Artisan Entertainment/Summary

Logo descriptions by Matt Williams

Logo captures and editions by Eric S., Logophile, and EnormousRat

Video captures courtesy of MachineryNoise, DudeThatLogo, osdatabase, Joseph Sobora (TheRedBaron1985), FanCentralNetwork, and laughingduck1000

Background U.S.A. Home Video was established in 1982 by Noel C. Bloom's Family Home Entertainment to produce and distribute all non-kids and family releases on video. The division was renamed as "International Video Entertainment (IVE)" (or "I'VE") in 1986, then as "Live Entertainment" (or "LIVE Entertainment") in 1990 as Family Home Entertainment became an imprint of the company. Live Entertainment by then went into the movie production and distribution business. In 1998, Live Entertainment was renamed as "Artisan Entertainment", and it was acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation on December 15, 2003 and Artisan was renamed to "Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc.". Throughout the years, they had many subsidiaries: Adult film label Caballero Control Corporation Home Video (their former parent company, which was divested from the company in 1986 as Carolco Pictures purchased Caballero's remaining stocks in the company), Carolco Home Video (operated by Carolco Pictures), Monterey Home Video (a collaboration between founder Noel C. Bloom and Deadly Games director Scott Mansfield), Thriller Video (many releases under this label were hosted by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Adventure Video (hosted by Sybil Danning), sports label U.S.A. Sports Video, budget label Avid Home Entertainment, nostalgia labels The Video Late Show and King Bee Video, short-lived music label RadioVision Video, and genre and budget distributor Celebrity Home Entertainment and its kids label Just for Kids.

U.S.A. Home Video
Note: Not to be confused with USA Home Entertainment.

(May 1983-May 1987)
 Nicknames : "U.S.A.", "The Cheesy Laserwriter"

 Logo : On a black background, a laser light draws "U.S.A. " on a white grid. "U.S.A " is in blue, and after the laser light finishes its work, the grid disappears and "HOME VIDEO" appears, sandwiched between two lines. Below all that is the byline "EXCLUSIVELY DISTRIBUTED BY F.H.E." in italics.

 Variants :
 * There is a variation where the FBI warning divides into 4 boxes which exit to all four corners of the screen, then the logo plays as normally.
 * Another version has primitive-looking computerized red text on the screen; it reads: "ALSO FROM (U.S.A. logo) TO BE RE-RELEASED IN NOVEMBER AT A NEW LOW PRICE: $39.95".

 FX/SFX : Very primitive computer animation; the animation of the laser light, and appearance of "HOME VIDEO" and the FHE byline.

 Music/Sounds : 3 synth tones for the drawing of "U.S.A.", followed by a 5-note synth stinger and 2 low, descending synth notes.

 Music/Sounds Variant : On the variant with the FBI warning preceding the logo, a blaring synthesizer sounds before the actual theme begins.

 Availability : Rare, though much more common than its cousin; just find an oversized box (for 1983-86 releases) or anything with the U.S.A. Home Video print logo on the front. Note that from 1986-1987, this logo was used in tandem with IVE's 1st logo, with this logo appearing at the beginning of such tapes. Notable releases include the uncut releases of Ms. 45, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Supergirl, and 1984. The last releases to use this logo include Eye of the Tiger, One Cooks, the Other Doesn't, In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro, and Carry Me Back.

 Editor's Note : While this was the company's first logo, it's a rather primitive one to begin with, with animation reminiscent of an Apple II computer. But it gets better (and kinda worse) from here...

1st Logo (November 1986-September 15, 1988)
 Nicknames : "IVE Grid", "Clapping"

 Logo : On a white background, black lines begin to draw a rectangle, and then crisscross to form a grid. Below the grid, the words "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT" in black are "typed" in, letter-by-letter. After the words make their appearance, the letters "IVE", in a tall, thin, italic font, zoom in from one of the lower-left squares of the grid, nearly covering it. The "I" is red, the "V" is green, and the "E" is blue.

 FX/SFX : Computer animation, animation of the lines and seemingly "typing in" of the letters.

 Music/Sounds : A synth theme combined with clapping and FHE 2-like whining sounds.

