Embassy Home Entertainment

Background
Embassy Pictures formed their own home video unit as "Embassy Home Entertainment" as early as 1982 after Embassy Communications acquired Andre Blay Corporation (also known as "Blay Video"). Prior to this, Avco Embassy films were licensed/distributed by Magnetic/20th Century-Fox Video and on the short-lived SelectaVision VideoDisc format by RCA Corporation. Embassy also released some genre films under the Charter Entertainment brand. Embassy Home Entertainment was purchased by Nelson Holdings International from Coca-Cola in 1986 and was renamed to "Nelson Entertainment" on August 15, 1987 and Nelson was bought out by New Line Cinema on December 9, 1991. Some Embassy/Charter videos were still in print by the early 1990s with a New Line Home Video logo on the tape label.

1st Logo (Mid-1982-1983)
Embassy Home Entertainment

Nicknames: "Chyron", "Chyron Text"

Logo: Just a black screen with the following words:

EMBASSY HOME ENTERTAINMENT

in simple white script-like text with a trailing "shadow" effect, stacked word upon word.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Can be seen at the beginning of the Raccoons on Ice/The Christmas Raccoons video along with the very first VHS releases of Summer Lovers, Humongous, An Eye for An Eye, Swamp Thing, Escape from New York, and Zapped. The logo can also be retained on re-prints of Embassy's 1982-1983 video catalog. Strangely, this logo remained intact on the 1983 VHS of The Soldier after the next logo.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (December 1982-1987)
Embassy Home EntertainmentEmbassy Home Entertainment (1985)Embassy Home Entertainment (1982-1987)Embassy Home Entertainment ( UK )

Nicknames: "☆E", "Rotating ☆E" (USA), "Still (Rotating) ☆E" (Worldwide)

Logo: Same as the Embassy Television logo, but "EMBASSY HOME ENTERTAINMENT" appears underneath the "☆E" instead of "EMBASSY TELEVISION".

Variants:
 * Starting in 1984, the Registered trademark symbol "®" fades in. The logo also originally appears to be filmed, and cuts in and out; the "®" version fades in and out smoothly and is videotaped.
 * A still version of this was used for international videos in 1985. The logo appears to have a lighter (or darker) blue background, the words "EMBASSY" are in a much larger Futura MD BT font, and "Home Entertainment" is written below in a Futura LT BT font. One version has the word "Home Entertainment" in Helvetica font. This variant was only seen at the end of European and Australian releases (the next logo below would be at the beginning on Aussie tapes).

FX/SFX: Again, same as the Television logo. The international version is still.

Music/Sounds: Same as the Embassy Television logo, but the fifth note is a higher note than usual and after the sixth note in the theme, we instead hear a 10-note synth-flute section. This was composed by Ray Colcord, who also composed the main Embassy Television logo. Silent for worldwide releases, except a jazzy '80s-like synth tune for German releases.

Availability: Rare. It can be found on various Nelson and Embassy Home Entertainment releases like The Emerald Forest and The Graduate. Could be in worldwide releases. Surprisingly, this logo appeared on TV airings of A Chorus Line (the MGM DVD & Blu-ray releases of said film show its print logo on the back cover, but not on the DVD or Blu-ray) and the TCM airings of Bittersweet Love and The Man Who Had Power Over Women. It's also surprisingly preserved on the Nelson VHS release of The Red Balloon, despite Embassy being mentioned nowhere on the packaging. The still version appears on the UK pre-cert release of The Howling. It also appeared on an old Showtime/The Movie Channel broadcast of Kiss of the Spider Woman. The logo was retained on MGM's 1998 VHS of Sid and Nancy and a 1992 reprint of Blade Runner from New Line Home Video.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (international only) (1983-1986)
Embassy Home Entertainment

Nicknames: "☆E II", "Neon ☆E Sign", "The Big E in Video", "Flashing ☆E"

Logo: On a black background, a yellow, neon outline version of the Embassy logo zooms out. Flashes then add color to the logo, making the "E" blue and the star red. "THE BIG" and "IN VIDEO" also flash in, above and below the logo, respectively, and the logo shines over, and the logo zooms out.

FX/SFX: The zooming and flashing. It's '80s computer animation and early CGI effects.

Music/Sounds: A four-note synthesizer tune, followed by two drumbeats, and then another set of five synth notes.

Availability: Extremely rare. The best place to find it is on old PBV tapes in Australia.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (1986-1988)
Embassy Home Entertainment (1986)

Nicknames: "☆E III", "Golden ☆E", "CGI ☆E"

Logo: A three-dimensional, gold version of the starred "E" logo comes in from the left of the screen turned diagonally. As it turns face forward, a similarly colored star outline floats as if coming down an invisible slope and comes through the star-shaped hole in the "E" and becomes its border. Below the "E" appear, also in gold, the words:

EMBASSY (in Futura MD BT Bold font) HOME ENTERTAINMENT®

(the bottom text just cuts in while the above text fades in)

Variant: The logo where the "E" is far out plays and dissolves over the 1982 logo; then a star trailing CGI dust showing the Nelson logo within spins around until it's in the center; then it fades into the Nelson logo and it proceeds from there.

FX/SFX: The moving "E", and the words appearing in sync with the music. Much better than the previous logos.

Music/Sounds: A fast paced, dramatic synth tune, which sounds almost like Japanese strings, with a rising synth note when the star comes flying in. The variant has a calmer synth fanfare that continues through the Nelson logo.

Availability: Rare. Seen on video releases of The Producers, Defense of the Realm, The Stepfather, The Video Dead, and River's Edge, among (presumably) others. Oddly, MGM Home Entertainment preserved this logo when they released Eddie and the Cruisers in 1998.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1987?)
Logo: A sky blue background eases out revealing a large "E" like the previous three logos. As in zooms out, a white, tilted star zooms into the big space of the "E". When it runs out of room, the animation stops for a full second, showing the Embassy logo as of 1982. Next, the "E" zooms in and the star zooms out, basically the beginning in reverse. Then the following fades in:

EMBASSY Home Entertainment

Finally, when the text fades out, "Presents" fades in.

FX/SFX: The zooming of the "E" and the star.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. Probably another international logo, considering it was on a Spanish language tape.

Editor's Note: None.