Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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Background : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home entertainment distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, part of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was first established in November 1979 by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. as "Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment", to distribute films from Columbia Pictures on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, and Super 8mm, with Warner Bros. titles being released by them in the latter format. It was later renamed as "RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video" (or "RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video" for international distribution, "RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video" (in conjunction with Hoyts) in Australia and "Gaumont Columbia RCA Video" (in conjunction with Gaumont) in France) in 1981 as a joint venture with RCA, "Columbia TriStar Home Video" on August 23, 1991 after acquiring RCA's shares from General Electric, "Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment" in 1999 before the name was made official in 2001, and to its current name in 2004. It is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library for home entertainment, mainly releases from Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, but also releases product from Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, Triumph Films, Destination Films, Stage 6 Films, Affirm Films, Revolution Studios, its television library, selected miscellaneous output from independent companies, and the CBS Films theatrical releases co-distributed by CBS Home Entertainment. Since June 20, 2007, SPHE now handles the former Sony BMG kids label, Sony Wonder.

Logo (November 1979-November 1982)
Nickname: "The Sunburst"

Logo: The same as the Columbia Pictures "Sunburst" theatrical logo, but there is a video freeze at the end, with "Columbia Pictures" blacked out by the words:

COLUMBIA PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

written in white, in Cooper Black font, chyroned in below.

Variants:
 * There is a black and white version of this logo seen on classic Columbia movies and shorts in B&W.
 * The end will vary from video to video, with it fading to black in one version while another cuts to black.

FX/SFX: Same as the "Sunburst" logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the theatrical version.

Availability: Rare. Columbia TriStar Home Video kept this logo on the '90s VHS releases of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (in print as late as 2000), It's My Turn, Cat Ballou, and The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake (making its appearances on all four after a Columbia TriStar Home Video logo), and it also made an appearance on the mid-80s video releases of those and many others originally released before 1983, including Midnight Express, Bye Bye Birdie, The Taming of the Shrew, And Justice for All, The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head, and The Three Stooges Vol. 2: Micro-Phonies, due to them using older tape masters. You can also find this logo on the company's original '70s clamshell releases, including Midnight Express, Gilda, Born Free, The Taming of the Shrew, A Man for All Seasons, Breakout, The New Centurions, The Deep, Bye Bye Birdie, You Light Up My Life, and the original Fun with Dick and Jane. Surprisingly, this logo also appeared on early to mid '80s video prints of Gerald McBoing Boing and Mr. Magoo cartoons. The black & white version appears on classic Columbia titles in black-and-white, including Knock on Any Door and Gilda among others. Starting in late 1981, videocassettes of Columbia Pictures films go straight to the logo used at the time (a practice that lasted until 1989). There are also some sports specials and non-Columbia Pictures material that contain this logo, such as the 1982 VHS of The Batty World of Baseball. The last videocassettes to use this logo include Hanover Street (itself a Columbia film), To Forget Venice, and the aforementioned Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Editor's Note: The "Columbia Pictures" company name can be briefly seen if one plays the logo in slow-motion and watches carefully.

1st Logo (June 1983-October 1987)
Nickname: "RCA/Columbia Box"

Logo: On a black background, a white-bordered box appears. In it are two black rounded rectangles, with the first bearing the "RCA" logo in red, and the second having the Columbia Pictures print logo in a blue arch-shaped border with "Columbia Pictures" below. "HOME VIDEO" is at the bottom of the white border, in black.

Variants:
 * Sometimes the RCA and Columbia logos flip in on a space background, then the white border "swings in" to surround it. This appeared on releases of films like Ghostbusters, Starman, and A Passage to India, and a promo at the end of The Slugger's Wife.
 * On Beany and Cecil Volume 1, the flipping animation is different and doesn't have a space background.
 * There is a variant on some releases where the border is chrome and "sparkling" effects are layered on. Sometimes at the end of post-credit coming attractions, a copyright stamp would appear below it. Seen on the post-credit coming attractions on Real Genius and Silverado.

FX/SFX: The "swinging border" on the first variation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare. Videos from this company have long been out of print, with most videos being re-released by Columbia TriStar (occasionally with the same RCA/Columbia-style packaging, with CTHV logos replacing any mentions of RCA/Columbia). All Columbia releases and the first few TriStar titles (such as The Natural, The Evil That Men Do, and Birdy) do not contain this logo, but go straight to the movie. However, the logo does appear at the beginning of non-Columbia releases (TriStar Pictures, New Line Cinema, Crown International and Cinetel Films) such as Real Genius, Say Yes, The King of Comedy, Private Resort, Alone in the Dark, Critters, and Rock and Roll: The Early Days. Magic Window releases such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Rubik the Amazing Cube have this logo as well. This logo has been spotted as late as the 1987 releases of About Last Night..., Blind Date, Armed Response, and My Demon Lover. Oddly enough, this plasters the Columbia logo on Easy Rider and Ship of Fools.

2nd Logo (February 1986-December 18, 1991)
Nicknames: "The Cube", "The Spinning Cube", "RCA/Columbia Box II", "CGI RCA/Columbia Box", "The RCA/Columbia Cube"

Logo: On a black background, we see a rotating cube, featuring the same logo as stated above on each side (either 1, 3, or 4 sides). The main difference to the logo, however, is that the border is now silvery, with "HOME VIDEO" etched in silver. A white sparkle appears on the side as it rotates.

