HBO Feature Presentation

1st Opening (November 8, 1972-April 30, 1975)
TBA

2nd Opening (May 1, 1975-1976)
Logo: This logo has three different variants, but the end result is the same.
 * Variant A: Everything happens on a black background. First, we see several Scanimated sets of yellow lines spinning. As they slowly zoom in, they slowly dissolve into an early version of the HBO logo (with the "O" overlapping the "B"), and ""HOME BOX OFFICE FROM TIME/LIFE" appears below it shortly after it's formed. Suddenly, the HBO logo dissolves as it zooms towards the screen, and three red studio lamps rise from the bottom of the screen. The lamps turn on one-by-one, and the lights detach from them before merging into one circle that rotates into a purple projector. The projector keeps rotating as yellow film reels move from the left of the screen to the right, turning the projector into a purple film reel when they come in contact with it. After a while, the film reel rotates into a filmstrip with yellow HBO logos on it. The filmstrip curls down as two red drama masks fly in and start rotating rapidly, before flying away as several musical notes start zooming in while rotating and flashing in different colors. This cuts to a French horn rotating in and flipping upside down, before it stretches and turns into a row of piano keys while a ballerina's legs tiptoe towards them and open to give way for a blue version of the Discobolus statue. When the Discobolus moves off-screen, what looks like a disc flies in and turns into a basketball, which falls into a basketball hoop. The hoop dissolves into a baseball glove, and a baseball falls onto it, after which both objects dissolve into a hockey puck and goal. The puck moves around until the goal dissolves into a hockey stick, which hits the puck and dissolves into a tennis racket, which hits a tennis ball. As soon as the ball flies towards the screen, we cut to a blue/red/yellow light with sparks emanating from it. A yellow "H" from the HBO logo appears from the right and glides towards the left side of the screen. After it stops, the letters "BO" flip up to complete the logo, while "HOME BOX OFFICE FROM TIME/LIFE" flips down below it.
 * Variant B: TBA
 * Variant C: TBA

Trivia: The HBO logo was designed by Betty Brugger.

FX/SFX: Scanimate effects and animations.

Music/Sounds: Depending on the variant:
 * Variant A: A jazz piece consisting of horns, saxophones and other jazz instruments. Possibly a stock piece; it also appeared on a 1978 demo reel for Sullivan & Marks.
 * Variant B: TBA
 * Variant C: TBA

Availability: Extinct. They only appeared on a 1975 demo reel by Computer Image Corporation.

Editor's Note: The fast-paced effects and music may not sit well with some. Also, the logo's design looks like it says "HEO" because the "O" is too close to the "B", but that was changed in 1980.

3rd Opening (May 11, 1975-September 19, 1982)
TBA

4rd Opening (1976-1978)
TBA

5th Opening (1979-September 19, 1982)
Nickname: "The HBO Feature Marquee"

Opening: We start out with a space background with a light grid sheet rapidly moving across the bottom. Then, we see two triads of searchlights light up on the left and right sides, eventually crossing over each other. At the same time, blue lights appear and many yellow rays rapidly move towards the screen, followed by blue rays, yellow circles, yellow zigzags, colorful criss-cross lines, blue and yellow straight lines, and finally wavy yellow lines with curvy red lines between them. Then we pan up to the searchlights, which move down to reveal a box of popcorn with many kernels shooting out. The screen cuts to a scene of five yellow popcorn kernels flying around the screen and falling down with a "shadow" effect, before they draw a marquee with several neon lines and designs (looking like that of the Orpheum or Pantages theater), and the camera zooms in below it. Then, the screen cuts to a plain black screen, and the stacked words "Impact" zoom out and pan down with a "shadow" effect, flashing when they settle on the background. After the flash dies down, lines appear behind each word, and the text turns red. Finally, the lines shine repeatedly.

FX/SFX: A mix of live-action shots and backlit cel animation, shot with motion control cameras and slit-scan, then composited together (similar to how the space battles in Star Wars were made). All of the 1979 idents were produced at Robert Abel & Associates.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare that sounds very similar to the Star Wars theme, with the last portion sounding eerily similar to Star Trek 's theme.

