MGM Home Entertainment

Background
MGM Home Entertainment was founded in 1973 originally known as "MGM Home Video" by releasing its film and television libraries on video. In 1979, MGM joined forces with CBS Video Enterprises, the home video division of the CBS Television Network, and established "MGM/CBS Home Video", which released its first VHS batch (consisting of 16 MGM titles and 8 CBS Video titles) in October 1980. MGM/CBS Home Video was later renamed to "MGM/UA Home Video" in 1982 after CBS ended its venture with MGM since MGM acquired United Artists a year earlier. In 1986, after MGM's pre-1986 library (also including most of the pre-1950 Warner Bros. Pictures library, a fraction of some UA material, and most US rights to the RKO Radio Pictures library (although RKO retains the copyrights to their films)), was acquired by Ted Turner and forming "Turner Entertainment Co.", MGM/UA Home Video signed a deal with Turner to continue distributing the pre-1986 MGM and the pre-1948 Warner Bros. libraries for video release. In 1990, after MGM was purchased by Pathé, MGM/UA signed a deal with Warner Home Video to have them distribute its titles exclusively on video. In 1995, this division was renamed to "MGM/UA Home Entertainment" (logo is still the same name, though) and also launched "MGM/UA Family Entertainment". In 1997, MGM/UA began releasing its titles on DVD, just like every other major studio, managed to release over 30 titles from the Turner catalog on DVD (it was due to their video distribution deal) until it was transferred to Warner Home Video in 1999 (after MGM ended their distribution deal with Warner Bros.) and folded Orion Pictures with all its owned-library into this company. Around 1997, the UA name was dropped renaming it as "MGM Home Entertainment". Following MGM's acquisition by the Sony-led consortium in 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment began distributing the MGM library on home video until May 31, 2006, when MGM shifted most of its home entertainment output to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for worldwide release. TCFHE's worldwide distribution deal distributing the MGM library was expected to expire in September 2011, but it was later extended to end until sometime in 2016, and again on June 27, 2016, when MGM extended its deal with TCFHE until June 2020. Beginning with Operation Finale, MGM's titles distributed by United Artists Releasing have since been released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, while Fox still holds the home video rights to the rest of the MGM catalog.

1st Logo (October 1980-May 1981)
Nickname: "Green Lines"

Logo: On a black background, the words "MGM" and "CBS" (in white and in Helvetica font) fly in from the top and bottom of the screen, with green lines on the top and bottom of each letter respectively. We fade to another set of green lines sort of shaped like a room, which zoom back to bring another copy of the words, and then "AN" and "HOME VIDEO PRESENTATION", in light orange, zoom into their respective places. A forward slash appears in-between "MGM" and "CBS" on the last note of the music.

FX/SFX: The slash appearing, and the zooming effects.

Music/Sounds: An uninspired synth tune which sounds like the opening of a news program.

Availability: Quite rare. Seen on the initial batch of twenty-four VHS and Beta tapes, including The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ben-Hur, An American in Paris, Network, Jailhouse Rock, Coma, The Street Fighter, and the Bolshoi Ballet productions of The Nutcracker and Giselle. Also seen on the very first CED releases from CBS, as well as a few other VHS releases, including Being There, Fame, Carny, Cruising, Benji, and The Formula.

Editor's Note: Its simplicity can be excused for the fact that the company started distributing tapes only recently.

2nd Logo (June 1981-June 1982)
Nicknames: "The Metallic MGM/CBS", "Silver MGM/CBS"

Logo: We see a metallic forward slash mark on a dark background dropping down. Afterward, "MGM" and "CBS", in the same font as before, zoom out toward the slash at the same time, "CBS" from the right and "MGM" from the left. After that, we see "HOME VIDEO" (in green, and in Alternate Gothic font) zooming out. The "MGM/CBS" text then shines.

FX/SFX: TBA

Music/Sounds: A short, orchestrated, majestic trumpet fanfare.