FX/SFX: The CGI rotating cube, and the white sparkle. Nice effects, but pales in comparison to its international counterpart.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variant: On No Holds Barred, the New Line Cinema logo is plastered by this logo, keeping the film's opening title music and sound effects (of a ring announcer and a cheering crowd) while this logo is playing. Strangely, this plaster is retained on a Showtime airing from December 1990 (presumably Showtime used a transfer of a video master in this case).

Availability: Uncommon, bordering on Rare. This logo is slightly easier to come across, seeing that it is more recent. However, this logo was only used in the United States and Canada. Again, Columbia releases go straight to the movie until 1989 (the last release to do so was Ghostbusters II). Also, from 1986 to 1987, this logo was restricted to the coming attractions part of the releases. Releases that had this logo include True Believer, Casualties of War, Glory, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Relentless, Out of the Dark, Fast Getaway, Who's Harry Crumb?, Family Business, Look Who's Talking and Look Who's Talking Too, Troop Beverly Hills, and many more. Some of the last releases to include this logo were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Toy Soldiers, City Slickers, Critters 3, Alligator II: The Mutation, and the screener VHS of Boyz N the Hood; here the logo fades out earlier than usual. Earliest prints of Another You have RCA/Columbia on the box and on the video label, but the video itself has neither this nor the first Columbia TriStar Home Video logo, though later releases feature the latter. Strangely, Columbia Tristar Home Video retained this logo on their 90s VHS reissues of Family Business (in print as late as 1998).

1st Logo (1982-1991?)
Nickname: "RCA/Columbia Box"

Logo: On a colored background, the same box from the 1st RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video logo, in 2D, fades in. "HOME VIDEO" is replaced by "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO". Sometimes, the box has a black border, other times, it doesn't have one.

Variants:
 * On PAL tapes in Germany, the logo is against a sky blue background, after its warning screen is finished scrolling. Spanish PAL tapes have the same variant as well, but without the same warning screen.
 * There is a variation with a dodger blue background, at least on PAL tapes from Italy.
 * Some UK tapes have a variation with a crimson background, while others (including a tape of Jabberwocky) have this with a white background.
 * Japanese tapes would use a dark gray background.
 * Another variant has a redrawn (slightly uglier) box, that has "Pictures" smaller than "Columbia", a larger Torch Lady and RCA logo and everything is on a black background. On Argentinian releases from Videomega Entertainment and LK-Tel Video, the logo would usually coast down from the center and cover the screen.
 * Some tapes use the 5th variant, but with a white background, and everything in the large box (Columbia print logo and text) is red and black rather than blue and white.

FX/SFX: The fading in.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Despite it being used for nearly ten years, it is extremely hard to come across in North America. Seen mainly on releases outside of North America such as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Real Ghostbusters, and Annie. However, if you have an NTSC tape from (at least) Mexico, Brazil or Japan, or even a SECAM tape from France or Russia, you'll probably find this logo. Also seen on UK rental releases of Macbeth and D.A.R.Y.L., in addition to Australian releases prior to RCA/Columbia's joint venture with Hoyts in 1983.

2nd Logo (1988?-1992)
Nicknames: "The International Spinning Cube", "RCA/Columbia Box II", "The RCA/Columbia Cube"

Logo: On a black background, a 3D cube comes up from the screen. It has the RCA logo in red at the top and "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO" at the bottom. Then the Columbia Pictures print logo in blue and white swoops up from the bottom. The cube spins once and settles down, facing the viewers.

Variants:
 * On some PAL tapes, the animation takes place on a pale marble background. When the logo has finished animating, it "ripples" out and the whole thing transitions to the warning screen.
 * On releases from Contacto Video in Colombia, the RCA/Columbia logo shrinks down to the lower right of the screen. Then the Contacto Video logo animates, then it shrinks and moves to the upper-left of the screen.
 * On the 1990 PAL tape of Radio Days, at the end, there is a flash and the logo turns into the silvery print logo, which shines.
 * On PAL tapes from Germany, after the logo finished animating, it goes straight to the warning screen (in German).

FX/SFX: The 3D cube rising, and the Columbia Pictures print logo rising from the bottom. Pretty neat CGI animation; it's far superior to its North American counterpart.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic 1980s-sounding synthesized fanfare, complete with a couple of whooshes, or a generic theme. Sometimes it is silent.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * The German PAL version uses a completely different theme with a synth sounder similar to a North American police car or ambulance siren at the beginning.

Availability: Rare. It was only used on video releases outside North America. However, if you have an NTSC tape from (at least) Mexico, Brazil or Japan, or even a SECAM tape from Russia, you'll probably find this logo. However, if you have a SECAM tape from France, expect the 1st or 2nd Gaumont Columbia RCA Video logo to appear instead. The normal variant appears on UK releases of Flatliners and Ghostbusters II, while the marble background variant appears on Hope and Glory.

Editor's Note: Decent CGI for the time and a catchy theme that easily trumps the efforts of the logos domestic territories used.

1st Logo (December 1991-September 9, 1992)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes", "The Boxes Cometh", "The First Box Logo", "Split Rectangle", "Prototype CT Boxes", "Rectangular Boxes"

Logo: On a black background, we see a split rectangle. On the left side, we see the '80s Torch Lady (print version with the sunburst intact behind her), and on the right, the TriStar "Pegasus Over Pyramid" logo (print version too, but minus the word "PICTURES" at the bottom). Above, we see the stacked words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" in Bank Gothic MD BT font that's a little stretched up by height, one above the other, and at the bottom, we see "HOME VIDEO" on a straight line.