Availability: Extinct. Last seen on HBO in 1982, so your best bet would be to check old VHS/Betamax recordings.

Editor's Note: The music may not sit well with some, but it's generally harmless.

6th Opening (1979-September 19, 1982)
Nicknames: "The Hollywood Walk", "Big Band"

Opening: The camera travels down an infinite loop of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where we see several movie-related items (i.e. a glass slipper, a box of popcorn, a soda bottle, etc.) on the left and right sides of the screen. We then zoom into a screen that shows a color-changing background and the aforementioned objects moving around while briefly morphing into blobs, before cutting back to the Walk of Fame where we see a box office gradually zooming in as the sky turns to a night sky and searchlights move around it. When the box office comes close to the screen, it cuts to the "Impact" text animating as usual.

FX/SFX: The zooming.

Music/Sounds: A jazzy version of the fanfare that fits rather well with the bumper.

Availability: Extinct. Again you should check old HBO recordings to find it. This appears in very high quality on The World of Robert Abel, an installment in Pioneer's 1985 LaserDisc series Visual Pioneers.

Editor's Note: The music might be loud to some.

7th Opening (1979-September 19, 1982)
Nickname: "The Flashing Theater"

Opening: On a space background with a gridded floor, we see several bright lights drawing in a stylized movie theater complete with a box office and a marquee with the text "H.B.O. FEATURE MOVIE" on both sides. We then zoom into a yellow star on the marquee, and the screen cuts to more bright lights drawing in the interior of the theater. As we slowly zoom in, a red curtain on the center rises to reveal a blue pair of curtains, which open as the camera zooms in and it fades to the "Impact" text animating as usual.

FX/SFX: The drawing lines, the flashing effects. All typical '70s animation.

Music/Sounds: An alternate version of the fanfare used in the first logo of the time, only slower and louder.

Availability: Extinct. Last seen on HBO in 1982.

Editor's Note: The flashing effects and loud music might not sit well with most people.

8th Opening (1979-September 19, 1982)
Nicknames: "Shapes In Space", "The Abstraction"

Opening: On a space background, we pan through and around many abstract shapes of various colors and sizes, some of which light up. At one point, a circle with a star passes by the shapes, with a bubble trail passing through them shortly after. After a while, a stylized yellow screen moves in from the right and we zoom into it as it starts showing the "Impact" text animating as usual.

FX/SFX: The shapes, the box moving in, the text animating out.

Music/Sounds: A bouncy techno version of the fanfare that fits well with this bumper.

Availability: Again, extinct.

Editor's Note: The abstract animation might scare a few, but it's a lot tamer.

9th Opening (1979-September 19, 1982)
Note: The ID can be seen here.

Nickname: "Funky Marquee"

Opening: We see a futuristic-like city at twilight, and we pan to the left where we see a neon movie theater with searchlights scanning the sky. Then we zoom into the entrance and see a bird's-eye view of the theater, lit in brown and orange. We slowly zoom into the projection screen and the camera fades to the "Impact" text animating as usual.

FX/SFX: A combination of CGI and live-action.

Music/Sounds: A rather moody, funky, and smooth version of the fanfare. Again, it fits well with this bumper.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Opening (1979-September 19, 1982)
Nickname: "Liquid/Neon Marquee"

Opening: On a black background, purple streaks rain down the screen diagonally as we fade to see a gray rounded rectangle with a neon pink outline rotating and zooming out, with an ocean at the bottom of the screen. When it disappears, a blue circular flash brings forth a series of gold bars that fly towards the screen at an angle. They eventually form a theater hallway with the ocean turning into a black floor, and a brown screen quickly zooms in as the "Impact" text starts animating as usual.

FX/SFX: Awesome animation!

Music/Sounds: A relaxing synth version of the fanfare mixed with drums.

Availability: Extinct. This was the last intro HBO used until the "HBO In Space" logo debuted in September 1982.

Editor's Note: A nice logo with great animation, even with the same slapped-on ending, though it's absolutely nothing compared to the next opening.

11th Opening (September 20, 1982-October 31, 1997, December 7, 2019)
Note: The theme heard above, ripped off a cassette tape sent to various radio stations, can be heard here.