Availability: Also pretty rare. Seen on most MGM/CBS releases after the first batch of twenty-four Betamax and VHS tapes. Notable titles to include this logo include Return of the Street Fighter, Westworld, and Clash of the Titans, as well as titles such as Gigi, The Philadelphia Story, Adam's Rib, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, Cruising, and Victory. However, early MGM/UA releases with the MGM/CBS Polaroid seal or tape labels would still use the MGM/UA Home Video logo, and some later MGM/CBS releases, such as select copies of Viva Las Vegas, go straight to the MGM logo used by the film. Some Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment releases such as The Billion Dollar Hobo would feature this logo at the end (this practice would continue when the Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment library shifted to CBS/Fox Video, although on the original VHS/Betamax release of Guys and Dolls, this logo was shown at the beginning before the first SGHE logo).

Editor's Note: Though it relies on typical 80's effects, it's an improvement over the previous logo.

Closing Variants

See CBS Home Entertainment for description.

1st Logo (July 1982-July 21, 1993, -1999 (Indonesia))
Nicknames: "Leo the Lion", "Still Leo the Lion", "MGM Lion", "The Static Leo Moving", "MGM/UA", "Gold Ribboning"

Logo: On a black background, we see a bluish metallic "MGM/UA" moving ("MGM" going from top-right to left, "UA" going from bottom-left to right). Then a "/" appears between them as we see a static picture of Leo inside the circled filmstrip with the drama mask zooming out on top of the text. Yellow lights appear and wipe in the remainder of the filmstrips on the left and right sides of Leo while "MGM/UA" shines. After that, "HOME VIDEO", in a blue Microgramma font, zoom out under the completed logo, and two white lines flash in above and below "HOME VIDEO".

Variants:
 * There is a black and white variant for classic MGM and UA movies in B&W.
 * Some tapes have a slightly different lion/ribbon design.
 * In Sweden, MGM tapes were often distributed through Esselte Video. The byline "From ESSELTE VIDEO", in white, appears below. In between "From" and "ESSELTE" is a circle with an "X" inside and eight little "points" around it.
 * On some videos from Australia and New Zealand, the logo animates as normal up until "HOME VIDEO" flashes. Then, Leo's static picture becomes Leo roaring, and then the beginning of a promotional reel tunnels in.
 * On tapes from the early '90s, this was used for preview bumpers (and usually at the end of films). The logo plays like normal, but instead of "HOME VIDEO" appearing, the logo eases back upward, and either "Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You", "Now Playing at a Theatre Near You", "Coming Soon on Videocassette", or "Now Available on Videocassette" appears below. There's an earlier version of this variant (spotted as early as 1989), where "HOME VIDEO" remains intact while the logo eases upward, and "ALSO AVAILABLE" appears below.
 * On Laserdisc releases, at the beginning of each side, it's a still logo replacing "HOME VIDEO" with "SIDE ONE" or "SIDE TWO" below. At the end, it says "END SIDE ONE" and "END SIDE TWO".
 * This was also used for Coming Attraction screens from around 1988-1990. In this variant, the logo plays as normal. When it finishes, the background turns into a gray marble color. Then the ribbons and "MGM/UA" shrink and move to the upper right. "HOME VIDEO" moves slightly to the right and a transparent square flies in behind "HOME VIDEO". The square shines as a purple squiggly line etches itself in below "MGM/UA" and a lime green squiggly line etches itself below the square. "COMING ATTRACTION" wipes itself below "HOME VIDEO" and flashes, and as this happens, the preview begins above "HOME VIDEO", and when the words flash, the screen zooms into the preview.
 * On home video TV spots for Desperate Hours and Death Warrant, the lines above and below "HOME VIDEO" are thicker.
 * On an advertisement for musical films that were released to home media in 1986, the logo appears 9 times (3 logos on three rows), and clips from the films flip over the logos to end one clip and start another.

FX/SFX: Pretty much the entire formation of the logo, and the shine.

