Canadian Odeon Theatres

Background
Odeon Theatres of Canada merged with the Canadian Theatres chain in 1978, becoming known as Canadian Odeon Theatres. Cineplex Corporation began operating in 1979. On April 19, 1979, Nathan "Nat" Taylor, inventor of the multiscreen theater, and Garth Drabinsky opened the first Cineplex location, an 18-screen complex in the basement of the Toronto Eaton Centre. At the time, the theatre earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest cinema. In July 1982 they opened their first theater in the United States, with a 14-screen multiplex in the newly built Beverly Center in Los Angeles, the largest in the US at the time. Also in 1982, the company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Cineplex Corporation would purchase Canadian Odeon in June 1984, forming Cineplex Odeon Theatres.

1st Logo (1978-1979?)
Logo: On a maroon background, the Canadian Odeon logo zooms in to the left side of the screen, and the words "Coming Soon" zoom in to the right. The words "TO THIS THEATRE" wipe in below.

Variant: The "Now Playing" version has the words "NOW PLAYING AT" zooming in, followed by the Canadian Odeon logo zooming in and the words "CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS" wiping in below.

Technique: Simple animation.

Audio: A quick arpeggio played four times on an electric piano, with a rising note in the background merging to become one single note. The "Now Playing" version uses a dramatic orchestral fanfare.

2nd Logo (1979?-1984)
Logo: A red line appears from the centre of the screen. As a pair of lights shine, the line turns on its side revealing a maple leaf. Once the leaf has revealed itself completely, it zooms back followed by a series of lights which then do the same, forming a triangle outline around the leaf. Then a series of blue triangles also zoom out (similar to the 2nd American Cinema Releasing logo) and come together to form the completed triangle border, the lights now placed along the edges to resemble a filmstrip. Just before the triangles finish forming, the text "CANADIAN ODEON THEATRES" flashes into place, after which three more lights shine across the logo. The text "Our Feature Presentation" then wipes into place underneath the logo via a "sparkling" effect. Finally, several more lights shine across various points on the logo until it fades out.

Variants:


 * For coming attractions, the logo would pan out slightly when the triangle forms, and at the end the words "COMING SOON..." would flash in on each side.
 * For Odeon-Morton theatres at the time, the logo was changed so that the name now reads "ODEON-MORTON THEATRES".

Technique: Cel animation by Cinema Concepts, including effects from the CASCOM Select Effects library.

Audio: An ambient synth-brass/woodwind fanfare.