Paramount Classics

Background
Paramount Classics was launched in May 1998 to distribute films with a more "arthouse" and/or foreign feel than its parent company, as well as occasionally distributing content from Paramount's other labels. In 2006, Paramount launched Paramount Vantage, another label which served Classic's purpose; Classics was then retooled to focus more on foreign properties and documentary films before being folded into Vantage in 2008.

1st Logo (March 12-November 12, 1999)


Logo: On a black background, we see the Paramount Classics print logo, which has the Paramount gate entrance with opened gates leading to the mountain. The words "PARAMOUNT CLASSICS" are seen below.

FX/SFX: None. It's a still logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the trailers for Where's Marlowe?, Get Real and The Adventures of Sebastian Cole.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (March 10, 2000-August 7, 2007)


Nicknames: "Perumount Classics", "Mountain in the Gate"

Logo: As the camera spins around in a blue/pinkish cloudy sky, we see a white light illuminate a blue-tinted Paramountain, from the 1986 Paramount logo without the stars, text, and byline. After working its way to the front, the camera then zooms out to reveal the Paramount gate entrance. The gates then open to reveal the mountain and the words "PARAMOUNT CLASSICS" fade in below.

Variant: Girl on the Bridge has the logo in black and white.

Trivia: This isn't the first time Paramount used their gate entrance as a logo design; they previously used it as a design for their budget video division Gateway in the 1980s and early 1990s.

FX/SFX: The camera turning, the zooming, the gates opening. The CGI is slightly less intricate than its parent company's logos, but it's still a well-done logo overall.

Music/Sounds: A majestic piano/string theme with wind blowing at the end of the logo, the opening theme of the movie or none.

Availability: Seen on films made by the company, including Mad Hot Ballroom, Northfork, Mean Creek, The Triumph of Love, The Virgin Suicides, and An Inconvenient Truth, among others. It debuted theatrically on Deterrence and last appeared on Beneath.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (July 25, 2007-April 4, 2008)


Nicknames: "Drawing Mountain", "Mountain in the Gate II"

Logo: On a black background, we see black ink lines drawing on a white paper sheet. They form a brush-drawn version of the Paramount gate, taken into a box, with the company name below. The logo zooms out with a white background.

Variant: On The Kite Runner, the logo is still and takes place on a black background.

FX/SFX: The logo taking form.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening sounds of the movie.

Availability: Rare. This was seen on only three films: Arctic Tale, Shine a Light, and The Kite Runner.

Editor's Note: None.