Guild Film Distribution

Background

Guild Film Distribution was the theatrical division of Guild Home Video.

1st Logo (1985-June 25, 1993)

Visuals: On a blue background, orange bar segments fly in from the left and right of the screen, syncing with the music, while they sparkle and zoom out. Eventually, the bars start forming the Guild logo. When the logo is fully formed, "GUILD Film Distribution" in white and in the Belwe Bold BT font fades in below the logo.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A synth note is held throughout, with a synth bass line (composed on a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer) that speeds up slightly near the end, followed by a synth fanfare in E♭ minor. A female chorus hums during this section, ending in them shouting "Go Guild!".

Audio Variant: In its last year of usage, it used a lush orchestral remix of the 1993 home video theme.

Availability:

Seen on VHS releases of Guild's first cinema releases, such as Cliffhanger, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Fourth War, Universal Soldier, and Rambo III.
The later music variant was found on a trailer for Bad Lieutenant, which can also be found on the Blu-ray release thereof from Fabulous Films.

2nd Logo (1993-August 2, 1996)

Visuals: Against a black background, there is a director's chair in a blue spotlight. The camera pans around the chair, and both parts of the Guild logo slide from both sides of the screen in a tilted position, then "GUILD" appears underneath when the screen zooms into the chair.

Variants: A "windowboxed" version exists, appearing before the Cinergi Pictures logo on the UK trailer for Judge Dredd.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A mystical pan-flute tune, complete with a synth whoosh and an orchestra at the end.

Audio Trivia: The music was composed using the Korg M1 workstation from 1988.

Availability: Seen on later Guild cinema releases of the era before the company started a merger with Pathé in 1996, such as James and the Giant Peach; the home video counterpart can be found on the 1997 UK VHS release of the film.

Guild Film Distribution

Guild Pathé Cinema

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