Nicknames: "HBO in Space", "Starship HBO", "HBO City", "The Big Bang", "The Big One", "Classic HBO", "80s HBO"

Opening: We start with a man tuning the cable on a TV set for a channel (to HBO, of course!) in his apartment as he settles down on the couch with his wife with several food items (i.e. a tub of popcorn, a pizza cut into slices etc.) in front of them. The camera pans backwards and outside the window to show a somewhat busy city intersection with figurines of vehicles and people standing on the sidewalk at twilight. The music starts, and the camera "flies" forward down the street, through several intersections. At one point you can even see a movie theater with "HBO THEATRE" on the marquee. We fly over some buildings before going into the suburbs, with lots of trees. We fly over several houses and a clock tower. Then the camera pans up into the sky, which briefly takes sunset hues before becoming blue and black with a starfield. We go up into space, eventually panning up to reveal the source of the light; a star (positioned near the top center of the screen) that gets brighter and brighter, and eventually explodes in a scarlet and blue gemstone-shaped flash, leaving behind a shiny chrome model monolith. The monolith moves down and across the screen and rotates clockwise, revealing that it is the HBO logo, then turns around one more time as the camera zooms in on the side of the "O". The side of the "O" disappears in a flash of light, revealing a stream of red, yellow and blue rays streaking counterclockwise around a silver axis, and "HBO FEATURE PRESENTATION", in a heavy, lavender 3D "gaspipe" font and with each word stacked on top of the other (as well as a line under " PRESENTATION ", appears against an array of purple lines. Some more rays sweep across the words and shine, then the background fades to black with more flashes from the surrounding rays.

Trivia:
 * This logo was parodied in the music video for "DVNO" by the electro house group Justice, with even more high-tech effects.
 * The HBO short-form interstitial series Behind the Scenes, which aired between features from the early 1980s to about the early 1990s, had one episode titled "A Closer Look: Inside HBO's City" devoted to showing virtually all the work behind this logo and how the ideas of the bumper came up. The episode can be viewed here.
 * The Nostalgia Critic took a look at this bumper in his "Rise of the Commercials" video, in which he praised it.
 * Every summer in Bryant Park (one block away from HBO's headquarters in New York City), HBO showcases movies projected on a massive screen to the audience. The long version starting from the fog is played before each feature. The intro begins with "Bryant Park Summer Film Festival" in an old fashioned red and yellow font. Then the intro continues as normal. Some organizers and moviegoers in the park have been known to dance to the music.

Variants:
 * Beginning in late 1983, the long version starts off with the city covered in fog (which slowly clears up), then has the camera pan across the city as usual.
 * A short version of the logo that starts before the "big bang" was shown most often (the long version would only be used for new features).
 * There were multiple different endings used depending on what type of program was shown. They include "HBO Feature Presentation" (the standard version), "HBO Premiere Presentation" (for HBO Premiere Films before they were renamed to HBO Pictures), "HBO Family Showcase", "HBO Classic Feature", "HBO Theatre", "HBO Music", "HBO Saturday Night Movie", "HBO Sunday Night Movie", "HBO Special", "HBO Comedy", "HBO Rock", "Standing Room Only", "HBOriginal", "HBO Sports", "On Location", and "World Premiere Presentation", the latter being used in 2019, when it was remastered.
 * Two April Fools Day variants that used much cheaper versions of the model city, the HBO monolith and the end card also exist: one used "HBO Feature Presentation" in the style of a rebus puzzle (H-bee-O Feet-Y-oar Present-A-shun) which flipped up into the screen, while the other had the "lyrics" to the song in a "follow the bouncing ball" style over the model city. When we reach to space, the familiar HBO, now in aluminum foil held by some string, falls down and is spun around by a hand. "HBO FEATURE PRESENTATION" in cheaply arranged paper letters fade in on a black background with a pair of live-action hands briefly making odd movements over it (the rebus puzzle version also faded to this, but with only a half-second of hand movement).
 * Some end cards had the lines colored royal blue or a red-gray gradient.
 * A somewhat rare version exists. After the man tunes the cable to HBO, we can see him and his family sharing popcorn while HBO is being tuned on TV before zooming out the window. This was apparently used in the first weeks this intro debuted.
 * Occasionally, during debuts of popular films, when the streaks move around the "O", it cross-fades to a promo, and when the promo ended it fades back to the "Feature Presentation" version, which ends normally.
 * For HBO's joint venture with Silver Screen Partners, the part in space had been adapted for their logo; this was only seen on the 1984 movie Flashpoint.
 * On HBO Hungary in the mid-90s, a bumper has the full logo playing as normal until the end where the HBO logo fades away before the rays appeared, then a still "HBO" logo appeared in front of the space background.