Music/Sounds: A longer version of the second MGM/CBS fanfare, which was also used for the second CBS Video logo.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * The late '80s-early '90s Coming Attraction screen starts off with twelve drumbeats played four at a time, then goes into a moving majestic orchestrated theme with Don LaFontaine announcing "The following is an MGM/UA Home Video coming attraction." The tune is called "Destiny" and is composed by Keith Mansfield.
 * On the MGM/UA Home Video Laserdisc Sampler from 1990, the logo is shown at the end with Leo's 1960 roar (aside from the closing theme).
 * The Australian promo logo (with Leo actually roaring) has a different roar track.
 * The TV spots for Desperate Hours and Death Warrant have the sound of Leo roaring, despite being a still picture, possibly because they replaced it from the original TV spots during each movie's theatrical run.
 * A higher-pitched variant was used on PAL tapes.
 * On certain UK rental tapes from the '80s, after the logo finishes, an announcer says "The following new films, which will soon be available from your local stockist, are brought to you by MGM/UA Home Video, one of the leaders in home entertainment."
 * There does exist a silent variant of this logo. It was spotted on a French Canadian video release of All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Availability: Pretty common. Found on many VHS and Laserdisc videos from MGM and UA, and the logo lasted for a pretty good eleven years, with the last release to use this being Rich in Love. Also seen on early Hemdale Film Corporation releases. Makes a surprise appearance on the 1995 Australian VHS of Getting Even with Dad, a 1999 VHS of Annie Hall, and at the end of the documentary Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which can be found on the 2001 MGM flipper disc release of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Strangely, this appears on a 1985 Betamax release of Forbidden Planet, but in an MGM/CBS case and with MGM/CBS labels. Also seen on the Laserdisc and VHS releases of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes. This logo was kept on reprints even past 1993, including 1995 printings of Pink Floyd: The Wall and Diamonds Are Forever, due to those printings still using tape masters from 1993 and 1992, respectively. Strangely, in a few Asian countries (including Indonesia), the VCDs kept using this logo (instead of having the 4th logo) until 1999. Example of this are the 1997 VCD of GoldenEye and the 1999 VCD of Get Shorty (both 1995 films). Other VCD releases will probably used the regular 1986 MGM logo as de-facto home entertainment logo. Also showed up on a 1999 reprint of Cotton Comes to Harlem, as MGM used the original 1992 tape master for the release.

Editor's Note: One of the most iconic video logos of the 80s.

2nd Logo (1983-1986)
Nicknames: "Leo the Lion II", "MGM Lion", "Roaring Lion", "Gold Ribboning II", "MGM/UA Roaring Lion"

Logo: Same as before, except the text does not move, "HOME VIDEO" is metallic like the MGM/UA text and is a bit smaller with the 1984 MGM logo (minus the Diamond Jubilee text) above the text. Leo roars once.

Variant: On a VHS commercial for Gone with the Wind which aired around 1984-85, it has the "DIAMOND JUBILEE" text (keeping consistent with MGM's 60th anniversary in 1984).

FX/SFX: Leo roaring.

Music/Sounds: Leo's 1982 roar.

Availability: Extremely rare. This logo appeared at the beginning of a promotional trailer for MGM/UA's video release Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and a 1986 promo for classic MGM musicals on home video.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo(October 24, 1989-August 23, 2005)
Nicknames: "Leo the Lion III", "Still Leo the Lion II", "(CGI) MGM Rainbow", "Gold Ribboning III"

Logo: Just the MGM/UA Home Video logo with a copyright stamp on the bottom, against a space background. In the background, there is a pattern of the "MGM/UA HOME VIDEO" text, slanted at an angle, which scrolls from right to left while changing in many different colors. The following changing colors are: gray, red, teal blue, fuchsia, blue, and green.

Trivia:
 * This logo was inspired by the hologram stickers that was used on most VHS releases from MGM before this logo came out.
 * Sometimes, this logo is absent either at the beginning or end of tapes.
 * Starting in 2003, this logo is only seen at the end of tapes.

