Capella Films

Background
Capella Films was a company specialized in dealing for financing and producing films from their partners, such as Universal. They often bought either international rights, or selective territorial rights for the films. Capella International, which is related to the main division, specialized in distributing foreign films. Them, with a few partners, attempted to get a $1.3 billion bid for MGM/UA, which failed. They then shut down afterwards.

1st Logo (1991-1994?)
Nicknames: "The Chariot", "Chariot on Marble Background", "The Chariot of Boredom"

Logo: On a white or gray marble background, we see a drawing of a chariot drawn by four horses, with a charioteer holding the roses back with a rope. Underneath it is a line, and the orange or golden text "CAPELLA" in a Roman-looking font.

FX/SFX: None, just the logo fading in and out from black.

Music/Sounds: Silent.

Availability: Extremely rare. Appeared on international versions of movies such as My Life as a Dog, Nobody's Fool, Exquisite Tenderness, and Bit Trip, most of which nowadays remove this logo or either use domestic prints with other distributors' tags on them. Can also be seen on the GoodTimes DVD of The Polar Bear King.

Editors Note: None.

2nd Logo (1995?-2000s?)
Logo: On a black background, we see a dark blue sky with water reflecting below, and a silhouette of a chariot. As the chariot zooms in, rays of light zoom from behind the view to behind of the chariot to reveal it, and the word "CAPELLA" fades in as the chariot zooms into place.

Variant: On German prints of The Peacemaker, the logo (after its formation) is still.

FX/SFX: The flashing, sky, and logo forming to go into place.

Music/Sounds: Mostly silence, but on the international version of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, a dramatic orchestral fanfare with drums is heard.

Availability: Rare. Expect to see this logo on German prints of The Peacemaker and international prints of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery as they are of the uncut international version (don't expect this to show up on the U.S DVD and the Blu-Ray, as those are of the PG-13 U.S. version released by Warner Home Video and contain the New Line Cinema logos). It also appears on international releases of not only the first Austin Powers movie, it also appears on its sequels: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Goldmember. A few other examples are The Peacemaker, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and Music Of The Heart. This was most recently seen on streaming prints of After the Rain and Pete's Meteor. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear on international prints of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000).

Editor's Note: Good CGI for the time period. This is unlike the next logo below.

3rd Logo (September 25, 2003)
Logo: We see a sunset-hued sky with water reflecting below. From a distance, we see the same chariot as before charging towards us with a trail of light below it. Once the chariot reaches a comfortable distance, it stops and the horses begin to stand on their hind legs with the sun shining behind them. The word "CAPELLA" slowly rises from below the screen and positions itself below the chariot.

Variant: There is another version with improved CGI.

FX/SFX: The chariot riding in, rays beaming, horses moving, and the word fading in.

Music/Sounds: A majestic, but complex, orchestral fanfare, consists of stock orchestral fanfares by Dick DeBenedictis, that ascends as the chariot moves forward and climaxes when it stops. There is also a version with sound effects of horses galloping and whinnying.

Availability: Rare. This logo was only known to show up on Jester Till. Plasters the MGM logo on current international prints of Shattered (1991), and the older Capella logo on the German and UK Blu-Rays of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

Editor's Note: This logo is terrible and looks uninspired. The poor and cheap CGI is bad enough, but the effects don't help it much. The only good thing is the well composed fanfare, but it also can't save it.