FX/SFX: The city cars, wind, and the light sounds in the end. It's worth nothing that not a single computer-generated image was used to make this bumper. The city is an intricately detailed model with lightbulbs placed under the houses, from which a motorized camera was used to film it. There were also crew members who puffed smoke into the city to add the atmosphere. The starburst before the HBO logo appears is the "stargate" animation, made with two pieces of art and is moved around and shot frame-by-frame (Scanimation-eqsue animation). The HBO logo itself is a model made of brass and is chrome-plated and combined with the starry sky background. The part with the colored rays was actually a series of fiber optics with motors and gears and pulleys used to change the colors and move them around and put inside the chrome "O". All of this work, done by Liberty Studios in New York City, should show you how wildly impressive this opener is.

Music/Sounds: The sounds of the TV in the opening scene, then some honking horns and city noises (or, in the short version, a whoosh, and the fog variant contains wind sounds) A piano/string chord is heard, which leads into a dramatic orchestral theme that gets progressively more tense. When the star explodes, phasing sounds are heard, culminating in a very loud, upbeat, almost disco-style horn-driven overture, ending with synth sweeps (representing the rays "inside" the "O"). Composed by Ferdinand J. Smith with a 65-man orchestra. Awesome music!

Music/Sounds Trivia: There is a full length pop version of the theme, also composed by Ferdinand Smith. You can listen to it here. Another version of said extended remix with lyrics, known as "The Fantasy", exists as well.

Music/Sound Variants:
 * For the first few months the open was used, a different end-tune that was similar to the "HBO Special" version played instead of the normal end.
 * For the "Family Showcase" variant, the music would get softer and play an uplifting theme just after the "O" disappears.
 * For the "HBO Music/HBO Rock" variants, a rock guitar tune would play near the end.
 * For the "HBO Special" variant, a faster-paced horn tune would play, which sounds kind of like a game show theme.
 * For the "Standing Room Only" variant, an upbeat, fast-paced tune would play.
 * For the "On Location" variant, a slow, jazzy tune would play.
 * One April Fools variant had the theme being played on kazoos, while a "BOING!" sound is heard while the aluminum HBO comes in on the background.
 * For the "HBO Comedy" open, a "comedic" tune would play.
 * For the "cross-fade promo" version, a voice-over would begin speaking as we enter the interior of the "O", and the first variant mentioned played under the VO at the end.
 * For the "HBOriginal" variant, a noir film style piece would play.
 * For its 2019 appearance, the fanfare was re-recorded.

Availability: Extinct, but it was used for a stunning 15 years thanks to its popularity, so it shouldn't be difficult to find on old tapes. It can also be seen on HBO's YouTube channel. You can also see this before movies in Bryant Park in New York City, shown every Monday evening in summer. Makes a surprise appearance on the 2019 special Dan Soder: Son of a Gary.

Editor's Note: One of the most--or even arguably the most--beloved and iconic opening bumpers of the 1980s, thanks to the sheer amounts of detail and effort put into the visuals, and its iconic music, which HBO has consistently continued to use in modified forms ever since.

12th Opening (November 1, 1986-October 31, 1997)
Nicknames: "Non-Primetime HBO", "Neon '80s Geometric HBO"

Opening: We see a heliotrope HBO logo across a vertical filmstrip with light rays shooting through it. The camera pans around and zooms back from several CGI squares glowing in various neon colors. Then, the lights shoot out the last square and light up a group of small dots glowing in rainbow colors, then zoom out to reveal a light purple HBO logo with "Movie" in a script font and in a raspberry-like color with the rainbow circles on a black background behind it.

