United International Pictures

Background
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint company of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios to distribute some of the two studio's films theatrically outside United States (including territories), Canada and the Caribbean Basin. It also had rights to distribute films theatrically by DreamWorks Pictures (formerly owned by Viacom) and independent films. The company was formed in 1981 after MGM purchased UA and merged its international distribution arm with what was then called "Cinema International Corporation", who once had a video division, CIC Video. However, UIP did not begin using a logo until the year after it formed in 1982. In Australia, CIC-Fox became UIP-Fox in 1982 and continued operations until 1986, when Rupert Murdoch reorganized and obtained the Fox Australian distribution arm from UIP. Walt Disney/Buena Vista International continued their distribution deals with UIP (Paramount) in Italy until 1991 (when they sent distribution through Columbia-Tri-Star), and Australia through CIC-Fox (20th Century Fox) until 1986 (when they switched to Village Roadshow). UIP also co-financed and distributed Denzel Washington's 1989 film, For Queen and Country, with The Rank Organization. In November 2000, MGM, one of the original founders, left UIP and its theatrical distribution rights were assumed by 20th Century Fox. In 2007, the company was split up between Paramount and Universal in certain territories. In France, Mexico, Brazil, and the UK, United International Pictures was renamed to "Paramount Pictures". In Germany, Italy, and other countries, United International Pictures was renamed to "Universal Studios". Currently, this company still operates in smaller countries such as Argentina, Denmark, South Africa, and Malaysia. Their website is still active and can be accessed here.

1st Logo (1982-1997)
Nicknames: "UiP", "The Shining Logo"

Logo: On a black/blue gradient background, we see a flash appearing to reveal a gold "UiP" symbol zooming-up with the letters connected together and below it is the words "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES" fading-in, then a shine appears and stays on the logo.

FX/SFX: The "UIP" zooming-in, the shine.

Music/Sounds: Silent.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the French print of 2010: The Year We Make Contact, it has a sample from the middle half of Also Sprach Zarathustra as a fanfare for this logo (seen before the 1984 MGM Diamond Jubilee logo with the combined roars). This appears, believe it or not, on the WHV UK Region and ALL Blu-Ray releases of the above film if the film's audio track selected is French (which also activates the French titles via "angle" branching).

Availability: Very rare. It was seen on theatrical releases of Paramount/Universal/MGM/UA films outside of North America. However, most home video prints of their films released in Europe by CIC Video, Warner Home Video, and MGM/UA Home Video do not keep this logo, as they likely use U.S. prints converted into PAL format. Some films, however, would use a print that had mandatory content edits by the countries' rating council for distribution, and some VHS/DVD/TV releases would use these prints meaning this logo may be intact. In Australia, under UIP-Fox (formerly CIC-Fox), this was seen on theatrical prints of 20th Century Fox titles until 1986 (when the UIP-Fox venture ended).The easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films on some VHS's, such as Carry On Columbus and Bebe's Kids. This can be currently seen on the UK trailer for The Living Daylights (which can be found on the UK VHS of Baby Boom along with the SE and UE DVDs of the former), all prints/home video releases of Biggles: Adventures in Time (including the U.S. DVD from Image Entertainment), and the Australian TV airing of Crocodile Dundee II (tho the Australian DVD release don't have it). This is also seen on the Australian R4 DVD and the bootleg Jef Films R1 DVD of Carry On Columbus, the Celebrity/Just for Kids video release of Stowaways on the Ark, as well as the original 1989 UK VHS of License To Kill, and the Canadian Malofilm VHS and U.S. Platinum Disc Corporation DVD of Money. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Paramount/Universal/MGM film from c.1985-1997, this logo will show up before it - it was seen before 35mm showings of Darkman and True Lies.

2nd Logo (1997-2001)
Nicknames: "UiP II", "CGI UiP"

Logo: On a black background, we see two outlines of "UIP" as in the first logo and then copies as the logo turns blue and gold. The words "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES", in the same font as in the 1st logo, fade in at the bottom of the screen, as the logo "shines".

Variants:
 * For this logo's first year, there is also the 10th Anniversary variant of this logo, with the Paramount and DreamWorks logos inside the reflection of the logo. Also, there's no company name.
 * There is a special variant in which the URL "www.uip.com" fades in below the logo.

FX/SFX: The logo "copying and shining".

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1st logo.

Availability: Extremely rare. Appeared on UIP distributed films outside of the U.S. like The Rugrats Movie and Antz, among others before either the Paramount, Universal, or DreamWorks logos appeared. It was also seen on international releases of MGM and United Artists films until 2001, when 20th Century Fox took over distribution in those territories. The easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films. Most international home video and TV prints of these do not have this logo, as they likely use U.S. prints converted into PAL format. In NTSC form, this can be seen on a few Japanese DVD & VHS releases, such as The Peacemaker, Mouse Hunt, Jurassic Park II, and Event Horizon. This has also been spotted on trailers for Selkie and Siam Sunset as well as European trailers of films released by Paramount, Dreamworks, Universal, and MGM/UA. This has most recently turned up on the Umbrella Entertainment Blu-Ray of Cut. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount/MGM movie from between 1997-2001, this logo will be shown before it - it was seen before a 35mm showing of The Apostle.

3rd Logo (2001-2004)
Nicknames: "UiP III", "CGI UiP II", "The Blue Rounded Square"

Logo: On a black/blue gradient background, we see the text "united international pictures" in lowercase letters, with the URL below it. Suddenly, a blue square zooms-out on screen and over a square is a white "UiP" symbol. The background then turns black.

Variants:
 * Depending on film quality, the logo would have a true blue/white color scheme or a dark green/brown scheme (the latter due to massive film deterioration).
 * There are short and long versions of this logo: the long version starts with the background in blue and the gold "UIP" forms before setting in a square, and finishing on a black background. The short version fades into the black background after the "UIP" square and the text are formed. The usage of both the short and long versions alternate between films, but the former was mostly seen on trailers.

FX/SFX: The blue square zooming out, the screen turning black.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1st and 2nd logos.

Availability: Very rare. Appeared on several UIP distributed films before either the Paramount, Universal, or DreamWorks logos on films released. Most international home video and TV prints of these do not have this logo, as they likely use U.S prints converted into PAL format. This logo is REALLY HARD to find in the U.S., but the long version has been spotted on the First Look Home Entertainment DVD of Elling. Again, the easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount movie from between 2001-2004, this logo will show up before it.

4th Logo (2004-2007, 2010- )
Nicknames: "UiP IV", "The Blocks"

Logo: On a white background, several blocks zoom-in from the screen. The camera pans to reveal the United International Pictures logo as in logo 3, with the URL underneath the logo. Several blocks are now zoomed out to fix the logo.

Variant: There is a short version of this logo.

FX/SFX: The blocks fixing the logo.

Music/Sounds: A one-note synth drone that is held throughout the logo, accompanied by "whoosh" noises as the blocks fly past. Mostly, it's silent.

Availability: See 3rd logo. Was also spotted on a bootleg DVD of Shark Tale and an Australian cable broadcast of The Truman Show. In the UK, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount movie from 2003-2007, this logo will appear before it - it was seen before a 35mm showing of Serenity. Starting in 2010, the shortened version of this logo can be found on trailers of movies uploaded by the official UIP YouTube account in certain regions. It makes an unexpected appearance at the start of a recent CBS Europa (Poland) airing of the 2005 TV movie 14 Hours.

Final Note: In mid-2007, the UIP branding was retired in most countries and films go through Paramount Pictures International or Universal Pictures International. However, the company was reorganized in 2010 and currently distributes films in some countries (outside of the U.S.).