Heaven, due to the source of the video being an old master. The logo can also be seen on a few of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video's Musicvision tapes featuring artists under the PolyGram umbrella (including Rush: Through the Camera's Eye).

Scare Factor: Medium to high for the normal music, and none for the Spectrum/Arena music. The music may creep people out. The German variant may cause headaches.

2nd Logo

(1986)

Nickname: "Poly Want a Gram Cracker?"

Logo: On a red background, "PolyGram" moves from the top right corner of the screen to the left-hand side facing the left, then faces the right and move downwards, creating a rollercoaster effect. A line of stars moves up underneath the PolyGram text. "HOME OF THE STARS" appears going down, then going up, a la the Telepictures Rollercoaster logo. An anthropomorphic cartoon parrot smiling while pointing its finger in the air fades to the right.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: This one goes off the charts. The effects look dated as of 1986 (especially if you compare this to Marvel's "CGI Spidey" logo), the parrot was completely unnecessary, and it appears to only be pointing at the word "THE". The line of "stars" are just a line of asterisks (***********), and the whole thing's animation resembled the animation for Time-Life's logo. Also, you can see some white fade in the right corners, and the left.

Music/Sounds: 3 beeps, followed by catchy disco music.

Availability: Known to only appear on a VHS of Alien Violators.

Scare Factor: Low, due to the cheesy animation and the parrot.

3rd Logo

(November 22, 1990-1993)

Nicknames: "PV", "PV Videotape", "VHS Assembly"

Logo: On a white background, parts of a video tape are drawn together (the background shows the parts in extreme close-up), and eventually two black conjoined ellipses with the letter "P" in one and a red upside down triangle (representing a "V") on the bottom position themselves onto the spools. The words "PolyGram Video" pop in one by one in sync with the music.

Variant: On several LaserDisc releases, the animation shows a LaserDisc being drawn instead of a video tape, and at the end, the words are shifted to the left, appear all at once, and a small gray LaserDisc logo (which looks like the LaserVision logo) appears next to them.

FX/SFX: The tape being assembled, and the "shadows" on the background. Very nice and modern graphics, especially for 1990!

Music/Sounds: A mellow rock theme combined with a whirring sound.

Availability: Very rare. NFL CrunchCourse and the Buffalo Bills 1993 Video Yearbook are 2 tapes that have this, along with international Mighty Morphin Power Rangers tapes (though the next logo was used on the box and tape label). Also seen on PolyGram's first 4 UK rental releases - the 3 known ones are The Crying Game, Dust Devil, and Braindead. It's appeared as early as the 1990 VHS release of The Story of The Moody Blues: Legend of a Band and the 1991 release of Sabrina - On Stage.

Scare Factor: Minimal to low. It's a really cool logo, though the whirring sound may scare some. It's also very harmless, compared to the next logo...

4th Logo

(1993-1997, 2007)

Nicknames: "BANG! And the PolyGram's Here", "Stretched Red Line of Doom", "Scratches of Doom"

Logo: Against a black background, the words "PolyGram Video" quickly unfold letter-by-letter. Then, a red line appears underneath, zooming out.

Variants: FX/SFX: The letters and line appearing.
 * On some releases, there is a version with a blue wallpaper with PolyGram Video logos in the background, which makes the logo slightly less scarier.
 * On a Swedish DVD of The Howling (released in 2007), the logo is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen (possibly due to using an old video master and matting it down to widescreen).

Cheesy Factor: What happened to the creativity? The last logo was much cooler than this one, but they had to replace it with a logo that will end up being used even more, despite being a creative step down!

Music/Sounds: A series of loud "scratching" sounds as the letters appear, a "whoosh" as the line appears and shrinks, and a bang. Sometimes it's silent.

Availability: Common. Found on PolyGram releases of the period such as Mr. Bean tapes, A Gnome Named Gnorm, Jason's Lyric, and The Adventures of Tintin (including on a Spanish Magna DVD which likely uses the same video master). This also appears on the original PolyGram DVDs of Portrait of a Lady and Kalifornia, among others. Strangely this is also found on a 1996 VHS of Teen Wolf.

Scare Factor: Depending on the variant: 5th Logo
 * Original Variant: High to nightmare. The scratching sounds coming at you all of a sudden, combined with the darkness and abrupt silence at the end might scare more than a few people. You probably would not want to watch this in the dark.
 * Blue Background Variant: High. The scratching sounds are still there, but at least the darkness has been removed.
 * Silent Variant: Medium. Since the scratching sounds have been removed in this variant, it is much tamer than the original version.

(1997-1999)

Nicknames: "PolyGram Wing Man", "Icarus"

Logo: Essentially the short videotaped version of its movie and television counterparts, but with "VIDEO" underneath.

Variants: FX/SFX: Same as the movie and television counterparts.
 * There is a long version of this which is the same as its movie counterpart, so far, it was found on a European VHS of The Real Macaw and a UK VHS of The Borrowers.
 * On some promotional trailers for PolyGram releases, there is also a more abstract version of the logo with a solid blue Icarus. This is based off the print logo.
 * On Franklin tapes from Reader's Digest, the print logo is used.
 * There exists a widescreen version of the logo, along with a cropped 2.35:1 scope version.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variants: On the extremely rare screener VHS of Bean, it uses the theme from the previous logo, and may possibly be even the first tape to use the logo.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on PolyGram releases of the period like Barney's Great Adventure, What Dreams May Come, Bean, The Borrowers, and The Big Lebowski, among others. Also seen on reissues of Troll 2, The Graduate, and The Curse, among others. This also appears on the original DVDs of Ghost in the Shell, Mr. Saturday Night, Needful Things, and Misery, among others. Also seen on the 1998 World Series video. The 2.35:1 scope version appears on the 2000 MGM DVD of Escape From New York.

Scare Factor: Same as its movie and TV counterparts. But it's much better than the previous logo.