Lionsgate Home Entertainment (Warning Screens)

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

North America

1st Warning (1980-1984)

Visuals: On a black background, a white box with the large text "FBI" in black is seen towards the left, and to the right ""WARNING" is seen on top, followed by the following text below set to the left:

ANY COMMERCIAL USE OR
DUPLICATION OF THIS COPY-
RIGHT MATERIAL WITHOUT
PRIOR LICENSING IS FOR-
BIDDEN BY FEDERAL LAW.
VIOLATORS WILL BE
PROSECUTED.

Below it, "COPYRIGHT ©1980.". The entire logo is filmed and has a slight pink tint to it.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Originally seen on Caballero Control Corporation Home Video porn releases, like the original VHS releases of Sensations and Insatiable. It was also seen on a Family Home Entertainment VHS of Les Miserables.

2nd Warning (1983-1990, 1994-1995)

Visuals: On a black background, a white box outline is seen, with a white filled box on top that has "FBI" in black. Below it is a black box, with the word "WARNING" in red, which blinks on and off, and below it is the following text in white and set to the left:

Any commercial use or duplication of
this copyright material without prior
licensing is forbidden by federal law.
Violators may be subject to civil and/or
criminal penalties.

Variants:

  • Early tapes with this logo had the warning text from before, which is compressed to make room for "CABALLERO CONTROL CORPORATION" at the bottom of the black box. "WARNING" also blinks at a faster rate, exactly blinking 23 times as it is done fading out.
  • On U.S.A. Home Video releases, the warning screen splits into quarters, which exit to all four sides of the screen. It then segues into the U.S.A. Home Video logo.
  • Later tapes from Monterey Home Video with this warning screen had this split in half at the end and the two halves move toward the left and right edges of the screen to make room for the Monterey logo.
  • On some prints of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, the word "WARNING" is removed.
  • A still version of this was spotted on Monster Madness Volume 1.
  • A recreated variant exists on Palm Beach Entertainment releases. Here, the text is all in Times New Roman, there's no blinking, and everything is centered.
  • On King Bee Video tapes, the word "WARNING" isn't blinking and the surrounding background is blue.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: None.

Audio Variants:

  • On the U.S.A. Home Video variant, after 7 seconds of silence, a loud synthesizer blare plays that segues into the U.S.A. Home Video logo theme.
  • On Magnum Entertainment releases, the first second of the logo theme begins at this warning's final second.

Availability:

  • This warning screen was first seen on most FHE/USA/IVE releases from 1983-1988. The warning remained on FHE releases until 1990 and can also be seen on early King Bee tapes.
  • It has also appeared on various other companies' tapes too, some of them not affiliated with IVE, FHE, or USA (i.e: Tenth Avenue Video, Magnum Entertainment, V.E.C., VCA Pictures, and Classic Family Entertainment).
  • It is also seen on tapes from Caballero, especially the earlier variant, which can also be seen on the Monterey Home Video release of Deadly Games, among possible others. However, later prints have the normal version instead.

3rd Warning (October 6, 1988-2004)

Visuals: Just the 3D word "WARNING" in red, with the generic warning text in a white, italicized Arial font below.

Variants:

  • On some tapes, the top text is changed to "FBI WARNING".
  • Some IVE and Live Home Video releases, as well as Vidmark Entertainment releases, have a gap between the two sentences, as well as smoother text.
  • On The Rudolph, Frosty & Friends Sing Along VHS, everything is in a different font, "WARNING" is smaller and more squat, and the text is spaced apart further.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None, though the first Vidmark releases to use this warning had the warning text read by a voiceover.

Availability: This warning screen is currently present on all late IVE, Live, Artisan, FHE, and Lionsgate releases. On VHS and LaserDisc releases, it is usually at the beginning; whereas on DVDs it is usually after the film. Also appears on later Vestron Video releases after Live Entertainment acquired Vestron. Also seen on Pioneer Entertainment, C/FP Video, Cineglobe Video, Palladium Books, and Vidmark Entertainment releases as well. The warning appeared later on FHE releases in 1990 and on Baby Einstein VHS tapes from 2000 to 2002. The first Family Home Entertainment release to use this logo was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: April Foolish, the first of four weekly Burger King exclusives during their April 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles promotion in support of the 1990 film; after those four, it did not appear on another FHE release for a few more months, at which point it replaced the previous warning screen altogether.

4th Warning (June 17, 1997-October 11, 2005)

Visuals: Same as the Canadian Warner Home Video warning scroll, except the background is a black-pink gradient and the text is slightly thinner.