Variants:
 * 1989-1992 releases show the copyright stamp in a slightly different font, arranged to the left.
 * Some late '90's-2000 releases had a screen freeze of this logo.
 * The beginning of the U.S. VHS of Tea With Mussolini has the logo almost entirely freeze-framed and only starts moving three seconds before it cuts to black!
 * On the 1992 VHS of Fiddler on the Roof, this logo used a 1992 copyright at the beginning of the tape, but a 1990 copyright at the end of the tape. Fiddler on the Roof was probably released on videocassette originally in 1990; when they reprinted it in 1992, they changed the copyright info at the beginning, but they forgot to change the copyright info at the end.
 * The size of the logo and the color changing arrangements varies.
 * On rare releases, there's a rare extended version (with the ending part in place either at the beginning or end of the tapes) where we see the colors: rose pink, golden yellow, violet, and navy blue in place.

FX/SFX: The changing colors, and the scrolling of the "MGM/UA HOME VIDEO" text.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common. It can be seen on MGM/UA movies of the VHS era (excluding LaserDiscs) at both beginning and end of their videos such as All Dogs Go to Heaven and all the 007 VHS releases of the era. However, starting later in 2003, it was only used at the end of tapes. One of the first tapes to use this logo was the original VHS release of Leviathan, and some of the last tapes to use this logo were the 2005 VHS releases of Be Cool, Hotel Rwanda, and Beauty Shop.

Editor's Note: For some reason, there was never a copyright stamp with the years 1991, 1994, or 2005 on it. 1991 VHS tapes had the 1990 copyright stamp, 1994 VHS tapes had the 1993 copyright stamp, and 2005 VHS tapes had the 2004 copyright stamp. Also, it's weird that this was used into the MGM Home Entertainment days, with the name changes.

4th Logo (August 4, 1993-January 27, 1998)
Nicknames: "Leo the Lion IV", "Gold Leo the Lion", "The Rollercoaster Filmstrip", "Gold Ribboning IV", "CGI Gold Ribboning", "MGM/UA Roaring Lion II"

Logo:
 * Opening: On a black background, a golden 3D CGI filmstrip swerves in the screen, and the camera pans down, around, and then upwards on it in a rollercoaster-style fashion. While panning upwards, the 1928 MGM logo with Jackie the Lion slowly fades onto the frames of the filmstrip, as Jackie roars once. Blue rays suddenly appear around the filmstrip, and it then suddenly pans down, revealing the then-current MGM logo, redone in a lusher, CGI style (including the drama mask with the reef surrounding it) with Leo the Lion in it. The blue light rays are all around the logo's ribboning, and the "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" and "TRADE MARK" texts are still intact around it all, as well as the "(R)" symbol, (this time, in yellow gradient coloring). The logo turns and zooms out as the light rays dim out. As the logo makes its way to its normal position and when Leo roars the second time, the logo flashes, causing Leo and the drama mask to turn gold, and the texts around him and the reef to dissolve into dust. The dark blue letters of "MGM/UA" then rotate letter-by-letter underneath Leo, followed by a blue line, and then "HOME VIDEO" in Century Gothic. The entire logo then shines.
 * Closing: The completed logo, with Leo in it, the drama mask already in gold, and without the text, flies in from the left side of the screen with the light rays all around it. After making its way onto the screen, the words "MGM/UA HOME VIDEO", line and all, animate in the same style as the opening variant. Leo roars throughout the variant and does not turn gold.