Variants:
 * On Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (both the original 1992 RCA/Columbia release and the 1994 CTHV reprint, under license from New Line), The Spirit of '76, Driving Me Crazy, a 1992 VHS reissue of Metropolitan and a 1994 VHS reissue of The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head, the logo doesn't fade in or out.
 * On Australian rental tapes with this logo, it would fade into the "COMING ATTRACTIONS" text seen in the RCA/Columbia/Hoyts logo.
 * On releases from LK-Tel Video, the logo would coast down from the center of the LK-Tel Video logo before sliding down.

FX/SFX: None. Other times, the logo would fade in and fade out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music Variants:
 * On foreign releases, a short guitar/bass note was heard.
 * On tapes from Australia and one tape from Spain, the theme from the RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video logo is heard.

Availability: Very rare. This is a placeholder logo, created for temporary use while the next version was in development, but wasn't ready for use.
 * Among the releases with this logo are original prints of My Girl, Cast the First Stone (at least the screener VHS), The Taking of Beverly Hills, Men at Work, A League of Their Own, Hook (both the original 1992 release and a 1995 VHS reissue), the infamous Troll 2, Misery (1992 prints), The Prince of Tides and Severed Ties.
 * City Slickers has this with the RCA/Columbia print logo on the tape and box, although original prints do have the RCA/Columbia logo on-screen.
 * This was also used on reissues of From Here to Eternity, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (as reissued in 1992 and 1993), Annie (1982), Steel Magnolias, Stripes, The Bear, Look Who's Talking Too, Christine, A Passage to India, The Adventures of Milo and Otis and Bye Bye Birdie.
 * The international version is on VHS releases outside the United States and Canada, including a Spanish VHS of In the Line of Fire.
 * This appears on many reissues of RCA/Columbia releases, some in their original RCA/Columbia packaging, including print logos. Others were modified to varying extents. For example, a reissue of A Man for All Seasons, in print as late as 1995, features this logo on-screen, the following print logo on the box and tape, and even features the characteristic red-border and text designs of RCA/Columbia releases.
 * Original RCA/Columbia releases during early 1992, such as Oscar's Greatest Moments: 1971-1991 and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (released under license from New Line), as well as original prints of Return to the Blue Lagoon, Double Impact, and Bingo, use this logo.
 * One of the last new releases to include this logo was Mississippi Masala.
 * Strangely, this is used on 1994 VHS reissues of The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head and The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake, instead of the 3rd logo.

Editor's Note: While this uses the 1980s print logos for Columbia and TriStar, this is clearly identifiable as the CT box motif, which would be used for the next fifteen years to represent both the Home Video and Television divisions.

2nd Logo (August 26, 1992-May 5, 1993)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes II", "The Boxes Take Form", "Dawn of the Boxes"

Logo: On a white background, we see two boxes outlined with a black border. On the left is one featuring a newly-done Torch Lady, and on the right is a newly-done Pegasus on a Columbia-like cloud background. Above the boxes are the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR", with each word positioned over its respective logo. "HOME VIDEO" is seen below.

Trivia: The Columbia Torch Lady seen on the left was painted by Michael J. Deas and the TriStar Pegasus seen on the right was painted by Alan Reingold.

Variants:
 * There is a variant with an inverted background. The background is black, the letters and the outlined boxes are both white, and both respective logos are a bit close up.
 * The inverted logo variant appeared on a children's video promo seen on UK VHS releases across at least 2000. The text is in the Bank Gothic font and the both respective logos are brighter. Light rays shine on the logo when it fades in, before they disappear after a second.
 * On the Italian VHS of Hook, the logo is boxed in square black lines.

FX/SFX: The fade in and fade out of the logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare. This is just another placeholder logo, but this time they've actually designed the new logos. This is one of the first appearances of the new "Sony Logos" for each company, along with Columbia and TriStar's respective television divisions. Titles with this logo include A League of Their Own, Steel Magnolias, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Waterdance, Aces: Iron Eagle III, Mo' Money, Relentless 2: Dead On (despite being an SVS/Triumph release), The Lawnmower Man, City of Joy, Hero, The Snowman, Married... with Children: It's a Bundyful Life, Falling From Grace, Weekend War, the early John Wayne film Two-Fisted Law, starring Tim McCoy, Shootfighter: Fight to the Death, the 1994 VHS reprint of Return to the Blue Lagoon, and the 1994 VHS reissue of Bingo. This also made appearances on early DVDs, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?. The inverted variant is extremely rare and it has been spotted on an Italian VHS of The Addams Family and the 1997 DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This has also been seen on some Laserdiscs, including the 1993 Criterion release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Wrecking Crew (1968). Among the first VHS releases to have this logo include The Lawnmower Man and The Best of John Candy on SCTV. Interestingly, early videos with this logo would use the print version of the previous logo.

Editor's Note: This would be the first appearance (besides the television divisions) of the newly redone Columbia TriStar logos, about a year before the movies would get their own animated versions.

3rd Logo (May 19, 1993-March 27, 2001)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes III", "Sliding Boxes", "Blue BG Boxes", "Day of the Boxes", "Cloudy Boxes"

Logo: We see a screen full of clouds forming, tossing about. Then, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" in yellow zooms out from above, and "HOME VIDEO" in the same color shrinks out from below as we see the clouds zoom out, as part of a golden-bordered box on a blue-black gradient background. The box then splits apart to reveal the Torch Lady on the left (in its same style as before), and the Pegasus on the right (again, the same style as before), as the wording takes its position. The text shines for a few seconds after the logo is formed.

