United International Pictures/Summary

Background : United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint company of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios to distribute some of the two studio's films theatrically outside United States (including territories), Canada and the Caribbean Basin. It also had rights to distribute films theatrically by DreamWorks (formerly owned by Viacom) and independent films. The company was originally started in 1970, as "Cinema International Corporation" by Paramount and Universal to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States, as a response to declining movie-going audiences and national anti-trust laws. It even operated in Canada and the Caribbean Basin before those territories were considered part of the "domestic" North American market. CIC was registered in England and Wales, but was headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company began operations on January 1, 1971. In 1973, MGM closed down its distribution offices and became a partner in CIC, which took over international distribution for MGM's films; however, United Artists took over the North American distribution of MGM films. In 1981, after MGM purchased UA, they merged its label, with UA's own international distribution arm, who once had a video division, CIC Video. In the mid '70s, CIC Australia merged its units with 20th Century Fox's Australian distribution arm to form a joint venture, known as CIC-Fox, which CIC-Fox became UIP-Fox in 1982 and continued operations until 1986, when Rupert Murdoch reorganized and obtained the Fox Australian distribution arm from UIP. Walt Disney/Buena Vista International continued their distribution deals with UIP (Paramount) in Italy until 1991 (when they sent distribution through Columbia-TriStar), and Australia through CIC-Fox (20th Century Fox) until 1986 (when they switched to Village Roadshow). UIP also co-financed and distributed Denzel Washington's 1989 film, For Queen and Country, with The Rank Organization. In November 2000, MGM, one of the original founders, left UIP and its theatrical distribution rights were assumed by 20th Century Fox. In 2007, the company was split up between Paramount and Universal in certain territories. In France, Mexico, Brazil, and the UK, United International Pictures was renamed to "Paramount Pictures". In Germany, Italy, and other countries, United International Pictures was renamed to "Universal Studios". Currently, this company still operates in smaller countries such as Argentina, Denmark, South Africa, and Malaysia. Their website is still active and can be accessed here. Walt Disney/Buena Vista also made distribution deals with CIC (Paramount) in Italy until 1991 (under UIP) and Australia through CIC-Fox (20th Century Fox) until 1986. CIC also entered the home video age, with its subsidiary CIC Video. MGM, however, had its own home video distribution unit (originally a partnership between MGM and CBS Video Enterprises).

1st Logo
(1971-1981)

 Nickname : "The CIC Chain"

 Logo : Against a blue background, we see the letters "CIC" (in a slightly lighter shade of blue) being drawn in simultaneously, with the first "C" drawn in counterclockwise, the last "C" clockwise, and the "I" from the middle. The letters take up almost the entire screen. Then, the letters zoom in towards the bottom, away from the screen, and a large chain link in an "S" pattern in drawn in, with the outer links colored the same as "CIC" and the middle link colored a very pale blue color. As the chain slowly zooms out, the text "Cinema International Corporation" (in white) zoom out from below.

 Variants :
 * Depending on the film quality, the background can vary from light blue, to faded green, all the way to dark blue/black.
 * On films distributed to France by the company, the logo in black and white with "Cinema International Corporation" to the left of it and "distribué par" above it. Depending on the movie, the logo may have effects or animation applied to it.
 * On the first Italian releases of Disney movies, including The Aristocats, the logo is similar to the French variant, except the chain is in full color, "Cinema International Corporation" is arranged differently, and "distribuzione" is above it.

 FX/SFX : 2D Graphics.

 Music/Sounds : A excerpt of Jerry Goldsmith's A Gathering of Eagles (1963) score [A brass/string tune ending in a dramatic three-note fanfare].

