20th Century Studios (Modified Screens)

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum



1st Screen (1994-2002)

Visuals: Just the same modified screen used on Trifecta/Universal/DreamWorks/Paramount home video and television releases.

Variant: On a 2001 syndicated print to Black Widow and an airing of Broadcast News, the text is in a Bold Times New Roman font. Also, it's videotaped.

Technique: Same as the Paramount/Universal modified screen.

Audio: Same as the Paramount/Universal modified screen.

Availability: It can be seen on the 1995 VHS of The Pagemaster and the full-screen DVDs of Cast Away (also seen on the VHS), The Sound of Music, and Digimon: The Movie. Also seen on a 2001 syndicated print to Black Widow and an airing of Broadcast News.

2nd Screen (1994-January 20, 2009)

Visuals: There is the words "The following film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this screen" on a black background.

Variant:

  • Some TV prints of Fox movies do feature this screen, with the text usually reading :
    • "...formatted to fit this screen and edited for content."
    • "...formatted to fit this screen and edited to run in the time allotted and for content."
    • "...formatted to run in the time allotted and edited for content."
  • On colorized films, the text reads "The following is a colorized version of the original black-and-white film."
  • On Disney Channel's print of Dr. Dolittle 3 and the DVS VHS release of Cheaper by the Dozen 2, the text is in a different font.

Technique: Fading effects. None for DVDs that are in the full-screen format, except for the full-screen DVD of Independence Day.

Audio: None, but on the audio description VHS of Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), a narrator reads the text.

Availability: Seen on all Fox releases during the era (mostly VHS) including Ice Age, Baby's Day Out, Home Alone 3, Garfield: The Movie, Robots, and Roll Bounce, among others, as well as Disney's VHS releases of Finding Nemo and Shanghai Knights (in place of their modified screen), and the pan-and-scan VHS/Laserdisc of Titanic (in place of Paramount's modified screen). Also seen on some full-screen DVDs of the era (without the fade in and fade out) and on a few fullscreen Anchor Bay releases, including Manhunter. Surprisingly, this also appeared at the start of Comet's print of Stigmata (a MGM film) and an old syndicated print of Savoy Pictures' No Escape as seen on WAMI-TV in 2001. The "...formatted to fit this screen and edited to run in the time allotted and for content." version makes a strange appearance at the start of the 2002 Mexican VHS release of Minority Report. The last release to use this was the fullscreen DVD of Igor. It was also seen at the start of 2009 Disney Channel and Disney XD airings of Catch That Kid.

3rd Screen (Early 2000s)

Visuals: On a black background, there is the following text in an Arial font:

This film has been modified from its
original version. It has been formatted to fit
this screen and edited to run in the time
allotted and for content.

Variant: The font may vary.

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on most old syndicated/TV prints of 20th Century titles until the late 2000s, like on a 2001 print of The French Connection and an old ABC Family (now Freeform) airing of Out to Sea, among others. Also seen on Revolution Studios movies distributed by Debmar-Mercury through 20th Television like Zoom, The One and xXx: State of the Union, among others.

4th Screen (Late 2000s-2020)

Visuals: On a black background the text in the same font as the 3rd MGM modified screen reads "The following film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this screen, to run in the time allotted and edited for content." Sometimes, the text may start with "This film...".

Variants:

  • On a syndicated print of I, Robot as seen on WGN America (now NewsNation) in 2011, the text is bigger and in a different font.
  • On some recent titles like FX's print of Bohemian Rhapsody, the fade-in (and sometimes the fade-out) is omitted.

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Can be seen on recent TV prints of 20th Century titles before the Disney buyout. Also seen on later syndicated prints of Revolution Studios movies distributed by Debmar-Mercury thru 20th Television, like Perfect Stranger. Also found on syndicated prints of movies from Lionsgate and its subsidiaries (Summit Entertainment and Roadside Attractions). The last Fox film to be broadcast with this screen was Bohemian Rhapsody, but is still used on Lionsgate and STX Films titles.

Final Note

Since 2020, most TV prints of 20th Century Studios/Fox titles started using Disney Media Distribution's modified screens.

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