Variants:
 * There is also an abridged version for some New Line Home Video releases.
 * On a home video TV spot for Amos and Andrew, it's placed on a black background alongside the 1991 New Line Home Video logo.
 * On certain DVDs, the brightness is somewhat darker and there's a visible dot crawl on the right side of the screen. This is seen on some earlier DVDs such as Milo and Otis, though much later DVDs have more contrast and it's slightly brighter.

Trailer Variants: Many times, from 1993-1996, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, the blue background would fade out to the moving clouds and one of the following phrases would zoom in from the center of the screen:
 * COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU
 * COMING SOON TO HOME VIDEO

Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. Beginning in 1997, the 7th logo's trailer variants were used instead. On Australian tapes, the logos would fade out and one of these:


 * COMING SOON
 * NOW AVAILABLE

would slide in from the top and bottom respectively.

FX/SFX: The zooming out effects; nice CGI for the time.

Music/Sounds: A rather dramatic synth theme with ticking drums and hints of piano. The last note of the theme is held out for the rest of the logo.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On the clip-on variants, the music is more orchestrated and a male announcer announces the clip on.
 * On later prints of the original VHS of As Good as It Gets, the logo is silent.

Availability: Very common, even today. Seen on the majority of VHS, Laserdiscs, and DVD releases from Columbia TriStar Home Video, starting with the May 1993 home video release of A River Runs Through It. The abridged version can be found most New Line Home Video releases such as National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Time Runner, Surf Ninjas, Three of Hearts, Needful Things, Malice, Man's Best Friend, Who's the Man?, Excessive Force, Chained Heat 2, Relentless 3, Relentless 4: Ashes to Ashes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and the unrated version of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. This also appears on later DVD reprints of titles such as The Deep, The Big Hit, Big Daddy, Spice World, Look Who's Talking, Anaconda, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Jason and the Argonauts, Oliver!, and Muppets from Space. Also seen on some tapes released in Canada by Astral Video after the Astral logo during the mid-1990s, including Demon Possessed. Surprisingly, on the 1997 VHS of Double Team, as well as 1999 reprints of Immortal Beloved and Fools Rush In, both this logo and the 1997 logo appeared. This also makes an appearance on early copies of the 2002 VHS of Stuart Little (released to coincide with Stuart Little 2), which is certainly a reprint of the earlier 2000 release. The trailer variants can be seen on rental copies of Bad Boys, The Net, Jury Duty, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Strangely, this does not appear on the 1994 VHS of Red Rock West; it just goes straight to the 1982-2004 warning screen. Also appears on some prints of tapes from the Columbia TriStar Family Collection (some used the 4th logo), such as Ghostbusters, The Indian in the Cupboard, Willow, The Babysitter's Club and Care Bears Movie 2: A New Generation; a 2003 reprint of the last one retains this logo. Strangely, this also appears on the Special Edition 2005 VHS of Matilda, likely due to it using a tape master from the original 1996 VHS. The last VHS tapes to use this logo were Charlie's Angels (the 2000 film) and The 6th Day. Also appears on some Canadian VHS releases such as The Wrong Woman and Canadian VHS releases from Motion International and TVA International such as Out of Control (1998), Someone is Watching, Little Men (1998) and Stranger in the House, among possible others. Don't expect this to appear on international DVDs of the period, as they'll plaster it with the music version of the 7th logo (with some exceptions, eg. the 2000 DVD of Total Recall). The logo makes a surprise appearance on the 2002 UK The Very Best of The Muppet Show DVDs, despite the logo being outdated by a year.

Editor's Note: This is a very popular logo among many, and was used longer than any other Columbia TriStar logo. It has drawn some criticism for its longevity.

4th Logo (1995-1997)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes IV", "The Gold Silk", "Take Hollywood Home!", "Sliding Boxes II"

Logo: We start out against an antique gold fabric background. Then a square with the footage of the 1993 Columbia Torch Lady in it fades in, and slides to the left, revealing a box with the footage of the 1993 TriStar Pegasus (but the background is changed into a similar cloud background from the Columbia logo, but a bit shorter and darker), which slides to the right. The words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" appear above the boxes and "HOME VIDEO" on the bottom with "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company" below everything else.

Variant: On some releases, the background is replaced with a background of tossing clouds (from the 3rd logo) and the name and byline are navy blue.

FX/SFX: The boxes fading in and sliding, the animations of the Columbia/TriStar logos in the boxes.

Music/Sounds: A singing trio (two females: one soprano & alto, and a male tenor) singing "TAKE HOLLYWOOD HOOOOOOOOOME!", or the opening theme of the trailer.

Availability: Very rare. It was used only on some tapes released by the short-lived Columbia TriStar Family Collection, such as Real Genius, Willow, Ghostbusters (only some printings, others use the 3rd logo), The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., and The Adventures of Milo and Otis. The variant was seen on several domestic and international promos of home video releases by CTHV. Other tapes with this logo include Persuasion and Money Train.

5th Logo (1996-1998)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes V", "Take Hollywood Home, Again!", "Rising Boxes", "Survival of the Boxes"

Logo: On a taupe brown background, we see a row of gold print logos of the Torch Lady and Pegasus in boxes at an angle. The Columbia and TriStar boxes (in their similar styles from the 4th logo, but this time, they are still and not animated), then rise out of two of the boxes in the center as the row of boxes tilts to face the screen. The 3-D words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" and "HOME VIDEO" in gold, fade in above and below the boxes, respectively with a shining wipe effect.

Trailer Variants: Many times, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, and one of the following phrases, in script, would zoom in from the center of the logo:
 * Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
 * Coming Soon to Home Video
 * Now Available on Home Video

Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played.

