Guild Home Video (UK)

1st Logo (1980-1983)

  Logo : On a dark blue background, a hexagon-formed "G" with a square underneath it zooms in downward, a la RKO's 1981 logo, leaving behind a residue trail. When it gets to the center, the "G" and the square turn from solid to segmented, and a line draws what looks like a TV tube, surrounding it. Both parts of the logo zoom in, and we quickly fade to the same logo, only smaller, and with "Guild Home Video Presents" (in a yellow Helvetica font) underneath.

Variant : A rare variant with "video is alive- live with it" shown below was used at the end of Guild tapes.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor : Early computer graphics. The residue trail left by the logo as it zooms in is badly done.

Music/Sounds : A twinkling synth-xylophone/flute/clarinet tune, which sounds similar to the song "Tubular Bells" from The Exorcist.

Availability : On UK tapes of Guild releases from that era, including Baron Blood and Scanners.

Scare Factor : Medium. The darkness of the logo as well as the creepy music may unnerve more than a few.

2nd Logo (1983-1985)

Logo : In the top-left corner of a black background, we see a bright light flashing before our eyes. The light reveals the same "G Over Square" logo, but colored cerulean. Again, the TV tube is drawn around the logo, but underneath, a light draws a teal/dark pink line that starts downward, then upward, and then straight. When the line is finished, another lights reveals the words "Guild Home Video" above the line, and below it, another reveals "Quality Video Entertainment". The logo then sparkles a bit.

Variant : A variant seen at the end of tapes starts with the name flashing in.

FX/SFX : The lights bringing forth all parts of the logo. It may be early CGI, but it's not too bad.

Music/Sounds : A weird synth tune in the beginning, then a synth-orchestra tune at the end. This is sometimes accompanied by an announcer saying "Before you enjoy our main feature, here's a trailer from another major release from Guild, which is available at your local stockist now.". Oddly, the announcer has an American accent, despite Guild being a UK distributor (the same announcer is heard in Guild's trailers, as well)!

Availability : Hard to find. Check an old VHS or Beta PAL tape for this logo. An example is the UK pre-cert release of ''Cujo. It is also seen on the FIRSTThomas & Friends'' tapes (season 1) in the UK. Some prints use the Central Video logo.

Scare Factor : Minimal, due to the darkness and music. But this is a fan favorite, nevertheless.

3rd Logo (1985-1988) Nickname : "Go Guild!"

Logo : On a blue background, orange bar segments fly in from the left and right of the screen, while they sparkle and zoom out. Eventualy, the bars start forming the Guild logo (without the TV tube and the square on the bottom). When the logo is fully formed, this fades in below the logo:

GUILDHome Video in white. FX/SFX : Great animation, except...

Cheesy Factor : ...the sparkling is cheesy, however.

Music/Sounds : A synth note is held throughout, with a synth bass line that speeds up slightly near the end, followed by a synth fanfare, ending with two notes that sound like "Go Guild!", hence the nickname.

Availability : Rare. It was used for only four years. Appears on releases such as Roses are For the Rich and Action Jackson.

Scare Factor : Minimal. This logo may catch you off guard if you don't except it, but is a great logo and a fan of many.

4th Logo (1987-1994)

Logo : Set on a white background, many of the rectangular parts of the Guild "G" fly in all directions. When two parts of the G meet in the middle later on, itzooms out, and extra rectangles that make the stem of the "G" fly in. "GUILD Home Video" fades in below.

FX/SFX : Also good CGI for the 1980s.

Music/Sounds : An upbeat synthesizer tune that sounds very modern.

Music/Sounds Variant : Rental copies of The Wizard have the logo music starting before the logo actually appears, due to an error.

Availability : More recent and easier to find than the previous logos, but still hard to find. Seen on the 4Front Video re-release of First Blood, and the original rental releases of The Wizard and Total Recall.

Scare Factor : None.

5th Logo (1988-1994) Nickname : "Neon Theater"

Logo : On a black background, we see a glowing outline of a movie theater with little flashing lights inside. Two sets of red and yellow light streaks slide up, the last set flashing and bringing forth a white Guild Home Video logo. The streaks zoom out to outline the theater in blue with a ticket box in the front, little light blue "chaser" light windows on the sides, yellow "<<<>>>" lights on the marquee sides, pinkish lights surrounding the center of the marquee, and more yellow lights on the top.

Variant : In 1990, a 10th anniversary variant was used, which has the theatre fade out and the Guild logo zoom forth and turn gold. A number 10 at the top surrounded by a round banner with stars and the years "1980" and "1990" on the sides fade in. "TEN YEARS OF" and "independence" are shown below. The logo shines with a few pings.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor : The neon effects, and the obvious chyron effects of the Guild logo.

Music/Sounds : An upbeat '80s pop tune (two different ones were used) with whooshes from the lasers, along with an overly excited announcer saying "Introducing future releases from Guild Home Video!" or "Look out for these and other great new releases from Guild at your local video library!".

Availability : Used concurrently with the 4th logo to introduce movie trailers, and used quite frequently as a result. Seen on the original rental release of The Wizard.

Scare Factor : Minimal. The neon effects might not sit well with some.

6th Logo (1993-1997) Logo : Against a black background, we see a director's chair in a blue spotlight. The camera pans around the chair, and both parts of the Guild logo slidefrom both sides of the screen in a tilted position, then "GUILD" appears underneath when we zoom into the chair.

FX/SFX : Top-notch CGI for the early '90s.

Music/Sounds : A mystical panpipe tune, complete with a synth whoosh and an orchestra at the end.

Availability : Rare. It appears on VHS tapes of later films that Guild released until their merger with Pathé in 1997, such as the re-release of Universal Soldier,Night Trap, James and the Giant Peach, Stargate, Army Of Darkness, Matinee, and Serial Mom. Scare Factor : Low. The music may be unsettling to some. The animation is cool, however.