Variants:
 * On HBO Hungary, "Mozi" (Hungarian for "movie") replaces "Movie", and the colors are brighter.
 * In Poland, "Film" replaces "Movie".
 * In Brazil, "Apresenta" (Portuguese for "presents") appears in "Movie"'s place.
 * Most other foreign versions of the channel probably have "movie" written in their own native language as well.

FX/SFX: The pan-down from the CGI squares, the lasers lighting the dots, the zoom out to the HBO Movie logo. This is very professional late '80s animation, done by Pacific Data Images, in addition to those gorgeous neon rainbow colors.

Music/Sounds: A loud electric guitar tune, which culminates into a brief, funky new wave theme that at the very end ends with another electric guitar strum and a twinkling fade-out. This half sounds sort of like Speak & Spell-era Depeche Mode.

Availability: Extinct, though it was used for 11 years. It was last seen on HBO in the late '90s. A very common find on HBO home recordings.

Editor's Note: A very well-animated CGI effort.

13th Opening (1986-1998)
Opening: On a violet/white CGI background with a dark blue floor, we see many colored shapes zooming through the screen. A black rectangle zooms in slowly and settles on a stack of other rectangles on a black base, as two more rectangles fly in and stack themselves above it, and a hot pink HBO logo rises up from it. As the camera starts rotating, the gold words "SPECIAL PRESENTATION" zoom out with a shadow effect and plaster themselves on the front of the base, and the camera stops on a slight angle (a la 20th Century Fox).

FX/SFX: The zooming and rising.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized rock fanfare with guitar and drums.

Availability: Mainly appeared on HBO specials in the late '80s-early '90s, though it appeared as late as 1998. It appeared on The Roseanne Barr Special and George Carlin's Jammin' in New York. Most of the specials are on home video; the latter title contains it. It also appeared when HBO aired The Celluloid Closet.

Editor's Note: None.

14th Opening (1990-1994)
Nickname: "Simply The Best Choice"

Opening: An orange ball bounces onto a colorful patchwork background four times. Each bounce changes its color (to pink, chartreuse, aqua and purple) and the background (ending with the patchwork background), and several multicolored pieces gradually appear. The pieces eventually form a HBO logo that turns yellow with a green border and the ball lands into the "O", still changing colors.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A short calypso theme with a harp and some percussion hits. A male voiceover says "Simply the best choice on TV. HBO."

Availability: Extinct. One of HBO's other openings would follow this one, except before a series.

Editor's Note: None.

15th Opening (1990-1993)
Opening: On a black-reddish gradient background, we see a translucent filmstrip that has a blue circle with lines dividing it in four quadrants in the style of a movie countdown on its center. Squares fly through its sprocket holes, and a circular light beam shines below its center, starting a countdown of the letters "H", "B", and "O". As this happens, the camera pans to the left and slowly zooms in on the countdown with the beam of light extruding through the circle. After the "O" appears, the circle turns into an "O" and another "O" flies through the film strip and the beam of light with several "O"s appearing and flying behind it. More light beams appear on the left and right as everything turns blue, and the screen scrolls to a stone platform where the "O"s land, after which the screen pans out to reveal it’s part of the word "ORIGINAL" with blue lines above and below. As this happens, the words "THE HBO" scroll in from the left and rest above "ORIGINAL" and the camera zooms out to reveal the word "MOVIE" below it. The platform has two sets of four light beams, one arranged vertically on the top left corner and the second arranged horizontally above the word "HBO". A filmstrip scrolls up behind the logo as a spotlight passes through it twice.

FX/SFX: The filmstrip, the countdown, the lighting. Pretty ambitious computer animation from the early 90s.

Music/Sounds: It begins with an electric guitar solo that segues into a synthesized rock piece with bells heard as the "O"s fly down and synched with the "O"s landing on top of each other.

Availability: Extinct. Was seen at the beginning of TV movies produced by HBO at the time and only on their original broadcasts.

Editor's Note: None.

