Background[]
Image Entertainment Inc. was founded in 1981 as a LaserDisc distributor and became a major act of the format. Once DVDs dominated the home media market and soon rivaled VHS in the late 1990's, Image re-focused its output distribution to DVDs. They have also released a wide variety of entertainment as a production company, including feature films, TV series, and music programs. In 2012, Image was acquired by RLJ Acquisition, Inc. and was merged with another purchase, Acorn Media. It was a subsidiary of RLJ Entertainment until 2018, when the company was renamed to RLJE Films. AMC Networks purchased RLJ Acquisition that same year.
Image Entertainment[]
1st Logo (1983–89)[]
Nicknames: "Discs in the City", "Flying Discs"
Logo: On a sunset background of a city, we see flying discs zooming in and spinning around, with the logo doing the same thing at the same time. The logo rests in place and the background fades to black, leaving the logo in place. The logo reads "image (in a sunset-colored gradient font and the g's tail stretched to the left) ENTERTAINMENT INC".
FX/SFX: The discs and the logo flying.
Music/Sounds: A short synthesized melody that loops 7 times.
Availability: Rare. Seen on releases of the time, mainly adult titles, which are very hard to find.
Editor's Note: This logo may get some with its cheesy effects, and music.
2nd Logo (1989–98)[]
Nicknames: "The Laser", "How a LaserDisc Works"
Logo: On a blue background, we see the inside layer of a LaserDisc/DVD. A white laser suddenly hits it creating a ray of light. The laser travels around the layer as it begins to spin and we zoom out to reveal two layers covering the layer, which form a LaserDisc/DVD with the Image logo on it. The logo flies out of the disk from the back and rests in the middle with the laser disappearing and the disc leaving the screen falling down. The words "ENTERTAINMENT INCTM" and the byline "The Finest in Laser Videodiscs" fade in.
Variants:
- On some releases, the logo fades to a black screen. Depending on the release, "A FEATURE PRESENTATION," "A CHILDREN'S PROGRAM," "THE MUSIC DISC," or "The CinemaDisc Collection" would appear.
- In 1997, when Image began to slip away from Laserdiscs and began prioritizing DVDs, the byline was changed to read "The Finest in Home Entertainment" (in an Arial font, with italicized "Finest").
- On some releases, there is no byline.
FX/SFX: Impressive visual effects on the laser, the disc, and the logo.
Music/Sounds: A dramatically ascending majestic fanfare accompanied by the laser's scrapping, followed by a more calming synth choir and some bell notes.
Availability: Common. Seen on LaserDiscs and DVD releases of the time, mainly direct-to-DVD and low-budget movies produced by various small studios and sometimes by Image; though it occasionally appears on major studio releases after the original studio's relevant video logo. Also appears on many Orion Home Video LaserDisc and DVD releases from the mid-90s such as the first two Robocop movies. Some of the last releases with this logo include the 1998 THX-certified DVD releases of Bull Durham and Dances with Wolves (though it is currently unknown if it appears on the DTS release of the latter).
Editor's Note: This logo has gained a lot of recognition for its synth orchestra and powerful advanced computer animation from the era, which holds up even today. Despite putting some people off with the sudden sounds and fanfare, it's still a cool logo and is a favorite of many. However, most of the releases with this logo were not so popular.
3rd Logo (1998-2009)[]
Nickname: "The Ring"
Logo: On a black background, a light red gradient ring zooms out, while the word "image" (in a blue gradient, different from the previous logos) appears turning counterclockwise one letter at a time. The word "ENTERTAINMENT" fades in zooming out. The company's web address, www.image-entertainment.com, fades in. The logo then fades out and the ring zooms out to the upper-right corner, disappearing in the background and leaving only the web address remaining.
Variants:
- There is a trailer version coming up in gray color with no ring.
- Another colored version without the ring appears on the trailer for My Name is Bruce.
FX/SFX: The ring zooming out, the letters turning, and the logo fading in and out.
Music/Sounds: A soft piece accompanied by a flute and a horn. On most releases, the logo is silent.
Availability: Common. Seen on their DVD releases of the time as well as their final Laserdiscs in 1999. It also appeared on a few VHS releases, though Image's tape output isn't as easy to find. This does not appear on DVDs of The Twilight Zone, as they only use the 1992 CBS Video logo.
Editor's Note: This logo suffers from basic animation in contrast to the previous logo, looking like it was made in a video editor like Sony Vegas Pro or After Effects. The music is beautiful and soothing, however.
4th Logo (2009–2018)[]
Nickname: "Cubes"
Logo: A spectrum of small cubes suddenly zooms in quickly. A ball of cubes breaks up and a trial of small cubes travels around in a neutron-like way. The words "IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT" (in a different, all-uppercase font than before) appears and turns counterclockwise. The last trial of cubes turns red and they rest on the "I" with a cine of light, leaving one red cube above the "I".
Variant: On some releases, namely after the company was acquired by RLJ Entertainment, an abridged version is used.
FX/SFX: CGI animation for the entire logo.
Music/Sounds: The cubes whooshing accompanied by a peaceful melody, which is a remix of the previous logo's music. A small note is played when the cube rests. Sometimes, the logo is silent.
Availability: Common. Besides DVD and Blu-ray releases, it is also seen on 2009-18 theatrical releases and TV series (since Image has grown into a film production company along with distributing other companies' titles).
Editor's Note: Much better than the previous logo. The music is also more beautiful and soothing.
RLJE Films[]
5th Logo (2013-)[]
Nickname: "The Flash"
Logo: A brief flash unveils the 3D text with a silver texture "RLJ Entertainment" as it is facing the left and sliding to the right. Shortly after, it zooms out and faces the screen with the lens flare shown between the letters "m" and "e" in "Entertainment". The light slightly turns on and off for the rest of the logo before expanding and covering the whole screen and then dipping to black.
Variant:
- Starting in the fall of 2017, the logo has a different opening where it doesn't start with a flash and instead has the text "RLJEFilms" scrolling to the left and zooming out. When we reach "Films", a big light burst emerges and changes multiple colors
- Sometimes, other logos may appear alongside this one.
- On The Houses October Built, the Image Entertainment logo is shown to the right of the RLJ Entertainment logo and has a light burst behind it.
- Additionally, there are variants where the Acorn Media and Urban Movie Channel logos appear alongside this logo.
FX/SFX: Simple CGI animation for the entire logo.
Music/Sounds:
- First variant: A faint cymbal-like crash at the beginning and quiet ambience noise for the whole logo. A bass hit can be heard when the logo finishes zooming out as well at the end with a different cymbal-like crash when the light expands.
- Second variant: None.
Availability: Current.
- Seen on RLJE's theatrical releases since 2013. It also appears before the Image Entertainment logo on Tubi's print of No Holds Barred.
- The variant with its current name can be seen on Son, late 2010s prints of Naked City, Seance, VOD and home media releases of Shudder releases, among others.
Editor's Note: This is still a nice logo, but it may annoy those who like the previous logos better.