 Music/Sounds Variants :
 * On the Sybil Danning's Adventure Video series, the end theme was used.
 * A silent version appears at the end of When the Wind Blows.
 * On Breaker Morant, the jingle cuts off as the whoosh sounds.
 * On a Canadian reprint of Trading Hearts, the jingle doesn't come in until a while after the first set of lines comes in.

 Availability : Rare. Many IVE releases were B-movies (that is putting it "very" nicely), and a few higher-quality releases (mostly Carolco flicks) have been released under Live/Artisan or other labels. From November 1986 to May 1987, this logo was used in tandem with U.S.A.'s logo, appearing at the end of film releases such as Eric, Pirates, and the Sybil Danning Adventure video tapes that have the U.S.A logo at the beginning (don't expect to see this on TV releases by U.S.A.; those use their logo at the end). Notable releases with this logo include Angel Heart, Extreme Prejudice, When the Wind Blows, Maid to Order, Free Ride, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (as well as a reprint of the first film), The Outing, Nightflyers, and The Puppetoon Movie. This also appears on tapes from Thriller Video, mainly the ones hosted by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, and on music cassettes on its RadioVision Video label. Tapes with this logo tend to use white labels with the IVE logo in a corner and spaced out, though the logo has been seen on early tapes with the next logo's associated label, including Trading Hearts, Pass the Ammo, Dudes, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Breaker Morant. Also seen on later U.S.A. Home Video tapes such as Red Skelton's Christmas Dinner.

 Editor's Note : While the primitive animation is still present, this is a favorite, mostly due to the musical score.

2nd Logo (October 6, 1988-1991)
 Nicknames : "IVE Grid II", "IVE Box", "Star Tiles"

 Logo : We fade in on a gray marble grid background with stars in the squares that scroll to the left. A denim-colored rectangle comes from the upper-right and positions itself in the center of the screen, whilst a sky blue "IVE", in the same font as before, comes from the upper-left. The whole thing shines. Sometimes, only the "shining" part plays.

 FX/SFX : The animation, the grid background.

 Music/Sounds :
 * October 6, 1988-February 9, 1989: A six-note synthesized ditty, followed by two pairs of synthesized drumbeats and an orchestral hit. A warbling synth flourish plays behind the whole thing. On Rambo III, this appears at both ends of the tape.
 * December 8, 1988-October 4, 1990: A different synthesized theme that sounds more orchestral in nature and includes warbling toward the end. Debuted at the start of Howling IV: The Original Nightmare. First appeared at the end of the tape on Iron Eagle II and The Year My Voice Broke. A version of this music was used on the MGM logo parody at the beginning of late 2000's episodes of Dave Mercer's Facts of Fishing: The Show.
 * Sometimes, there is no music in the logo at all.

 Availability : Uncommon, as it's a bit wider in distribution than the previous one. This sometimes turns up on older full-screen TV prints of films from Carolco or Vestron Pictures, such as Cat Chaser, Iron Eagle II (the regular IVE logo makes a surprise appearance on the 2002 Artisan DVD), and Howling IV: The Original Nightmare. Notable releases with this logo include Red Heat, Rambo III, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out, Pascali's Island, Breaker Morant, the uncut version of Prom Night III: The Last Kiss, DeepStar Six, Rooftops, Millennium, The Brain, Dudes, Rented Lips, Hostile Takeover, First Blood, Iron Eagle II, Ground Zero, and Weekend at Bernie's, among others. On the Artisan DVD of Johnny Handsome, the silent variant makes a surprise appearance at the end. The labels on tapes with this logo are similar to those used on the previous logo, except the IVE logo's smaller and spaced closer together. The last tape to use this logo was Martians Go Home. The original music can be heard on Rambo III, Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, Red Heat, The Brain, Pascali's Island, and Cry from the Mountain, but was used into the Live Home Video days on Laserdisc releases such as Jacob's Ladder. The logo (with its second theme) surprisingly reappeared on 1995 Canadian reprints of the first two Terminator movies. This logo appears on the 1990 demo tapes of Music Box and Mountains of the Moon instead of the next logo, as the Carolco Home Video logo was not finished yet at the time.

 Editor's Note : A worthy successor to the previous logo.

3rd Logo (June 21-August 30, 1990, 2000)
 Logo : On a sepia background, the words "Exclusively Distributed By" are shown on the top. Below that is the IVE logo (which looks the same as in the previous logo, only without the rectangle) with the words next to it "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT, INC." Below that is the byline, "A LIVE Entertainment Company" with "LIVE" in its corporate font.