Variants:
 * There is a shorter version that doesn't feature a trailer variant.
 * An extremely rare variant exists where there are blue bars featuring small CTHV print logos on the sides of the logo. This version is seen on early DVDs, widescreen edition Laserdiscs and VHS.

FX/SFX: Simple, but nice animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as above, but the singing trio is less jolly.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On some trailers like both versions of the Family Collection trailer, the exact same music from the last logos is used.
 * On the trailer variants of this logo, a 6-note piano jingle is added at the beginning. Also, as the clip-on zooms in, a male announcer says the text on-screen as a brief string theme is heard.
 * The 2nd version of the Family Collection trailer has a version similar to the one mentioned above, except the piano jingle is shortened to the last 4 notes.

Availability: Rare. It was used for only 2 years. Sometimes it was alternated with the 1993 blue background logo, so as always, keep your eye out. The best source for this logo would be the company's earliest DVD releases (circa 1997-1998) such as Philadelphia, Little Women (1994), Fly Away Home, Screamers (1995), and A League of Their Own. It also appeared on the VHS releases of Money Train, Bottle Rocket, The Craft, Heavy Metal, Multiplicity, The Cable Guy (only some prints, others just used the 3rd logo), Matilda, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Fan, Fly Away Home, later copies of Bad Boys, The Net, Magic in the Water, High School High, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Fools Rush In, Beverly Hills Ninja, Buddy, and the 1997 reprint of Who's Harry Crumb?. The shorter version appeared on Jumanji (there was an ad for Sony Maximum Television sets, followed by a trailer bumper immediately after) and Jerry Maguire (only some prints, others used the 3rd logo instead). The widescreen version appears on the 1998 DVD of Immortal Beloved and the letterbox Laserdisc editions of The Indian in the Cupboard, Lost in Yonkers, and The Cable Guy (including the 1997 DVD). This version also appears on the 1st 1997 DVD of A League of Their Own (the same disc was used for a 2004 bargain bin reprint and a 2009 double-feature repackaging with Sleepless in Seattle [the DVD label specifies a 2004 copyright, indicating the reprint]). Strangely, neither this nor the 3rd and 6th logos are used on the 1997 DVD releases of Jerry Maguire and Last Action Hero.

6th Logo (1997)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes VI", "Blue Print Boxes", "The Boxes Of Boredom"

Logo: Up against a royal blue background with many print logos of CTHV on it, we see the standard C-T boxes outlined in white with the white text "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" above and "HOME VIDEO" below the logo respectively.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo.

Availability: Extremely rare. This was seen on the widescreen side of the first DVD releases of The Net, The Fifth Element, Johnny Mnemonic and Happy Birthday to Me. Shortly after this, Columbia TriStar began using the 3rd logo on their DVDs starting with the late 1997 DVD releases of Fools Rush In, Annie (1982 version), and Look Who's Talking.

Editor's Note: Compared to other CTHV logos, this is quite boring. However, it was, after all, a placeholder.

7th Logo (July 22, 1997-2001)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes VII", "The Filmstrip", "The C-T Filmstrip", "Revenge of the Boxes"

Logo: On an ethereal blue background, we see filmstrips crisscrossing the screen, with each frame in each filmstrip featuring the C-T box logo. We see a filmstrip in the center of the screen and then pan towards it, seeing the boxes in each frame and the endings of their respective movie animations playing out within them. As the final frame reaches the screen, the background turns white with several blue areas in each corner as the boxes (with the footage of the Torch Lady from the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo on the left and the footage of the Pegasus from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo on the right) go into position. Then the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" and "HOME VIDEO" fade in above and below the boxes, respectively.

Variants:
 * A squished widescreen variant exists on VCDs.
 * On VHS releases that contain the "Home Entertainment" variant of the next logo, "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" replaces "HOME VIDEO" on the trailer variants.
 * There is an extremely rare variant with the music in which after the logo forms, the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME VIDEO" fade out and the words "COMING SOON" appear on the bottom of the screen.

Trailer Variants: Many times, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, and one of the following phrases, in script, would zoom in from the center of the logo:


 * Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
 * Now Playing in Theaters/Coming Soon to Home Video
 * Coming Soon to Home Video
 * Now Available on Home Video
 * Now Available

Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played.

FX/SFX: Great CGI.

Music/Sounds: None, but on international releases, a trip hop tune accompanied by a faint choir and ending with an orchestral hit was used. On The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo, it uses the music from the 5th logo.

Availability: During the beginning of its existence, it was pretty easy to spot. However, around 1998, this logo was no longer used as their standard logo. The trailer variants, however, continued to be used until the 9th logo's introduction in 2001. Tapes with this logo include The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo, Booty Call, the Broadway Tribute Edition VHS release of Annie, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Anaconda, The Fifth Element, Men in Black, My Best Friend's Wedding, Air Force One, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Big Hit, Slappy and the Stinkers, Seven Years in Tibet, Gattaca, early prints of As Good as It Gets, Animorphs: The Invasion Series, and the infamous movies 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain and Baby Geniuses. It has also been seen on the UK DVD releases of Das Boot and Muppets from Space as well as the 2001 DVD of The Muppets Take Manhattan complete with the jingle. It also surprisingly appeared on a mid-2000s UK DVD of Ghostbusters, which must have been a reprint of an earlier DVD. Surprisingly, on the 1997 VHS of Double Team, as well as 1999 reprints of Immortal Beloved and Fools Rush In, both this logo and the 1993 logo appeared. The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" trailer variant version is rare and seen on a handful of tapes that are post 2001 printings of CTHV releases, such as Love Stinks, The Winslow Boy, the Special Edition VHS of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Grey Owl. See the availability section for the next logo for more information. Also spotted on the 2000 region 4 DVD release of Blue Streak (with the jingle). Like the 3rd logo, the last tapes to use this were Charlie's Angels (2000 film) and The 6th Day. Reprints of both of these films use the 9th logo instead. This is retained on the 2014 Australian DVD reprint of The Swan Princess, with the jingle.

