Palace Video (UK)

1st (known) Logo (November 1981-1991)


Nicknames : "Haunted Castle", "Neon Castle"

Logo : On a black background, a neon, light blue line appears from the left side of the screen. The line goes up in a very jagged pattern, like a path, to a silhouette of a mountain with a castle on it. The castle has a TV tube shape above it. There is a purple haze behind the mountain as well. Once the line reaches the castle, lightning flashes as a thunder effect occurs, making a flashing, black and white silhouette of the castle. After the effect, the entire castle flashes and glows with strange neon effects. "PALACE VIDEO" appears in a neon, blue font on one of the towers. While the camera pans to the TV tube, "PRESENTS" in the same font appears on the tallest tower. The screen then flashes to white.

Variants :
 * Sometimes, even after 1985, after the screen flashes white, it cuts to black earlier so the music will end over it.
 * Sometimes, like the original 1982 UK VHS release of The Snowman, when the screen would flash to white, it may cut to a B.B.F.C. rating screen with the music ending over it.

FX/SFX : Early computer effects.

Music/Sounds : An eerie synth hum that sounds like the beginning of the Viacom "V of Steel" jingle, followed by thunder and a dark synth theme, ending with a whoosh.

Availability : Check old tapes for this logo. In the pre-cert days, Palace was usually known for distributing horror films to video, like Basket Case, the infamous 1981 release of Pink Flamingos, and the original pre-cert release (and 1990 certified release) of The Evil Dead. After 1985, the logo was relegated to kid-friendly releases only, including the UK releases of Jim Henson's shows and VHS compilations of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, with general releases instead using the Palace Pictures logo; however, the logo made surprise appearances on the 1991 VHS releases of Metropolitan and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, despite being general releases.

Editor's Notes : A bright, gaudy, and loud logo fitting for a majority of the content this logo appeared on. The loud sounds and preceding "OR ELSE!" warning screen have unnerved a few.