 Variant : Music Box has it more or less the same, albeit against a black background, as well as simpler detail. It's also a bit bigger.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Ultra rare. This follows the Carolco Home Video logo on Music Box, Mountains of the Moon, and The Doors (including the 1998 Alliance/2000 Alliance Atlantis reprints of the last title, both of which use the Carolco VHS master).

 Editor's Note : Where the previous two logos could be considered favorites, this one is quite boring. It would take another four years until their logos got great again...

1st Logo (August 16, 1990-December 21, 1994)
 Nickname : "The L-Pyramid"

 Logo : On a black background, a gray segmented triangle (almost like the "Cheesy V" Vestron logo) appears, with another triangle cut out of it so that it looks like a stylized "L". Below it, the word "LIVE" appears in blue, with "HOME VIDEO" under it.

 Variant : On mainly Carolco Home Video releases, this logo appears with "Exclusively Distributed By" above it. "A Division of LIVE Entertainment" or "A LIVE Entertainment Company" (with "LIVE" in its usual font) can be seen below.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Uncommon. The "Exclusively Distributed By" variation, as already stated, can be seen on mainly Carolco releases, while the normal version is on regular Live Home Video releases (except for Gunmen, a Dimension Films production). Makes surprise appearances at both the beginning and end of the Lionsgate DVD of Raise the Titanic (as a double feature with Man Friday) and Hulu's print of Frauds. This has been known to plaster the IVE logos on post-1990 prints of some tapes, including Rambo III and Drugstore Cowboy, though a 1991 printing of First Blood preserves the 2nd IVE logo. The "Exclusively Distributed By" variant, along with the Carolco Home Video logo, can be found on the promotional trailer for Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Special Edition, which in turn, can be found on its Ultimate Edition DVD release. The logo debuted on the summer 1990 markdowns of DeepStar Six, The Iron Triangle, Lock-Up, Rooftops, Weekend at Bernie's, and Food of the Gods II. The first new release that had it was History of the PGA Tour (which retained it as late as 1999), and the first new motion picture to have it was Total Recall, followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation and Short Time. Its last known appearance was on the Laserdisc release of Wagons East! (the VHS release uses the next logo), and the last videocassettes to use this logo include The Young Americans and At Home with the Webbers, both released on September 7, 1994, and Beyond the Law, released on September 21, 1994.

 Editor's Note : Like the last IVE logo, it's quite plain, especially compared against the next logo.

2nd Logo (October 19, 1994-June 1998)
 Nicknames : "The L-Pyramid II", "Rotating (CGI) L-Pyramid"

 Logo : On a black background, several sets of triangles, laid at a 90-degree angle, come onto the screen from opposite directions. They then spin around a few times, as the camera pulls back, revealing more sets of triangles spinning, and the words "LIVE ENTERTAINMENT" at a 90-degree angle. The text then does a 90-degree turn to face us, while the triangles form the Live logo (segmented triangle with a smaller one cut out on the upper-right). All are light steel blue, until two searchlights crisscross the logo, making the triangle logo brighter, turning "LIVE" blue, and "ENTERTAINMENT" white. "LIVE" shines, and a white sparkle appears on the side of the "E".

 Variants :
 * Up until summer 1995, the text HOME VIDEO was used. This can be seen on Wagons East! and Pumpkinhead II.
 * Earlier variants used brighter colors.
 * In 1996, a registered trademark symbol "®" was added.
 * Sometimes, "INTERNATIONAL" (in white) would appear below the "L" (which is also white). This is silent and uses the tail end of the normal logo (the "searchlights" part); a variant of the normal logo has also been seen similarly shortened.
 * On Live DVD releases, the normal Live Entertainment logo would play, then a purple spark flashes, "ENTERTAINMENT" disappears, the logo would zoom in as the spark moves through it, then the spark is in the middle, flashing, then turns into the logo with the L spinning, and the sides would have "LIVE" on one side, and "DVD" on the other.

 FX/SFX : Excellent CGI.

 Music/Sounds : A semi-ominous synth theme that turns more triumphant at the end.

