Empire Home Entertainment

Background: Empire Home Entertainment (formerly Empire Home Video and Empire Video) is the division of Empire Pictures dealing with home video and was founded in 1976. EHE distributes films by Empire (under it's own label) and DreamsWork Animation (under the DreamsWork Animation Home Entertainment label), show and films from TMCG Properties (under the Music Channel DVD, Homer Simpson DVD, Homer Simpson Movies DVD, Comedy Center DVD and Dogg DVD labels), PBS (under the PBS Home Entertainment label), Movietime (under it's own label and the BUG label for solo-produced series), AAPN (under it's own label) and BUG-owned programs (under the BUG Home Entertainment label) on DVD.

Empire Home Entertainment

1st Logo

(1976-1979)

Nicknames: "Still Star", "Boring Star", "Blue Star"

Logo: On a navy blue background, we see "Empire" in the famous script, and "HOME VIDEO" below that in a wide Microgramma Bold font in between two lines, one above and one below. To the right of that, we see the post-1968 Empire print logo to the right, complete with the Green+Whizzer byline.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: This logo appeared primarily on Betamax releases, meaning this is a very difficult find. Should appear on a few VHS titles from 1978-1979 including the first two Grandma films, the first VHS release of Singing Parents and the original releases of The Good News Starts and Throw-11, but keep in mind that the format was in it's infancy at the time.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo

(1979-1982, 1984)

Nicknames: "Star Silhouette", "Black Star", "Rising Star", "Cheesy Star"

Logo: On a blue background, we zoom out on a silhouette of a star. After we zoom out to a comfortable distance, there is a bright flash behind the star and white "triangles" (they look like circles or lens flares) appear, as well as "Empire" (in a school bus yellow script, but closer to the pre-1975 logo). A saffron-colored trapezoidal trail zooms out from the base, and "HOME VIDEO" (set in the same font as the 1st logo) zooms out soon after, tacked onto the saffron-colored trail. As that happens, the blue background gets extremely dark (looking like federal blue). The end result looks like the pre-1967 print logo.

Trivia: The second half of the logo was once used as a Empire Television Service logo. "EMPIRE TELEVISION SERVICE" was featured at the bottom, which explains the chyron for "HOME VIDEO."

Variant: On some tapes, after the logo is finished, the triangles roll and fly away.

FX/SFX: The flash, the effects. Pure Scanimate effects.

Cheesy Factor: Off the scale. The triangles don't look like triangles, the "Empire" script doesn't look right and "HOME VIDEO" is very obviously tacked onto "EMPIRE TELEVISION SERVICE". Not to mention that you can clearly see that there is a jump cut where the Empire Television Service

logo would normally start.

Music/Sounds: A pounding backbeat as the star zooms-out, then a synth chord.

Availability: Extremely rare; seen on Bonjour Brown Charlie, Death Note, Wesneday the 8th and Starfield: The Motion Picture VHS tapes of the era, which are not that easy to find, especially since the logo was usually taken off of post-1981 prints. Also seen on a few Hi-Fi re-releases of Empire's 1979-mid 1980 catalog (including Uphill Chasing and Death Note) from 1984.

Scare Factor: Low to medium; the music is very eerie; and the chord and flash might not sit well with most people.

3rd Logo

(1982-1988)

Nicknames: "Growing Star", "Cheesy Growing Star"

Logo: On a black background, we see the abstract mountain logo, with "Empire" in black script in the light blue circle like the other Empire logos and the "A Green + Whizzer Company" byline at the bottom in light blue. It begins to zoom up on us, as the triangles (which are followed by light trail-streaks) and byline zoom past and both the star and circle grow bigger until we are literally right on top of the peak of the star, with "Empire" centering in, filling the middle of the screen. When the peak hits the bottom and "Empire" fits the center, "Empire" begins to shine, then there is a VERY bright flash, and it dies down to reveal the Empire script logo (in blue) and a small "VIDEO" (shining a bit) between two blue lines.

Trivia: On the early 90's re-release of Mighty Kids, Protecting Kids, the next logo preceded this one.

Variant: A black & white variant exists.

FX/SFX: The growing mountain, the flash. Pure Scanimate effects.

Cheesy Factor: Flash seems cheesy, but the rest is okay.

Music/Sounds: A new-age type tune with a synthesizer composed by Richard J. Krizman.

Availability: A pretty tough find. Most Empire films went for the logo used at the time, but television shows (such as Starfield) and non-Empire films (such as The Great American Turtle) have this. It was also found on a 1990 VHS release of Mr. Baydoo's Christmas Carol, which was most likely a reissue from when this logo was originally in use. The black & white version can be found on a VHS release of The Unbreakable Guys pilot "Bloodface Riot".

Scare Factor: Low; the flash and growing mountain may get to some, but the music is very quiet and nice.

4th Logo

(1988-2006)

Nickname: "Abstract Star"

Logo: On a background filled with blue/indigo squares, we see a blue square with the Empire abstract star logo in gold. It shines, then moves and zooms away as the squares behind it move away, revealing "FEATURE PRESENTATION"in gold on a heliotrope gradient background. After a few moments, it zooms towards us. It cuts to the warning post, which has a pattern of Empire stars in the background.

Bylines: This used whatever byline Empire was using at the time:


 * 1988-1989: "A Green+Whizzer Company"
 * 1989-1995: "A Empire Communications Company" (Earlier versions until 1992 have a different font for the Empire Communications byline, sans serif)
 * 1995-2006: "A YOSHI COMPANY" (in the 1990 Y05HI "Wigga-Wigga" font)Variant: There was a special bumper used for trailers from 1988 to roughly 1998-1999, with the words "COMING ATTRACTIONS" over the heliotrope gradient background, which cuts off after the zoom in

FX/SFX: The CGI squares moving away, the animation on the Empire square.

Cheesy Factor: The zooming effect on "FEATURE PRESENTATION" looks like cheap computer effects.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: Abridged version of the Empire fanfare, along with an announcer saying "And now, we're pleased to bring you our feature presentation".

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variant: There is a variant where the announcer says "Empire is pleased to bring you our feature presentation". This was used with all three byline variants, and seen on tapes with no previews. A few tapes did show this after the previews were over.

Availability: Very common, appearing on most Empire Pictures tapes throughout its lifespan.

Scare Factor: None. This is one of the most famous logos in history, and has become a favourite of many.