Atlas International (Germany)

Background:

1st Logo

(1979-1988) Logo: On a map of the entire world with the landmasses colored green and the water colored in cyan, we see the Atlas Film logo forming. After it's formed, the text "atlas international" fades in beneath the logo, and then they zoom in. "presents" fades in later.

Trivia: The music, and map was later used for the North American Releasing logo, which also used a similar animation.

FX/SFX: The logo forming, the company's name fading in, the zoom in, and "presents" fading in.

Cheesy Factor: The logo and text uses cheap chyron effects, which ruins the integrity of it.

Music/Sounds: A sampled synthesized piece from the track "Friedmann Bach" from Klaus Schulze's 1978 album X, which was also used for the 2nd logo. Sometimes it is silent.

Availability: Extremely rare. Appears on old UK VHS's of Don't Go In The House, Bloodshot, and possibly others, though current prints of the former two have it removed or replaced with the next logo. The only place where this logo appears in any form is on the Anchor Bay R1 DVD of Mad Mission Part II: Aces Go Places (AKA, Aces Go Places II). It is said to be intact (although not fully confirmed) on the German Laser Paradise DVD of BMX Bandits, but some sources indicate the 2nd Atlas Film logo appears instead. It does however, appear on the Canadian Seville Pictures DVD of the former.

Scare Factor: But the next logo is even worse.
 * Medium, mainly due to the dramatic music and V of Doom style zoom in.
 * None to low to those who are used to it.

2nd Logo

(1988-2005) Logo: On a purple/black (or blue/black) gradient background, a striped silver model of the earth zooms out and spins. Then the parts of the Atlas Film logo start forming in front of the globe as the background then turns into a gray/white (or sky blue/white) gradient background. The words "atlas international" zoom out below, and then "presents" fades in.

Variants: FX/SFX: All the 3D animation.
 * There exists two versions: A filmed variant and a videotaped one.
 * Sometimes, a ® stamp with roman numerals appear on the bottom right.
 * There is a variant that lacks "Presents".
 * A variant exists where the 4:3 videotape version is stretched into 16:9 widescreen. This was seen on an Australian TV airing of 666: In Bed With the Devil, before the 2000 Constantin Film logo.
 * When shown in widescreen, the bottom text with the ®, the numerals, and "@" touch the borders or are cut of completely. In 2.35:1 Scope, only "Atlas International" with the "@" is shown (due to cropping).

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1st logo. Availability: Uncommon in European territories where they distribute material, but rare in the U.S. The filmed version can be seen on the R1 Anchor Bay DVD of A Better Tomorrow, and the Tartan UK Ultimate Edition and U.S Dragon Dynasty 2 Disc edition of Hard Boiled. The videotaped version is seen on the Hens Tooth Video DVD of the 1974 Jack and the Beanstalk anime and the Shrek Show releases of Don't Go in the House and Mansion of The Doomed. This appears on some Hong Kong films released under the Hong Kong Legends label in the UK, like Once a Thief, The Killer, and Treasure Hunt. The Scope version is seen on the UK Entertainment In Video DVD of Aces Go Places 5, plastering the Cinema City Co. logo.
 * Music/Sounds Variants: On the French print of A Chinese Ghost Story I, it uses the last half of the current Media Asia fanfare.

Scare Factor: 3rd Logo
 * High to nightmare. The way the music from the 1st logo is still intact along with the darkness can still be found as scary for more than a few.
 * With the Media Asia music it can be medium, the darkness is still here, but the music makes it tamer.
 * None, bordering on minimal to to high to those used to it. It may vary on your feelings, though.

(2005?- ) Logo: On a black background, we see a metallic ribbon-like thing waving. It fades out and a glass version of the planet Earth gets revealed by a light. It spins, and a glass version of the A from the Atlas logo zooms out while spinning, revealing to contain the planet inside. The words "atlas international" are also revealed and the logo places itself at the left of them. The lights on the logo move and the text shines.

FX/SFX: Just breathtaking CGI.

Cheesy Factor: The zoom out of the Atlas logo is a bit choppy, though, but it's still better than it's "standard" counterpart.

Music/Sounds: A calming bell tune which then evolves into a majestic fanfare.

Availability: Currently seen on new Atlas International releases.

Scare Factor: None, this is a beautiful logo with great animation for the era.