Variant: On the 2003 Extreme Edition DVD of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the text is in a different font and does not scroll, no French translation is used, and the background differs by disc as well:

  • Disc 1: An orange-black gradient that runs in a different direction
  • Disc 2: The same electric field as the Disc 2 variant of the second warning.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen at the end of all Live and a lot of Artisan DVDs (the exceptions being Out of Sync, Dummy, the original release of The Last Unicorn, and Bluehill Avenue, which only show one warning screen), such as Cutthroat Island, Critical Care, the original releases of The Return of the Pink Panther and Capricorn One, Basic Instinct, Bad Lieutenant, Dark Command, The Doors, Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Ultimate Edition, The Stand, Wishmaster, Made, The Center of the World, Cujo, Jesus of Nazareth, Boat Trip, Noah's Ark (1999), Merlin, Pi, Suicide Kings, Hamburger Hill, the first volume of Speed Racer, Joan of Arc (1999), Startup.com, The Miracle Maker, Lock Up, Dr. T and the Women, Permanent Midnight, The Langoliers, The Miracle Maker, Lock Up, Dr. T and the Women, The Jazz Singer (1980), Knight Moves, Requiem for a Dream, and Drop Dead Fred. It was also used on some Lionsgate DVDs, such as Saw and The Punisher (2004), and the 2005 UMDs of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and High Tension.

5th Warning (1999-2000)

Visuals: On a black background, the red text "INTERPOL WARNING" is seen in a wide Arial font, along with the standard extended warning text below.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on reprints of Stickin' Around tapes (the ones that use the Lions Gate Home Entertainment logo with music from the Avalanche Home Entertainment logo in place of the Cinepix logo).

6th Warning (2001-2012)

Visuals: Same as the 3rd warning screen, but the entire thing is smaller and in white, with "WARNING" being significantly so.

Variants:

  • On some Blu-Rays, the text is in a different font. This was also used on some Magnolia Home Entertainment DVDs.
  • On some Blu-Rays from 2006, the warning also has a customized variant and alternate font from the movie. Examples include;
    • On the 2006 Blu-Ray of Terminator: Judgement Day, the warning appears over a background of a Terminator.
    • On the 2006 Blu-Ray of Total Recall, the warning appears over a background of a scene of Douglas Quaid (portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger).
    • On the 2006 Blu-Ray of The Devil's Rejects, the warning is on a blood, over a light red background.
    • On the 2008 Blu-Ray of The Eye, the warning appears on a green background next to the main character, Sydney Wells (portrayed by Jessica Alba).

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability:

  • Seen on all Lionsgate Home Entertainment releases until late 2012, such as the 2006 DVD release of Employee of the Month, the 2007 DVD release of The Invincible Iron Man, and the 2009 DVD release of My Bloody Valentine. French-language Lionsgate releases use the Astral Video warning screen instead.
  • Starting in late 2012, Lionsgate used the FBI Anti-Piracy Warning screens from other studios.
  • One of the earliest appearances of this warning was the VHS release of Barbie in The Nutcracker, and was used on all subsequent Barbie VHS releases, as well as certain other FHE releases (primarily toy-related releases, including Dragons: Fire and Ice, Hot Wheels: World Race and Rescue Heroes: The Movie); this warning didn't otherwise appear on VHS, with other VHS releases continuing to use the 3rd warning. DVDs from Artisan also used the 3rd warning or variants thereof; Lionsgate DVDs (after the Artisan merger) didn't being to use this warning until 2005, with the DVD releases of Eulogy and Crash being some of the first to use it.

7th Warning (2009-)

Visuals: On a black background with Lionsgate logos, the large word "WARNING" is seen, followed by standard warning text.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: It mostly appears at the end of Lionsgate Blu-rays. Until 2012, this was the only warning seen on the disc. [Examples?]

8th Warning (2012-)


Visuals: Same as the other companies warning screens at this time.

Variants:

  • On Blu-Ray releases of The Hunger Games sequels, it uses a custom variant, with an alternate font and text, and placed on either a red background (Catching Fire), or a blue background (Mockingjay).
  • The Blu-Ray of Ender's Game also uses a custom variant, with a different font and background.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability:

  • Seen on most Lionsgate Blu-Ray's and DVDs, along with Ultra HD Blu-Ray's such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the Divergent films, John Wick, Sicario, The Expendables 3, and Knives Out, among others.
  • On some films such as Fear of Rain and Draft Day, these screens are shown after the film.

United Kingdom

Screen (2011-)

Visuals: Just the standard warning text in a plain white Calibri Bold font.

Variant: Post-2019 releases have the text in a Helvetica Condensed font.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appears on all UK DVDs that were released by Lionsgate, and on some U.S. Blu-Rays as a hidden file. It's more common on more recent releases, such as Wonder, Fighting With My Family, The Hitman's Bodyguard, My Little Pony: The Movie, the third and fourth Hunger Games films and Valerian: the City of a Thousand Planets among others. Also seen on Ratchet & Clank, which is actually a Gramercy Pictures film.

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