16th Opening (August 1991-1993)
Nickname: "Simply The Best", "HBO Pendulum"

Opening: We see a countdown with the letters "H", "B", and "O". When it stops, it starts again as a globe bounces on it and onto a round red layer with the word "MOVIES" and several gold banners with the words "HBOmovies" on them circling it. The globe bounces into a filmstrip, imprinting bouncing globes onto it, then bounces on the "M" and moves to another layer with the word "BOXING" and several "HBOboxing" banners on it. The globe and the letter "B" fight with each other, pushing the globe onto a layer with the word "MUSIC" and several "HBOmusic" banners, as a bunch of globes appear. Three of the globes turn red and bounce onto a new layer with "FAMILY" and "HBOfamily" banners. The "F" juggles them, throwing them onto a final layer with "COMEDY" and "HBOcomedy" banners. The "C" laughs as the countdown appears again. It turns into an "O", which zooms out to reveal the rest of the HBO logo, and the globe bounces into the middle of the "O".

Variants:
 * There were five 15-second versions of the opening where the globe bounces on one layer before the first layer returns.

FX/SFX: CGI animation produced by Jill Taffet at Pacific Data Images.

Music/Sounds: A calypso/rock theme with a male voiceover saying "Blockbuster movies. Original movies!" (cheering) "Boxing." (Series 1000 boxing ring bell sound effect) (boxing commentator mentions "Holyfield") "Big music events." (few guitar notes, female voice, cheering) "HBO for kids." "Toto, come on, here boy! We haven't got much time Toto!" "Serious comedy." "Is this funny or what?" (Series 1000 laughing boy sound effect) "HBO."

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * "Movies" ID: A male voiceover (with a robotic filter) says "Die Hard 2. Young Guns 2. Presumed Innocent. Flatliners. Days of Thunder. Goodfellas. Ghost. Rocky V. Postcards from Heaven." Another male voiceover says "Simply the best movies!"

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

17th Opening (November 1, 1997-November 4, 1999)
Nicknames: "HBO 1997", "HBO Across The World"

Opening: In a widescreen effect with the letterbox bars having a black and blue background), we see the white words "FEATURE PRESENTATION" appear over the HBO logo, which is in one of many situations (like the ITV "Hearts" idents from the same time). For example, one scenario involves the HBO logo inside a limo with several paparazzi stumbling to get to the limo and taking several pictures. Another features the camera panning around a skyscraper to reveal the top of the skyscraper is in the shape of the HBO logo (an influence on the next logo). Finally, another one shows the HBO logo in a fish tank.

Variant: The first few uses of this logo had a brief look at the movie that's going to play. The logo started as usual, but the word "NOW" zoomed in. Some clips from the following movie then played, before the appearance of the HBO logo in this logo appeared, with the "NOW" animation playing again, and the full logo played as normal after that.

FX/SFX: CGI animation, often mixed with live action, produced by Telezign.

Music/Sounds: A 12-note cover of the 1982 fanfare in different instruments depending on the variant, composed by RK Music. The "Now" variant features an announcer saying over the music "It's on, now. [brief description of movie]. [2 actors from movie] in, [movie title]. It's on HBO, right now."

Availability: Extinct. These opens were only used for two years before the next one came along.

Editor's Note: None.

18th Opening (November 5, 1999-April 1, 2011)
Nicknames: "The Road", "HBO 2000", "New Millennium City", "Glowing HBO", "HBO in the Harbor", "HBO City Redux", "HBO City II"