 Music/Sounds Variant :
 * In 1997, the original theme was replaced by a more uplifting orchestral fanfare.
 * A silent version is used on the early variant of this logo, as well as some videos with the "ENTERTAINMENT" version, such as Baywatch the Movie: Forbidden Paradise. The first fanfare didn't debut until later in the summer of 1995.
 * The DVD variant begins with descending whooshing sounds and rumbles, a shining sound, then a cling when the spark appears, another descending whoosh when we zoom through the Live logo, and finally when the Live DVD logo appears, a quiet orchestral rendition of the 1994 fanfare.

 Availability : Uncommon. It was on all Live releases from 1994 to 1998, when the company became Artisan. However, like Live before it, Artisan pulled a Columbia TriStar, re-releasing Live/F.H.E. videos in their original packaging, but with all evidence of Live/FHE logos edited out and replaced with Artisan logos! (Surprisingly, the Live DVD variant was retained on a 2007 Lionsgate repackaging of Cutthroat Island.) Also seen on films from 1994-97, with its final use on Wishmaster (1997). DVDs from Live, even with Artisan's logo on the cover, should have this logo. It's preserved on the DVD release of South Beach Academy, released as a double feature with Rock 'N' Roll High School Forever. It was also used on Hulu's prints of Only You (1992) and Night Train to Venice, and's VUDU print of Extreme Prejudice. Re-releases of The Young Americans, Chicago Joe and the Showgirl, Bad Lieutenant, and others issued as part of later Super-7 promotional markdown releases also have this, as do the company's first releases in its regular lineup of letterboxed cassettes. Most DVD releases had both the DVD variant before the menu and the regular 1997 music variant when the feature is played (the DVD of Terminator 2: Judgment Day only has the closing variant for the latter, though). It is unknown if this appeared on The Invader, one of the last releases to be branded as Live Entertainment on the packaging. It first appeared on Army of One, Temptation, and Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings. The identification as "Live Entertainment" first appeared on Killing Zoe and ...And God Spoke. The first fanfare debuted on a demo tape of Top Dog. The silent version was also surprisingly seen on the Artisan DVD release of The Doors.

 Editor's Note : IVE/Live/Artisan alternated between good logos and bad ones. This one is a great effort. The next one (for Artisan)... well...

1st Logo (July 1998-August 20, 2004)
 Nicknames : "The Box", "The Zooming Box", "The Artisan Box", "Artisan of Boredom", "Artisan Box of Boredom"

 Logo : On a black background, the word "ARTISAN", in a rectangular box with the leg of the "R" extended, fades in while it is zooming towards the screen. It stops at a distance and the word "ENTERTAINMENT" all in Trajan Pro appears underneath.

 Variants :
 * In Artisan's very early days, a simpler version of this logo was used, with just the word "ARTISAN" in a box, with a very small "ENTERTAINMENT" underneath, zooming up quickly without a fancy "R".
 * On Artisan prints of Suicide Kings, the early version is in gold.
 * A version with the logo done in a "chrome" effect exists. This was only used on 1999-era trailers, and its only known appearance on a film is on The Blair Witch Project. Trailers later used the standard Artisan logo.
 * On a home video trailer for Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies, this version zooms out.
 * Before home video trailers, the logo appeared with a "www.artisanent.com" web address underneath; the logo itself would have "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" underneath. Sometimes, no URL was used.
 * For the later version, the web address appeared underneath the logo occasionally.
 * In 2002, the word "PICTURES" or "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" was in place of "ENTERTAINMENT" inside a smaller box attached to the rectangle, and has the company byline "AN ARTISAN ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" underneath that.
 * On films that had other companies' logos plastered over, the logo's animation would be slowed down, or looped at its still place, to match the length of the original logos' duration.
 * Other times, when not plastering another company's logo, the speed varies. For example, at the end of Artisan DVDs, the logo runs faster than it does at the start of those same DVDs.
 * At the end of The Blair Witch Project, the logo vanishes in a ghostly manner.
 * A zoomed-in still version can be seen on 1999-era trailers for Republic Pictures product. At the end of a John Wayne Collection promo, this version is used, but copyright information appears underneath it.
 * Another still version appears on a home video trailer for Belly and Artisan's "Urban Beat Collection," which fades in and out. However, it appears at both ends, and the logo is at its normal distance.
 * At the end of a DVD promo for Merlin and Suicide Kings found on the 1998 VHS of the latter, the early version plays, but just after "ENTERTAINMENT" fades in, "The Independent Leader in Home Entertainment" fades in underneath.
 * On an August DVD release promo found on the 1999 VHS of The Running Man, the Artisan logo is shifted up, and a chrome DVD logo with no hole in the disc is underneath.
 * Later in the year, a proper Artisan DVD logo was implemented, consisting of a shiny silver disc with "DVD" in Artisan's corporate font underneath, and with the Artisan logo above. This variant makes its first known on-screen appearance on an October DVD release promo found on The Blair Witch Project.
 * On a teaser trailer for Made, the logo zooms in at a somewhat smoother rate and fades out earlier.
 * On a teaser trailer for The Way of the Gun, the logo fades in fully formed, then keeps zooming in, fading into the trailer.
 * At the end of films from 2000 onward, a still version appears, with "RELEASED BY" above (the font varies by movie).
 * At the start of a DVD promo for Glengarry Glen Ross, the logo shifts down from the top.
 * On a trailer for Premonition, which can be found on the 2000 VHS of Final Voyage, the logo is in red.