 Music/Sound Variants 
 * Sometimes it is silent.
 * Sometimes, like in The Slipper and The Rose, the opening theme starts over it

 Availability : Very rare. It was seen on theatrical prints of Paramount, Universal, and MGM films outside of North America. Examples are Demon Seed, The Slipper And The Rose, Earthquake, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Grease, and The Eagle Has Landed (strangely an ITC production, as Universal may have been the distributor in other territories). Was seen on Australian prints of various 20th Century Fox films released in Australia under "CIC-Fox". This was also seen on Italian and Australian theatrical prints of Disney/Buena Vista productions from 1974-1981, with examples being reissues of Peter Pan and Bambi. Most current prints of these films use domestic prints, so this logo is long gone. However, it survives fully intact on the following: The Inception Media Blu-Ray of The Slipper and The Rose (along with a Shout! Factory streaming print and a TCM airing), and the U.S. Criterion DVD of Die Verlorene Ehre Der Katharina Blum (aka The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. The French variant is a bit harder to find, but was spotted in a recent prints of César et Rosalie and Themroc, though it may be found in older prints of films that CIC distributed to France. It might have been seen on the original UK release of Watership Down but most prints have no logo.

 Editor's Note : The animation is a little rough, but it more than makes up for it with its magnificent fanfare.

2nd Logo
(1981-1982?)

 Logo : On a black background, we see a closeup of the same chain link as before, only now it's in live-action and has a silver sheen. The background changes to blue as the chain link zooms out until it reaches a comfortable distance. Finally, the text "Cinema International Corporation" pops in below the chain link.

 FX/SFX : Live-action models.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Extremely rare, as this came out near the end of CIC's existence before it was rebranded next year. It was seen on an Italian print of The Fox and the Hound, and a foreign copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 Editor's Note : None.

1st Logo
(1982-1997)

 Nicknames : "UiP", "The Shining Logo"

 Logo : On a black/blue gradient background, we see a flash appearing to reveal a gold "UiP" symbol zooming-up with the letters connected together and below it is "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES" fading-in then a shine appears and stays on the logo.

 FX/SFX : The "UIP" zooming-in, the shine.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Music/Sounds Variant : On the French print of 2010, it has a sample from the middle half of Also Sprach Zarathustra as a fanfare for this logo (seen before the 1984 MGM Diamond Jubilee logo with the combined roars). This appears, believe it or not, on the Blu-Ray releases of the above film if the film's audio track selected is French (which also activates the French titles via "angle" branching).

 Availability : Very rare. It was seen on theatrical releases of Paramount/Universal/MGM/UA films outside of North America. However, most home video prints of their films released in Europe by CIC Video and MGM/UA Home Video do not keep this logo, as they likely use U.S prints converted into PAL format. But some films however, would use a print that had mandatory content edits by the countries' rating council for distribution, and some VHS/DVD/TV releases would use these prints meaning this logo may be intact. In Australia, under UIP-Fox (formerly CIC-Fox), this was seen on theatrical prints of 20th Century Fox titles until 1986 (when the UIP-Fox venture ended). The earliest UIP titles (c. 1982-1984) did not have any logo at all, e.g. The Secret of NIMH, Trading Places and Streets of Fire. This was also seen on Italian theatrical prints of Disney/Buena Vista productions from 1983-1991, and Australian prints until 1986, with examples being The Black Cauldron, The Little Mermaid, Flight Of The Navigator, and several re-release prints of classic animated Disney films. The easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films on some VHS's, such as Carry On Columbus and Bebe's Kids. This can be currently seen on the UK trailer for The Living Daylights (which can be found on the UK VHS of Baby Boom along the SE and UE DVDs of the former), all prints/home video releases of Biggles: Adventures in Time (including the U.S DVD by Image Entertainment), and the Australian TV airing and region 4 DVD of Crocodile Dundee II. This is also seen on the Australian R4 DVD and the bootleg Jef Films R1 DVD of Carry On Columbus, the Celebrity/Just for Kids video release of Stowaways on the Ark, as well as the original 1989 UK VHS of License To Kill, and the Canadian Malofilm VHS and U.S. Platinum Disc Corporation DVD of Money. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Paramount/Universal/MGM from 1982-1997, this logo will show up before it - it was seen before 35mm showings of Darkman and True Lies.

 Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo
(1997-2001)

 Nicknames : "UiP II", "CGI UiP"

 Logo : On a black background, we see two outlines of "UIP" as in the first logo and then copies as the logo turns blue and gold. The words "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES", in the same font as in the 1st logo, fade in at the bottom of the screen, as the logo "shines".

 Variants :
 * For this logo's first year, there is also the 10th Anniversary variant of this logo, with the Paramount and DreamWorks logos inside the reflection of the logo. Also, there's no company name.
 * There is a special variant in which the URL "www.uip.com" fades in below the logo.

 FX/SFX : CGI.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Extremely rare. Appeared on UIP distributed films outside of the U.S like The Rugrats Movie and Antz, among others before either the Paramount, Universal, or DreamWorks logos appeared. It was also seen on international releases of MGM and United Artists films until 2001, when 20th Century Fox took over distribution in those territories. The easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films. Most international home video and TV prints of these do not have this logo, as they likely use U.S prints converted into PAL format.In NTSC form, this can be seen on a few Japanese DVD & VHS releases, such as The Peacemaker, Mouse Hunt, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Event Horizon. This has also been spotted on trailers for Selkie and Siam Sunset as well as Europe trailers of films released by Paramount, Dreamworks, Universal, and MGM/UA. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount/MGM movie from between 1997-2001, this logo will be shown before it was seen before a 35mm showing of The Apostle.

 Editor's Note : None.

3rd Logo
(2001-2004)

 Nicknames : "UiP III", "CGI UiP II", "The Blue Rounded Square"

 Logo : On a black/blue gradient background, we see the text "united international pictures" in lowercase letters, with the URL below it. Suddenly, a blue square zooms-out on screen and over a square is a white "UiP" symbol. The background then turns black for reason.

 Variants :
 * Depending on film quality, the logo would have a true blue/white color scheme or a dark green/brown scheme (the latter due to massive film deterioration).
 * There are short and long versions of this logo, the long version starts with the background in blue and the gold "UIP" forms before setting in a square, and finishing on a black background. The short version fades into the black background after the "UIP" square and the text are formed. The usage of both the short and long versions alternate between films, but the former was mostly seen on trailers.

 FX/SFX : The blue square zooming out, the screen turning black.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Very rare. Appeared on several UIP distributed films before either the Paramount, Universal, or DreamWorks logos on films released. Most international home video and TV prints of these do not have this logo, as they likely use U.S prints converted into PAL format. This logo is REALLY HARD to find in the U.S, but the long version has been spotted on the First Look Home Entertainment DVD of Elling. Again, the easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount movie from between 2001-2004, this logo will show up before it.

 Editor's Note : None.

4th Logo
(2004-2007, 2010-)

 Nicknames : "UiP IV", "The Blocks"

 Logo : On a white background, several blocks zoomed-in from the screen. The camera pans to reveal the United International Pictures logo as in logo 3, with the URL underneath the logo. Several blocks are now zoomed out to fix the logo.

 Variant : There is a short version of this logo.

 FX/SFX : The blocks fixing the logo.

 Music/Sounds : A one-note synth drone that is held throughout the logo, accompanied by "whoosh" noises as the blocks fly past. Mostly, it's silent.

 Availability : See 3rd logo. Was also spotted on a bootleg DVD of Shark Tale and an Australian cable broadcast of The Truman Show. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount movie from 2004-2007, this logo will appear before it was seen before a 35mm showing of Serenity. Starting in 2010, the shortened version of this logo can be found on trailers of movies uploaded by official UIP YouTube account in certain regions.

 Editor's Note : None.

 Final Note : In mid-2007, the UIP branding was retired in most countries and films go through Paramount Pictures International or Universal Pictures International. However, the company was reorganized in 2010 and currently distributes films in some countries (outside of the U.S.).