Editor's Note: If you thought this was good, the next one is even better.

8th Logo (1999-2002)
Nicknames: "CT Boxes VIII", "C-T DVD", "The Boxes of Splendor", "The Last of the Boxes"

Logo: On a screen filled with clouds, the words "COLUMBIA" spelling itself standard and "TRISTAR" spelling itself backwards letter-by-letter, handsomely done in shining silver text, tumble onto the screen, "COLUMBIA" coming from the upper right and "TRISTAR" coming from the lower left. The clouds clear, revealing a nice backdrop of clouds and two white, glowing boxes. As the light in the boxes die down, the Columbia Torch Lady zooms in towards us in the left box, and we see the Pegasus (in his similar style from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo), stretch his wings in the right box, as the wings cross over to the Columbia box. The words "COLUMBIA" and "TRISTAR" later change to gold lettering and position themselves under the boxes, and "DVD" (or "HOME VIDEO" for VHS releases) zooms out from the top, at warp speed, landing below the C-T text, causing the phaser effect to appear around it, which suddenly disappears.

Variants:
 * Columbia Tristar had adapted this logo for VHS releases; however, there were only a select handful of releases that used this version, such as Blue Streak, Random Hearts, The King of Masks, Crazy in Alabama, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Gen-X Cops, Fortress 2: Re-Entry and most notably, Stuart Little.
 * There is another variant that has "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" in place of "HOME VIDEO". This variant only appeared on a handful of releases; see the availability section for more info on this variant.

FX/SFX: Mind-blowing CGI, and has become a favorite of many who've seen it.

Music/Sounds: Whooshing sounds as the words, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" move into position. An ethereal humming noise as the boxes are revealed and animate. As the TriStar Pegasus unfolds and stretches his wings, we hear a low whoosh sound. Last, a phaser sound as the certain text moves into place and we hear chime sounds. Sometimes, there was a louder version. There is also another version that has a very different phaser sound, but it's unknown which releases have that version.

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a 5.1 Dolby Digital version which enhances the phaser sounds. It can be found on the 2000 DVD of Look Who's Talking Too and the 2001 Collector's Edition DVD of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Availability: It's seen on most DVD releases of the time; prior to this, they used the 1993 logo. The "HOME VIDEO" version can be found on the aforementioned titles above. The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" version can be seen only on the 2000 VHS of Love Stinks, the 2002 DVD of the Japanese animated Metropolis (possibly some prints, others use the 2001 CTHE logo with DVD music), the 2000 VHS of The Winslow Boy, the 2001 DVD of Jackie Chan is the Prisoner, the 2000 Special Edition VHS of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and the 2000 VHS of Grey Owl. The "DVD" version can be found on all 2000-2002 DVDs such as Girl Interrupted, Dogma, Fly Away Home, Steel Magnolias, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (The Collector's Edition), Little Women (1994 version), Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams, The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, Stuart Little, Look Who's Talking Too, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, The Karate Kid Part II, Hook, Stand by Me, Joe Dirt, The Patriot, Snatch and the first UK DVD release of The Karate Kid. Strangely, this logo makes an appearance on the 2002 Deluxe Edition DVD of Men in Black. One of the last releases to use this was the DVD release of See No Evil, Hear No Evil. This was also retained on the 2003 reprints of Eye of the Beholder, Cruel Intentions 2, and Snatch, the 2005 reprint of The Next Karate Kid, the 2006 SPHE reprint of Fly Away Home, as well as the 2014 Australian DVD reprint of Stuart Little. It was also seen on early Bear in The Big Blue House and Dragon Tales DVDs as well. Originally, the logo was planned to appear on the DVD release of Spider-Man.

Editor's Note: If this blew your mind like we said previously, wait until you see the successor to these logos below...

9th Logo (April 24, 2001-June 14, 2005)
Nickname: "Ultra Majestic Torch Lady-Pegasus Combo"

Logo: Over the usual cloud background, we pan past an extreme close up of the Torch Lady's legs and feet (covered in the robe of course), then dissolve into a pan of the TriStar Pegasus (in the print artwork style except for the body and the legs, which are in the 1993 movie logo style, but in the same color as the Pegasus' face and wings) unfolding his wings. The pan then quickly dissolves into a shot from the center of the Pegasus unfolding his wings, albeit in a close-up fashion, and then a dissolve to the Torch Lady zooming out from her face. The logo then dissolves to reveal the Torch Lady and Pegasus side-by-side on a cloud background in their print artwork styles, with "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" slightly sliding in with "HOME ENTERTAINMENT", in a smaller font, fading in letter-by-letter and the logo disappears after two light streaks in a straight horizontal fade out completely at the end.

Trivia:
 * This is notable for being the last logo using the "Columbia TriStar" brand since Columbia TriStar Domestic/International Television's rebranding in 2002.
 * On the demo VHS of Kermit's Swamp Years, the logo was followed by a 2nd blue FBI Warning before the Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo. This is most likely due to an editing mistake (video here). However, this was corrected on the release tape print.

