Golden Sun Films (Hong Kong)

Background

Golden Sun Films was founded in 1972 by William Lan, acting as a somewhat obscure distributor of different films. They moved to Hong Kong in 1989, and as such, they are now one of the leading distribution companies in the industry, with over 500 titles in their library.

1st Logo

(1976-1980s)

Nicknames: "The Sunburst", "The Original Sunburst"

Logo: On a black background, a orange semicircle appears at the bottom of the screen. After a few seconds, it zooms in and moves to the top of the screen, with an white arc drawing inside it. The inside is then filled with a cream yellow color and spikes appear along the outside of the arc starting from the right, forming a sunburst that looks suspiciously like the 1976 Columbia Pictures logo. The Mandarain text "司公(港香)業影吉泰" in a hand-written style, appears one by one from the right, and then the English name "GOLDEN SUN FILM (H.K.) CO." wipes in from the left.

FX/SFX: The sunburst forming, the text appearing. Standard stuff.

Music/Sounds: A standard stock orchestral piece.

Availability: Extremely rare. It may have been first seen The Story of The Dragon, and later appeared on films like Shaolin Ex Monk and Devil Killer.

Editor's Note: It's fine for the period, but there is one massive mistake: the mandarain text is displayed in the reverse order.

2nd Logo

(1980s-1997)

Nicknames: "The GS", "The Yellow/Orange GS"

Logo: On a black background, a golden yellow "G" draws in, with film spools on the top and bottom hook parts. The "G" then flashes as a orange "S" is drawn in between the "G"'s stems, creating a interlocked "GS". The dark red Mandarain characters "香港泰吉影業公司" appear one by one below, and then the text "GOLDEN SUN FILM CO." fades in below in a white Times New Roman font. "Presents" in a smaller print also appears with it below the entire line of text.

FX/SFX: The drawing of the logo.

Music/Sounds: A different-sounding stock orchestral piece that has a focus on trumpets.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on many films during the period.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1997-2003)

Nicknames: "The GS II", "The Gold GS"

Logo: The sun rises over the ocean, turning the background sky blue. The sun then turns into a Earth and spins pretty fast. The translucent logo and Chinese characters zoom out and lay their places and the English name is wiped in by a light. The Earth flashes to change the background to black and the logo gold.

FX/SFX: The sun rising and becoming Earth, the logo zooming out, the flash.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral fanfare.

Availability: Common.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (2003- )

Nicknames: "The GS III", "The Purple/Gold GS"

Logo: On a black background, a light shines as the G and S, in purple and gold respectfully, zoom out, rotate, and settle to their places. A purple box is drawn as the name in English and Chinese, also in purple, fade in. The logo shines brightly.

FX/SFX: The forming.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral fanfare with whooshes.

Availability: Current.

Editor's Note: None.