Opening: We see a busy street intersection with a theater (a homage to the theater briefly shown in the 11th opening) with the HBO logo and the words "FEATURE PRESENTATION" on its marquee. The camera zooms into the theater, past the box office (a homage to the zooming box office from the 6th opening) and into a bright light. After the light dims down, the camera starts zooming down a street in a residential neighborhood with cars driving and people walking about, and goes through a bridge superstructure shaped like an "H", after which it zooms down a rural highway, passing farms and such. After some fog obscures the screen, we see the camera zoom down a mountain road, flying over a pit, and heading down a "B" shaped tunnel. The tunnel leads to a desert road surrounded with gorges and cliffs at the other end, and the camera zooms into a truck with an "O"-shaped cylindrical tank, taking us through another transition. We end up zooming through a CGI rendering of the city from the 11th opening, then into a skyscraper-filled downtown. Passing through the buildings with a lens flare effect, the camera travels down a freeway as lights from behind several buildings quickly turn on, followed by more lights ahead of them. The camera pans and takes us into an aerial view above the clouds, and we see the spotlights outlining an HBO-logo shaped harbor. The 3D letters "FEATURE" fly in and come together over the HBO logo, and a flash below them brings forth a dark blue rectangle with the word "PRESENTATION" appearing on it letter-by-letter as we tilt above the HBO-shaped harbor.

Variant: A shorter, much more common version of this logo was available, which starts off with the lights lighting up. The full version as described above was only shown on Saturday night movie premieres.

FX/SFX: Breathtaking CGI from Pittard Sullivan! A nice computer generated opener inspired by HBO's original stop-motion effort.

Music/Sounds: A powerful, dramatic orchestral fanfare that uses the 12-note HBO fanfare at the beginning, and near the end. During the "HBO City" sequence, there are whooshes that can be heard from passing cars and buses.

Availability: Extinct, but it was used for 12 years, so it may appear on old tapes, DVDs, and/or digital recordings. Also appeared on most of the HBO multiplex channels from 2002 on (with the exception of HBO Family).

Editor's Note: A very suitable successor to the iconic 1982 bumper, with spectacular computer graphics and an amazing orchestral fanfare.

19th Opening (April 2, 2011- )
Nicknames: "HBO 2011", "HBO Aurora", "Boring HBO"

Opening: On a black background, a flash appears, turning into a cerulean aurora background as the HBO logo appears on the left and the words "Feature Presentation" (in the Gotham Book font) appear on the right.

Variant: Other channels have their logo in place of their partner logo. Examples are HBO Latino (which replaces the text with "Pelicula") and HBO Family.

FX/SFX: The flash. The animation in this bumper is done by Jesse Vartanian.

Music/Sounds: A brief ascending section of strings, followed by an orchestrated version of the 12-note HBO fanfare. HBO also made a prototype fanfare featuring just a latter part of the music out of just a bass and violin, which was exclusively used on HBO Family.

Music/Sounds Variant: A alternate version exists where the HBO fanfare sounds different and using the familiar tone from the previous opening. It was also heard on HBO Canada.

Availability: This bumper was retired by HBO USA on July 4, 2014. On HBO Asia, this bumper was used until December 31, 2016; but is still being used by HBO Signature Asia.

Editor's Note: While not a badly-animated logo, this effort is very simplistic and boring, especially considering HBO's history of eye-dazzling opening bumpers.

20th Opening (July 5, 2014-)
Nicknames: "HBO 2014", "HBO Gallery", "Boring HBO II", "iPhone HBO"

Opening: On a black background, pictures from various movies (which change frequently depending on what's being shown on HBO at the time) fade in and drop down. Then, they fade out and drop down again. Then, the HBO logo and the words "Feature Presentation" from the previous logo drop down.

Variants:
 * On HBO Family, the word "FAMILY" (in rainbow colors) is under the HBO logo. There is also a variation of that bumper in which the background is white, and the HBO logo and "Feature Presentation" are in light blue. Also, the pictures of the movies were replaced by the pictures of various family movies (such as The Iron Giant, Shrek and The Book of Life).
 * Two versions have been exclusively used on HBO Asia: the first is the Game of Thrones version which features a teal Game of Thrones background with the GOT logo below fading in. The second one is the Westworld version with the movie pictures being in B&W and the Westworld logo fading in below at the end, against a black & white background.
 * Sometimes, a movie picture remains at the left as all the pictures drop down, while the split with the HBO logo and "Feature Presentation" appears in the right. This doesn't appear on the Asian version, as of this writing.

FX/SFX: The animation, which is even more simple than the last bumper.