Variants:
 * On some 2002 VHS prints of Stuart Little, there is a promo for Little Secrets that features this logo minus "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" below.
 * The rest of the top parts of the logo's aspect scaling is not seen on the VHS version of the logo making the rendered footage appear a little bit tall with part of the top cropped off. It was re-adjusted for the 2nd music variant for DVDs especially for the widescreen version. Another difference with these have different color adjustments.
 * The VHS version of the logo usually cuts to black at the end on U.S. VHS tapes without trailers (and on demo VHS tapes after the Hi-Fi Stereo logo before the FBI Warning) even on VCDs and DVDs where this variant is used. The cut to black version of the first music variant occasionally pops up before the shortened widescreen trailer version of the logo on 2004-2005 tapes such as The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss video The Cat's Musical Tales. In the United Kingdom, almost every VHS tapes have the logo fading out at the end but a few of them have the VHS logo that cuts to black which one example video that has it is on Bear in the Big Blue House: The Summer of Love. It also appears on the retail VHS of Soul Assassin (containing previews) which cuts directly to the Winchester films logo before the film.
 * For some odd reason, Bear in the Big Blue House LIVE! has the DVD version of this logo with extra black borders on the vertical sides which should have been cropped off.
 * After the trailers on Demo VHS videos, a shortened version of the logo is played.
 * The short version of the first music variant is seen on demo tapes after the previews and before the FBI Warnings such as Kermit's Swamp Years.
 * On the first trailer of Kermit's Swamp Years, the logo is identical to the DVD variant except that the saturation matches the VHS variant and with bobbing effect from the bob de-interlacing filter.
 * On most Columbia TriStar DVDs from 2002-2005, the logo is in warp-speed.
 * The print logo has the typical boxes, with "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" above and "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" below; it's all on a white background. This logo appeared on the Comedy TV Preview found on Married... with Children: The Most Outrageous Episodes and was never used on general releases. This can also be found on certain promos of TV series by Sony Pictures Television.
 * On VHS releases from 2004-2005, it has a shortened version of this logo with a trailer bump, but has the DVD music. Seen on Spider-Man 2, 13 Going on 30 (non-reprint copies only), White Chicks, Christmas with the Kranks, The Forgotten, Left Behind: The Movie, and Fahrenheit 9/11.
 * Due to a video processing error on the demo VHS of Love and a Bullet after the HiFi Stereo logo, the beginning of the logo where the first notes and the clicking sound heard are edited out.
 * There is a 2.35:1 scope version of the first music variant seen on the 2001 UK DVD release of Dirty Dancing.
 * On some VCD prints, the 16:9 cropped version of the first music variant is present on the disc.

Trailer Variants: Many times, letters would appear on top of the screen, and it, in regular font, with an announcer (Eric Gordon), would state the following (on VHS promos, half of the logo is playing in widescreen and the words are on the wide boxes):
 * Coming Soon to Theaters
 * Now Playing In Theaters
 * Coming Soon to Home Video
 * Coming Soon to Video and DVD
 * Coming Soon to DVD
 * Now Available on Home Video
 * Now Available on Video and DVD

Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. On demo VHS tapes, the letters do not fade in above the trailer version of the logo at the beginning of the tape before the trailers.

International Trailer Variants: On early Australian releases the logo plays normally and in the top right of the screen letters appear spelling "COMING SOON". So far this has been spotted on 2001 Aussie VHS releases of Charlie's Angels and Wicked.

FX/SFX: Of course, what's mentioned in the description doesn't cover the entire logo. Throughout the animation, the logos are artistically stylized, with mosaic and pixelization effects being used through the logo and a scrolling Matrix-like wall of typography appearing throughout. Also, the designers of the logo, Montgomery/Cobb, retouched the face of the Torch Lady and the wings of the Pegasus to make them look more realistic. The dissolves are done gradually, almost like wipes, and the logo seems to be divided up into five sections during the animation, before coming together as an actual logo at the end. It's quite the artistic and beautiful logo, especially one to impress.

Music/Sounds: There were two variants:
 * VHS (and early VCDs and DVDs): Composed by Machine Head of Venice, California, the clicking noise comes first, then a wonderful, majestic synthesized fanfare with horns playing throughout the logo. Also, it would be interesting to note that this variant of the logo used to be one of the longest, clocking in at nearly 20 seconds, until others such as The ABM Group, Hendring Limited and Photo-Video were discovered.
 * DVD (and later VCDs and VHS): A shorter acoustic guitar tune that rises into a triumphant theme with bells, strings, and a small chorus. The animation plays slightly quicker here.

Music/Sounds Variant:
 * On the VHS trailer version of this logo, the clicking noise heard at the beginning of the regular VHS version of the logo is absent.
 * A 5.1 synthesized version of the first music variant exists. This audio variant can be heard on certain DVDs like the original United Kingdom DVD release of Charlie's Angels.
 * On UK and Australian releases of Kermit's Swamp Years, along with the Jim Henson Entertainment logo and the film itself, the audio is high pitched. The logo itself also appears to have been very slightly sped up.

