United Artists/Logo Variations
From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum
Descriptions by
Sean Beard, Jess Williams, Nicholas Aczel, indycar and others
Editions by
Eric S.
Sean Beard, Jess Williams, Nicholas Aczel, indycar and others
Editions by
Eric S.
These are the logo variations seen throughout the years by United Artists.
Duel at Diablo (1966):
- There is the text "A UNITED ARTISTS RELEASE" on a black background. A sword rips and makes an x through the logo. Then, the sword slices down, which make the rips of the logo fly back, revealing the opening scene of the film.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966):
- The logo is written in a messy Roman font and is spelled "VNITED ARTISTS".
Clambake (1967):
- A peculiar, stretched-out, lowercase "ua" appears on a red background with "UNITED ARTISTS PRESENTS" next to it. A white screen is seen next to the logo that says "A LEVY GARDNER LAVEN PRODUCTION".
Billion Dollar Brain (1967):
- The 1967 logo appears superimposed on a record player at the end of the film. The Motion Picture Association of America logo appears on the right.
Midnight Cowboy (1969):
- The 1968 logo fades to a white screen from an abandoned drive-in.
- On some more recent prints, it's the 1987 logo that dissolves to the screen.
Sleeper (1973):
- The 1968 logo is black & white and has a jazzy tune playing over it. Usually replaced with a later logo on current prints; however, it has turned up in widescreen on a TCM Australia airing.
A Bridge Too Far (1977):
- A special animated variant of the Hexagon logo was created for the film. The name zooms out on a black background, the three hexagon outlines fade in from the center outward, then the background fades in along with the byline "A Transamerica Company" and the Transamerica "T-Flower". Some prints do not contain the Transamerica references.
Manhattan (1979):
- The 1975 logo is in black & white. Usually replaced with a later logo on current prints.
Apocalypse Now (1979):
- The 1975 logo is superimposed over the real-life demolition of the Kurtz compound set at the end credits. This only appears on early 35mm copies of the film (which some early TV prints were derived from); all other versions have the end credits rolling on black.
Heaven's Gate (1980):
- The Hexagon logo is used once again,with a small black and white Transamerica "T-Flower" and the words "A Transamerica Company" fading in underneath. Possibly due to the film's disastrous results at the box office, some prints (such as the MGM DVD releases) do not contain the Transamerica references. The Transamerica byline, however, has been restored on the Criterion Collection DVD & Blu-ray.
Sleep with Me (1994) and Undertow (2004):
- The 1982 logo is used. For the latter film, this was reportedly a creative choice by director David Gordon Green.
Tank Girl (1995):
- As the logo finishes animating, the logo cuts to black instead of fading out. This also applies to the leaked work-in-progress print as well. The opening theme played throughout this variant and the opening credits was a remix of "Girl U Want" by DEVO.
Lions for Lambs (2007):
- The logo animates as usual, but at the end, the logo turns red except for the text and background.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010):
- The logo moves into the opening titles.