Music/Sounds: Same as before, but an announcer says "And now, an HBO feature presentation". There's also a different variant where an announcer says "And now, an HBO feature presentation: [movie title]." On HBO Asia, there's no announcer. So with the version on HBO Family USA.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On the HBO Asia GOT version, it uses a different orchestrated fanfare.
 * A alternate fanfare from the previous opening is used.

Availability: The normal version is retired in US as of March 4, 2017; the HBO Family version is still being used. Currently in use on HBO Asia beginning January 1, 2017.

Editor's Note: Impressively, this bumper manages to be even more boring than the last, looking more like something out of an iPhone app as opposed to a television bumper, hence the nickname "iPhone HBO".

21st Opening (March 4, 2017-)
Nicknames: "HBO 2017", "The HBO City of Tomorrow", "HBO City in the Future", "HBO in the Futuristic World", "HBO City III", "21st Century City", "HBO City Redux II"

Opening: We fade in to a shot of a man holding a bowl of popcorn. As the camera pans to the right, we see him walking towards his wife, who's snuggling up with a blanket on a sofa. In the background we can see two sets of home plants, a desk lamp, a set of magazines, and two glasses of what seems to be wine or cola. On the wall, we see a canvas print of another apartment. Below the couch, a pair of shoes are visible. The man places the popcorn on a table, settles down with his wife, and turns on the TV. As we zoom out through a window, a suitcase-style turntable can be seen. Zooming further out of the apartment, we see a few more sets of apartment complexes. Two more pairs of shoes can be seen dangling from a telephone wire. Panning further to the right, we see two streetlamps. We then zoom out from the streets into the room of two teenage siblings; an older sister and a younger brother. The wall is covered with fan posters of various celebrities. Zooming further out, we see the sister on her bed, and the brother on a large cushion. The brother holds a tablet towards his sister. Zooming out even further, we reach a balcony. In it, a patio table and a bicycle can be seen. As the camera zooms further out, we zoom out into the living room of another apartment complex. This scene is basically a recreation of the 11th opening, with a few modern touches added (e.g. cushion couches on a rug next to a flat-screen TV, which is showing a portion of the 11th opening (the part where we zoom into the "O"). As we zoom out again, it is noticeable that the apartment complex is actually a home, nested on a floating brick lawn. More apartments and condominiums are nested next to the home. We zoom in to the living room of yet another apartment. The first thing shown is its flat-screen TV, which is also showing the 11th opening. In it, a group of college students are seen on a couch, with one of them serving a snack to another. As we zoom out yet again, a man holding a phone can be seen on the balcony of yet another apartment. After that, the camera zooms out further and further. It is then revealed that the city is inside the HBO logo, set over a dark sky background on a flat grassy plain, with a river shown beside it. The words "MOVIE PREMIERE" are seen below the logo. At this point, everything shown inside the towering logo is no longer noticeable in detail.

Trivia: This opening was made by Imaginary Forces.

Variants:
 * There is a more common short version that starts near the end when the HBO logo is revealed, and the text under the logo reads "MOVIE PRESENTATION".
 * On HBO Latino, the text "PRESENTACIÓN DE PELÍCULA" ("PRESENTATION OF THE MOVIE" in Spanish) replaces "MOVIE PREMIERE".
 * On HBO Max, a very short version exists.

FX/SFX: There is so much detail that it is near impossible to describe everything going on in the logo. A truly breathtaking blend of live-action and CGI and an amazing homage to the 11th and 18th openings.

Music/Sounds: Similar to that of the 18th opening, it's another powerful, epic orchestral fanfare that incorporates the 12-note 1982 fanfare, starting with only a piano, before progressing with some strings, and leading into a full, passionate orchestra. Plus, you can hear the city noises and river sounds. Composed by Man Made Music.

Availability: Debuted on February 28, 2017 as an unlisted video on HBO's YouTube channel. This full version premiered on HBO on March 4, 2017, before its premiere of X-Men: Apocalypse, and can be seen before new movies every Saturday night. The short version can be seen before most movies on the HBO channels (except HBO Family, and if there are promos before the movie).

Editor's Note: To say the least, this more than makes up for the two previous bland bumpers. An amazing combination of CGI and live-action and another fantastic musical score makes this a perfect successor to the 1982 and 1999 openers.