Variants:
 * On several earlier DVDs with the logo, the DVD quality version has a minor VHS-like graphical glitch on the left seen on part of the filmstrip animation with the 1928 MGM logo. The Laserdisc quality, which is also seen on some DVDs, has this cropped off and re-positioned a little. Other minor changes to these from the original DVD quality has the opening logo brightened and the sharpness of the logos are minorly fuzzy. The closing and the trailer logo do not have the minor color re-adjustment, but they were re-positioned.
 * At the end of The Pebble and the Penguin, the logo cuts to black near the end before it fades out.
 * On MGM Greats releases, after the sparkle effects fade out, the words "MGM GREATS", in red, wipe in (instead of the normal "MGM/UA HOME VIDEO" text) without the spotlight gradient effect. It has been spotted on a 2001 UK VHS of The Great Escape. The logo also fades out slower than usual at the end.
 * On an infomercial for James Bond films which was broadcast on KLGT-TV 23 in 1995, the specular highlights for "MGM/UA" were lit up, and "Presents" fades in instead of the home video text that is normally in place. Also, the logo doesn't shine.

Trivia:
 * On the 1999 VHS release of National Velvet, this logo comes after the MGM Home Entertainment logo at the beginning of the tape. Likely a a result of MGM forgetting to erase the logo when making new masters.
 * On the 1996 VHS release of Rocky, both the opening and closing variations of this appear at the beginning of the tape. The opening variation appears before the previews, while the closing variation appears after the previews.

Trailer Variants: There is a bumper that precedes trailers with a still of the end logo, replacing "HOME VIDEO" with one of these below:
 * COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU
 * NOW PLAYING AT A THEATER NEAR YOU
 * NOW AVAILABLE ON VIDEOCASSETTE
 * COMING SOON ON VIDEOCASSETTE
 * THEATRICAL TRAILER

FX/SFX: The zooming ribbon and pan outs. A big improvement over the first logo done in quite advanced CGI for the time.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare based off the opening theme of The Wizard of Oz, which starts dramatically and then ends in a majestic fashion. During the fanfare, we hear Tanner's roar, and then Leo's 1985 roar. The closing variant has a shortened version of the opening fanfare's ending.

Music/Sounds Variant:
 * On the retail VHS release of The Pebble and the Penguin, the fanfare has weird stereo mixing due to a video processing error.
 * A different version, with completely different music and different roars, is seen on Mexican Spanish tapes until 2000-2001.

Availability: Common. It debuted with the August 1993 home video release of Untamed Heart, and can be found on VHS and Laserdisc releases of this era, such as The Pebble and the Penguin, Get Shorty, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, and the 1996 release of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Earlier DVD releases also have this logo such as Red Dawn (which has the MGM Home Entertainment logo on the cover), The Wizard of Oz, Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky IV, The Black Stallion, Leaving Las Vegas, Rob Roy, GoldenEye, A Christmas Story and Poltergeist. It is also seen on UK releases until at least 2002, on titles such as Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Child's Play. Even though this logo officially ended in 1998 with the DVD releases of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Moonraker, Hoodlum, and the aforementioned Leaving Las Vegas and Red Dawn, the trailer bumpers were still used into the MGM Home Entertainment days, and the logo itself made a surprise appearances on the 1999 VHS releases of When Harry Met Sally..., National Velvet, The Cutting Edge, and Moonstruck. Also seen on The Golden Age of Looney Tunes on Laserdisc. The closing variant makes a surprise appearance at the end of a behind the scenes featurette on the 2000 DVD of Spaceballs (this was likely sourced from a 1996 Special Edition Laserdisc release).

Editor's Note: The CGI animation, Wizard of Oz music and paying homage to the classical era by including Jackie definitely makes this a candidate for one of the best video logos of all time.

(January 27, 1998-2005, still used in South Pacific Asia)
MGM Home Entertainment late 90'sMGM Home Entertainment (1998, DVD Quality)MGM Home Entertainment: 2000

Nicknames: "Leo the Lion V", "Gold Ribboning V"

Logo: Just the standard MGM logo of the time with Leo the Lion roaring. Underneath the logo are the words HOME ENTERTAINMENT in Trajan Pro which are separated by two lines.

Closing Variant: At the end of the animated feature Tom Sawyer, a still image of the MGM logo scrolls up and the text "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" is shown below the logo in a white Roman text. Strangely, the lion is not in its correct still image.

FX/SFX: Leo the Lion roaring.