Availability: Common on VHS and DVD releases from the era. Some of them are still in print.
 * The first VHS to have this logo was Finding Forrester. A few of the releases that include this logo are Underworld, Hellboy, Spider-Man 1 and 2, and the first few releases of the complete seasons of The King of Queens, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and All in the Family, among others. Tapes of this logo without the clip-on at the top include Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Fun to Learn and Jay Jay the Jet Plane: New Friends, New Discoveries, along with some prints of The Animal, Snatch, Not Another Teen Movie, Black Hawk Down, A Knight's Tale, Daddy Day Care, and 50 First Dates.
 * The first music variant is extremely rare on DVDs, but has been spotted on the R1 DVD of the Jeffrey Blitz documentary Spellbound and also seen on the regions 2 and 4 DVDs of Charlie's Angels (2000), Van Damme's The Order (2001), China Moon and S.W.A.T. (2004 printing), as well as the German DVD of Dark Blue World (aka Tmavomodry Svet) distributed by Helkon Media. The widescreen variant of the music has been spotted on the R4 DVD double feature "Born Free+Living Free" and the United Kingdom DVD releases of Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different and Van Damme's The Order. A scope variant of this was spotted on the 2001 UK DVD release of Dirty Dancing (1987). An excerpt of the VHS variant can be seen on the promo of Matilda on the DVD release of Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2. It can also be found on early VCDs, such as Snatch and the widescreen variant can be found on some VCDs like the Thai copy of Legends of the Fall. Don't expect to find the first music variant on early U.S. DVDs, because they use the 9th logo instead.
 * The second music variant on VHS can be seen at the end of Jay Jay the Jet Plane VHS releases, Bear in the Big Blue House LIVE!, retail copies of Kermit's Swamp Years and later international VHS releases, such as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
 * Strangely, this logo was not seen on the 2001 VHS releases (containing trailers) of The Animal and A Knight's Tale; it just goes straight to their widescreen "Coming Soon to Home Video" bumper. It also wasn't seen on the Cloud Ten Pictures DVDs from 2004.
 * The trailer variants make a surprise appearance after the logo below on the VHS releases of Are We There Yet?, Boogeyman, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, and D.E.B.S. Strangely, the second variant of this logo appears (with the 2002 Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo) on French European TV airings of Kermit's Swamp Years. On a similar note, it also appears at the start of the film on the DVD release of Kermit's Swamp Years; as a result, it appears twice on the same DVD! The one at the start of the film for the PAL version is noticeably higher pitched than the one before the menu. The logo was preserved on the German Blu-Ray release of Kermit's Swamp Years.
 * It also appears on later tapes from TVA, including Operation Delta Force 5: Random Fire.

Don't expect to see this (or the 8th and the 7th logos for that matter) on Region 4 DVD releases of Universal Pictures films that they released on DVD (Bridget Jones's Diary, The Blues Brothers, etc.), they just go straight to the movie after the Universal warning screen of the time.

Editor's Note: It's a popular logo now that the widely hated "Split Boxes" have been put to rest. A nice fanfare and great logo concept makes this logo a winner.

Logo (March 24, 2005- )
Nicknames: "The Shining Bars", "Ultra Majestic Sony Pictures Bars", "SPE Bars", "Sony Bars", "The SPE Parallelogram", "Lightbeam in Parallelogram", "Lightbeam in Striped Parallelogram"

Logo: Over a set of purple clouds, we see a bright light with rays shooting outward which start to create some lens flares. A set of white lines of light appear and zoom out to solidify into the 1991 Sony Pictures Entertainment's logo, which give off rays of light. As this happens, the background turns black. The rays die down and we see "SONY PICTURES" in the Sony font appear below the Bars, a line is drawn underneath that, and "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" appears underneath.

Trailer Variants: On 2005-2006 VHS releases by SPHE, one of the following phrases would fade in during the clouds portion of the animation with a male announcer saying the phrase. Afterwards, the rest of the animation plays as normal.


 * Coming Soon to Theaters
 * Now Playing in Theaters
 * Coming Soon to DVD and Video
 * Now Available on DVD and Video

Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played.

Variant: On Blu-ray Discs since June 20, 2006, as well as a few DVDs since December 26, 2005, the logo is much more contrasted.

FX/SFX: Just great CGI; much better animation than its TV counterpart.

Music/Sounds: Two timpani drumbeats, followed by an uplifting horn/string arrangement. Composed by Lee Sanders. Sometimes, the theme is played in low tone. On the U.S. DVDs of Zathura and The Squid and the Whale, the theme is in high tone.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the double feature set of Annie/Annie: A Royal Adventure!, disc 1 (Annie), on both sides, has this logo with the music from the 3rd CTHV logo. That disc is likely a modified reprint of the original 1997 flipper DVD that has both widescreen and full screen versions, which may explain this plaster oddity.

Availability: Common. Can be found on all videos released by the company from 2005 onward. The print SPHE logo goes back to November 2004, and those early SPHE releases (including reprints) still have either the 1993 CTHV logo, or the 2001 CTHE logo. The animated SPHE logo made its debut on the PSP UMD of Spider-Man 2 in the spring of 2005. The first DVD to have this logo was Are We There Yet?, released on May 24, 2005. The trailer variants can be considered very rare, as this logo debuted shortly before SPHE discontinued releasing stuff on VHS, but they appear on VHS releases by SPHE that were released between 2005-2006, such as Guess Who, Zathura, Into the Blue, Bewitched, Layer Cake, The Amityville Horror (2005 remake), Stealth, The Marksman, Are We There Yet?, Hitch, Lords of Dogtown, The Fog (Widescreen Unrated version), Boogeyman, The Gospel, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Man of the House, xXx: State of the Union, The Legend of Zorro, Madison, Subemerged, Man of the House and The Berenstain Bears VHS releases from 2005-2006, and made their final appearance on Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild. Strangely, this logo appeared on TV airings of Open Season 2 and Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild and many direct-to-DVD releases on any television network. Don't expect this on the 2017 DVD releases of Morgan Creek films, strangely.

Editor's Note: A nice change from the Columbia TriStar name, and we only hope that if this gets replaced that its successor improves upon this one.