CIC-Taft Video

Background
CIC-Taft Video was the Australian subsidiary of Cinema International Corporation Video. It originated as a joint venture between Cinema International Corporation and Rigby Publishers Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of James Hardie Industries, to distribute material from CIC and Hanna-Barbera. It was one of the Magnificent Seven home video distributors. Its tapes were duplicated by Roadshow Home Video. In 1983, the joint venture was reorganized as Taft-Hardie Group, after which the video subsidiary changed its name accordingly. After a takeover of Taft-Hardie and a renaming to Southern Star Group, the company sold its interests in the distributor to CIC, which from that point on became the sole owner; as such, it became CIC Video Australia.

1st Logo (1981-1989)
Nicknames: "Medeival Rigby-CIC-Taft-Merlin", "Hollywood at Home", "Another Boring CIC Logo"

Logo: On a light blue background, the text "Rigby-CIC Video Presents" fades in, in a very fancy-looking font. Then it just fades out, and we see the warning screen scrolling. When the warning screen is done, one of two logos fades in: On CIC Video releases, a 2D white CIC logo appears. A version has been spotted with the "prototype" (chain-less) logo. On Merlin Video releases, the Merlin Video logo fades in, which is a silver-colored shield with 6 lightning bolts protruding from the top and the bottom, "Merlin" in a very "Shakespearian" font, and "VIDEO" in a sans-serif font.

Variants:


 * The warning screen may be in a Helvetica or Century Gothic-like font. Tapes branded with "CIC-Taft" use a Courier New-like font.
 * From about 1984 onwards, "Rigby-CIC" is replaced with "CIC-Taft". This variant also lacks the "Presents" text.
 * CIC-Taft releases from 1986 to 1989 use a modified version of the logo which only shows the CIC-Taft Video logo and the warning scroll. After this, it transitions to the 2nd CIC Video logo.

FX/SFX: Just the copyright text scrolling during the logo, unless you count the CIC Video logo fading in at the end of the CIC-Taft variant.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A triumphant fanfare at the beginning, a mellow synth jazz tune in the middle, and another triumphant fanfare at the end. There is also an announcer saying, "Rigby/CIC ( or CIC-Taft ) Video proudly presents, a spectacular range of the finest full-length feature films and animated family favourites, from the studios of Universal, Paramount, and other major film production houses. The movie you have selected is one from the comprehensive Rigby/CIC (or CIC-Taft) Video catalogue, which enables you to enjoy these authentic movies in the comfort of your own home. So now, it's Hollywood at home!". This can also be silent, particularly if it's the prototype variation.

Availability: Can be seen on old PAL tapes from Australia, Here's some examples of were to find each variant of the logo: Rigby-CIC: Jaws (Prototype), Urban Cowboy, My Bloody Valentine, Friday The 13th Part 2, Airplane (known locally as Flying High). CIC-Taft: Flashdance, Airwolf, Friday The 13th Part 3, Airplane II: The Sequel (known locally as Flying High II: The Sequel), Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places.

Editor's Note: Not much can be said about animation, that's for sure!

2nd Logo (1989-1990)
Nickname: "CIC-Taft In Space"

Logo: On black-dark blue gradient starfield background as seen on the CIC Video warning scroll, we see the "CIC-Taft Video" logo in the same font as before. When the logo fades out, it then transitions to the warning scroll. When that finishes it either transitions to one of the following: On retail tapes, it would fade into the 2nd logo with the blue background variant with the marquee. On rental tapes, it would fade into the Hologram warning, which then fades into the 2nd logo with the "PREVIEWS" advice (see the 4th logo on the CIC Video page).

FX/SFX: The "CIC-Taft Video" text fading in and out, plus the scrolling of the copyright warning.

Music/Sounds: None, unless you count the music from the 1st logo.

Availability: Once again, Can be seen on old PAL tapes from Australia.

Editor's Note: Again, no effort put into this logo!