Music/Sounds: The 1995 lion roar.

Availability: Found primarily on VHS releases, VCDs and later Laserdiscs such as the Special Edition Laserdisc of The Spy Who Loved Me, as well as on the 2000 VHS of Never Say Never Again (despite no MGM logo appearing on the packaging). One of the first releases to use this logo was the 1998 VHS of 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (the demo VHS used the 1990 Orion Home Video logo). This makes a strange appearance on the TV spots for Platoon on its 2001 MGM DVD. Doesn't appear on the 1998 THX remastered Laserdisc of Singin' in the Rain, despite showing the print logo on the cover. Some of the last uses of this logo, like the 3rd logo, were the 2005 VHS releases of Be Cool, Hotel Rwanda, and Beauty Shop. Strangely enough, VCDs released in Asia still use this logo.

Editor's Note: It's generally considered a letdown, especially considering the effort of the 1st and 4th MGM/UA logos, since this is just the plain old MGM logo with a Home Entertainment suffix below.

1st Logo (1998-2003, 2005, 2012)
MGM DVD (2003, fullscreen)MGM DVD (2003, Widescreen)

Nicknames: "Leo the Lion VI", "Loud Lion", "Gold Ribboning VI"

Logo: On a black background, a red oval rotates onto the screen. A small red circle with the MGM logo in it fades in, and we hear Leo roaring loudly in it. The golden letters "MGM DVD" zoom out onto the oval one-by-one. The oval and circle disappear in a flash of light, and the remaining text move closer to each other.

FX/SFX: The lion roars once. As the logo fades out, the lion's growling can be heard.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh and a different but very loud roar sound effect. 6 cello notes are heard as the letters come in, as well as an orchestral hit at the end, and synth chimes.

Availability: Common. Seen on all 1998-2003 MGM Home Entertainment DVDs such as Overboard, UHF, Fluke, The Care Bears Movie, Legally Blonde, Spaceballs, Mr. Mom, The Terminator, The Secret of NIMH, SpaceCamp, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas and the Rocky 25th Anniversary DVD box set. This is also seen on the 2012 James Bond 50th anniversary box set, and also makes a surprise appearance on the 2005 DVD of The Last Waltz.

2nd Logo (2003- )
Nicknames: "Leo the Lion VII", "CGI MGM DVD", "Gold Ribboning VII"

Logo: On a black background, a flash of light emerges from the screen and circles showing clips from MGM-owned movies (in order: Pierce Brosnan from GoldenEye, the titular characters of Thelma & Louise, Raymond and Charlie Babbitt from Rain Man, Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, Steve McQueen's motorcycle jump from The Great Escape, Marilyn Monroe from Some Like It Hot, Willem Dafoe's death scene from Platoon, Frances McDormand from Fargo, Reese Witherspoon from Legally Blonde and Rocky's victory pose after running up the steps in Rocky) fly toward us. As the last circle flies towards us, two golden rings appear in the center rotating and collapse into the MGM DVD logo (in gray), surrounded by a red aura and a yellow outline. Leo roars once in it, and after that, the logo quickly zooms into the screen before cutting to black.

FX/SFX: Clips of MGM-owned films flying, Leo roaring, and the logo zooming.

Music/Sounds: A commanding orchestral fanfare ending with a triumphant finish, which is a snippet of the stock musical piece "Ultimate Glory" by Anthony DiLorenzo. The appearance of the MGM logo is marked with a loud explosion sound, and the 1995 roar is heard when Leo is seen.

Availability: Common. Seen on all DVDs of MGM-owned output released from 2003 up until the mid-2010s, especially those released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment or 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, such as Good Boy!, Agent Cody Banks, the James Bond: Ultimate Collection, Legally Blonde 2, the Collector's Editions of Rocky and Red Dawn (1984 version) and the Rocky Anthology box set. The last known DVD release to use this is Spectre, released on February 9, 2016. However, it began appearing on 2019 DVD releases of Orion Pictures films.