 FX/SFX : The zooming up of the box, the fading in of "ENTERTAINMENT". Some films with the "RELEASED BY" variant have it scrolling up alongside the credits.

 Music/Sounds : Usually silent. Some films would have their respective opening theme heard over the logo.

 Music/Sounds Variants : Sometimes, the outcome of Artisan's plastering attempts would leave odd results with the original distributors' logo themes left intact. Examples are the DVD releases of Cadence (with the Movie Group fanfare), Bad Lieutenant (with the Live Entertainment theme), and Stargate (with the 1994 or 1995 MGM roar).

 Availability : Common. Seen on all Artisan releases of the era. Also appears on some theatrical releases such as The Blair Witch Project, Wishmaster II, and the U.S. version of Black Mask. On most Artisan VHS and DVD releases, the original distributor's logos and credit mentions were left intact and sometimes, have Artisan's logo preceding them. Some releases of films from lesser known companies (The Movie Group and Kings Road), and former productions released by Live Entertainment, Warner Bros., MGM, TriStar Pictures, Carolco, Vestron Pictures, and others would be plastered over or removed. The "RELEASED BY" version is strangely left off the 2002 DVD release of National Lampoon's Van Wilder (rated edition), but only if the fullscreen version is viewed. On the 2004 Special Edition DVD of King of New York, the Lionsgate Home Entertainment logo appears on the cover art and discs themselves, but the disc labels and insert mention Artisan!

 Editor's Note : Overall, not a good way to end a company with a memorable library of logos.

2nd Logo (June 3, 2003-April 20, 2004)
Logo: On a black background, a blue DVD spins in out of nowhere. A series of seven red lasers then strike the disc as it spins, before coming back with bigger blasts. As they do so, the letters of "ARTISAN" in the same font as before but in a bluish-chrome color, appear one-by-one at an angle. Then, the text rotates to the front and the disc transforms into a chrome oval which then straightens itself into a rectangle over the text (with a cut at the bottom to fit the "R"). A shape spins underneath between the "R" and "T", and after the rectangle appears, it spreads out to reveal "HOME ENTERTAINMENT", in an abstract font.

Variants: After the logo completes, an animation occurs depending on the DVD it appears on.
 * On the 2003 "Extreme" edition DVD of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, after the logo completes, grey goo (representing T-100's liquid form) drops down from the lower-right of the box, which transforms into "T2" (reflecting the Terminator inside it), with the text "EXTREME DVD" ("X" is bigger than the rest of the text) underneath it. The camera does a big zoom-in on the text after it forms.
 * On the 2003 DVD of Step Into Liquid, the logo starts when the Artisan text fully appears. After the logo finishes, a tidal wave appears in the background, with Kelly Slater surfing on it.

FX/SFX: The computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A series of laser sounds and metallic bangs. The T2 variant has some liquid sloshing followed by a bang when the logo zooms in, while the Step Into Liquid variant has various synthesized sounds as well as the splashing of the tidal waves.

Availability: Seen on the Extreme Edition of Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Step Into Liquid.

Editor's Note: To say the least, this is much, much better than the previous logo. A fitting swan song to a company filled with many memorable logos; it should've been used on more titles.