Roadshow Films

Background
Roadshow Films was created by the owners of Village Cinemas in 1970 and has become a leading distributor in Australia. They are most notable for distributing classic Australian films in the 90s including The Dish, Muriel's Wedding and the Australian classic The Castle. Today, they distribute a number of films from different Hollywood studios as well as Australian productions.

1st Logo (1971-1979)


Logo: We see a satellite shot of Earth as it appears from outer space, covered in clouds, and pointed so that Southeast Asia and Oceania are in view. The camera eases in gradually towards a still satellite shot of Australia as the shot rotates clockwise, bringing the island into view. Once we finish the zoom, "A film from" zooms out in a white serif font. Then "Roadshow", in a very strange white font, zooms out below, followed by "The Australian Company" in the same white serif font below that.

Variant: Two shortened versions exist. One starts when the zoom is almost finished, and the other starts as the words zoom out. The latter version would also be used for their television prints.

Technique: Simple zoom effects.

Music/Sounds: A grand, rising orchestral fanfare featuring an organ and electric piano, which starts off quiet but becomes more powerful over time, ending with a cymbal crash. This is truncated for the first shortened version. Otherwise, the opening theme of the film plays over it. For the television version, it's usually the closing theme of the film.

Availability: Extremely rare, considering that Roadshow rarely preserved its pre-1992 theatrical logos on home video.


 * Turns up on the Umbrella Entertainment DVD of The Love Epidemic (part of an Ozplotation double feature with High Rollin).
 * It was also probably seen on the earliest prints of Mad Max and The Wanderers and also showed up on a 1985 Australian television broadcast of the latter.
 * Strangely, it was also spotted on the Dutch Standard Video release of Faces of Death. Roadshow Films had intended to release the film theatrically in Australia, though the film ended up being banned by the Australian censorship board. How this print ended up on a Dutch video release is unknown.
 * Other films where this might have appeared include Beyond the Living Dead (also known by such names as Return of the Zombies, Terror of the Living Dead, and The Hanging Woman elsewhere) and Stone.
 * The full version is only known to exist on a 35mm print housed by a private collector.

2nd Logo (1979-1986)


Logo: On a space background, a blue outline of Australia with the Tasmania island below zooms out from the bottom of the screen to the centre with a "light trail" effect. "Roadshow", in a very strange yellow font (the same font, in fact, as in the previous logo, but with more bold), appears via "scanning" effect in pieces shooting out from the Australia. The completed logo shines and reverses onto Australia and "The Australian Company" appears in yellow via a flashing effect below "Roadshow".

Technique: Backlit animation.

Music/Sounds: A calm, synthesised horn and piano fanfare.

Availability: Extremely rare. Was seen in Australian cinemas during this time period.


 * Has turned up on early Roadshow Home Video tapes of Mad Max and Megaforce, though most titles edited this logo out and went straight to the movie.
 * Other films that had this logo in their theatrical release include First Blood, Scanners, and Gallipoli.

3rd Logo (1985-1992)


Logo: On a black background, three stylised, separate, golden "V"s are formed by yellow flashing effects from the right side. Three more are formed, filling the gaps. The result is a giant "V", or a triangle comprised of six progressively smaller "V"s. The giant "V" zooms out a little, and the big glowing text "ROADSHOW", in a white ITC Avant Garde Gothic font, slides in below the "V" and loses the glow. The "V" shines, and yellow "lasers" appear from the top-left and top-right corners of the screen and move below the text, forming "VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION" when they connect and disappear.

Technique: Traditional cel animation.

Music/Sounds: A very loud, dramatic synth stinger accompanied by a synthesised phasing sound and a laser sound.

Availability: Extinct.


 * Was only ever seen in Australian cinemas during this time period as VHS tapes cut the logo out and TV channels used the Roadshow Television logo.
 * However, it did appear on TV airings of The Miami Connection as late as 1997.

Legacy: This is considered to be the rarest Australian logo on the wiki. The Home Video variant is much easier to come across.

4th Logo (1992-)
Logo: A chrome curve comes from the right of screen. The curve then moves down, turning out to be the large "V", and several more segments appear. They all zoom back to reveal the logo same as before, but chrome. Underneath the word "ROADSHOW" along with a line separating the byline "A VILLAGE ROADSHOW COMPANY" fade in.

Variants:
 * Around 2009, the text changed to just "ROADSHOW FILMS". No byline is present.
 * In later years, the logo has a darker tone.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A calm, echoing 12-note electronic piano tune. In later years, the sound is mono for some reason.

Availability: Common outside of North America and Europe, as this is mainly seen in Australian and New Zealand cinemas.
 * The first version is preserved on Fox Classics airings of Muriel's Wedding, the original theatrical trailer of The Castle, some prints of The Dish and strangely is found in place of the Roadshow Entertainment logo at the end of the 2002 Australian VHS release of Cats & Dogs.
 * The second version is easier to find, and can be found on recent Roadshow productions like I Love You Too, The Cup and most notably Red Dog.