United International Pictures

This article is about the international film distributor. For the earlier grindhouse film distributor of the same name, see United International Pictures Inc.

Credits

Descriptions by
Supermarty-o and TheLogoFan2004

Captures by
Logoboy95, Eric S., Sagan Blob, and EnormousRat

Editions by
Tjdrum2000

Video captures courtesy of
Eric S., DJ_Arkangel, EnormousRat, Logo Archive and LogicSmash

Background

United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that was founded to distribute the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States (including its territories), Canada and the Caribbean Basin. It also had rights to distribute films from DreamWorks Pictures (which had international releases handled by UIP through Universal from 1997 to 2005, and would later be owned by Paramount/Viacom from 2005 to 2008) and independent filmmakers.

The company was formed in 1981 after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased United Artists and merged its international distribution and sales arm with Cinema International Corporation (who then owned CIC Video). Films released after November 1, 1981 were handled internationally by UIP, but the company did not use a logo until a year later. Walt Disney/Buena Vista International continued their distribution deals with UIP (on behalf of Universal) in Italy until 1988 (when distribution in Italy was switched to Warner Bros. Italia), and in such nations as Turkey and Brazil. Buena Vista also distributed UIP releases in Finland until 2006, when Finnkino took over. In 1988, UIP formed the organization that would become UCI Cinemas, together with United Artists Theatres and AMC Theatres. Starting in 1997, DreamWorks Pictures films were also distributed internationally by UIP, due to DreamWorks's distribution agreement with Universal. Orion Pictures films were also added to UIP's slate after that studio's acquisition by MGM in 1997 (until then, most Orion titles had been released overseas by companies such as Rank and Svensk Filmindustri); however, the only Orion film that UIP released internationally was Storefront Hitchcock (1998), as Orion would be deactivated by MGM in 1999. In November 2000, MGM left UIP, and its international distribution rights were assumed by 20th Century Fox; MGM's final release under the UIP banner was Return to Me in June 2000.

In 2007, it was decided that Paramount and Universal would directly assume international distribution of their respective films in certain territories; Paramount would take over UIP's operations in France, Mexico, Brazil, and the UK, while Universal would take over operations Germany, Italy and other countries. Currently, the company continues to operate in smaller countries such as Argentina, Denmark, Turkey, South Africa, Hungary, and Malaysia (thanks to a 2010 reorganization), and has also distributed a number of local productions in several countries.

1st Logo (1982-1997)

Visuals: On a black/blue gradient background, a small white light appears in the center, stretching into 8 points as it starts glow brighter. When it dies down, it reveals a golden monolith, which resembles the letters "UiP" conjoined into one condensed symbol, zooming in while facing the left. As it slows to a crawl, it turns its position to face the screen and "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES" fades in below in a ITC Garamond font. A small glare appears on the "P" part of the logo.

Technique: Model work and chroma-keying.

Audio: None.

Availability:

• It was seen on theatrical releases of Paramount/Universal/MGM/UA films outside of North America. However, most home video prints of their films released in Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Oceania by CIC Video, Warner Home Video, and MGM/UA Home Video do not keep this logo, as they likely use US prints converted into PAL format for countries that use PAL.
• Some films, however, would use a print that had mandatory content edits by the countries' rating council for distribution, and some VHS/DVD/TV releases would use these prints meaning this logo may be intact.
• The easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films on some VHS tapes, such as Carry On Columbus and Bébé's Kids.
• This can be currently seen on the Blu-ray releases of Thesis, Vacas, the German trailers for Dragonheart, Havana, the UK trailer for The Living Daylights (which can be found on the UK VHS of Baby Boom along with the SE and UE DVDs of the former), most home video releases of Biggles: Adventures in Time (including the U.S. DVD from Image Entertainment), and the Australian TV airing of Crocodile Dundee II (though the Australian DVD release doesn't have it).
• This is also seen on the Celebrity/Just for Kids video release of Stowaways on the Ark, as well as the original 1989 UK VHS of License To Kill, and the Canadian Malofilm VHS and U.S. Platinum Disc Corporation DVD of Money.
• On international prints of Universal titles with DTS sound (back when the 1st DTS trailer was built into the first reel of Universal's movies, even non-DTS prints before it was decided to make it a separate trailer), such as Jurassic Park, this preceded the DTS logo.
• In the UK and Ireland, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Paramount/Universal/MGM/UA film from c.1985-1997, this logo will show up before it - it was seen before 35mm showings of Darkman and True Lies.

2nd Logo (1997-2001)

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  Trailer variant

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  "INTERVALLO" variant

Visuals: On a black background, a translucent version of the UiP logo zooms out and rotates to face the screen, featuring gold borders as a blue spotlight appears in the middle of the screen. The spotlight brightens as the shining on the model gets brighter as well, before turning into a solid gold. "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES" appears below in the same font as before as the logo shimmers.

Variants:

• There is a variant in which the URL "www.uip.com" fades in below the logo.
• A trailer variant exists where the UIP logo flips up. There is no text below the logo.
• An Italian intermission variant exists, where the word "INTERVALLO" can be seen under the UIP logo. This can be seen on longer films that UIP distributed in Italy, a country that has never stopped doing intermissions during movies.

Technique: CGI by Brandt Animation.

Audio: None.

Availability:

• This appeared on UIP-distributed films outside of the US, such as The Rugrats Movie, Antz and The Green Mile, before either the Paramount, Universal or DreamWorks logos appeared.
• It was also seen on international releases of MGM, United Artists, and Orion Pictures films until 2001 when 20th Century Fox took over distribution in those territories.
• The easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films. Most international home video and TV prints of these do not have this logo, as they likely use US prints converted into PAL format.
• This has also been spotted on trailers for Selkie and Siam Sunset as well as European trailers of films released by Paramount, DreamWorks, Universal, MGM/UA, and Orion.
• This has also turned up on the Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray of Cut, the UK trailer for Pitch Black on the Arrow Films Blu-ray, and 4K UHD releases of the latter.
• In the UK and Ireland, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount/MGM/UA/Orion/DreamWorks movie from between 1997-2001, this logo will be shown before it - it was seen before a 35mm showing of The Apostle.

3rd Logo (2001-2003)

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Visuals: On a black/blue gradient background, white pieces of the UiP logo zoom out and tilt into position, with the rectangular "dot" of the "i" coming in last, as a teal square with 3 rounded corners appears behind it, with the logo positioned in the upper left corner. It zooms out to the left with the edges of it shining and tilts a bit to face the screen straight-on, along with the square darkening quite a bit as well. The text "united international pictures" appears on the right, in a white Praxis Light font in all lowercase letters, along with a URL below it all. The background then fades to black as the logo becomes a flat 2D image.

Variants:

• A trailer variant has the logo begin with the last few seconds.
• Like with the previous logo, there exists an Italian intermission variant, where the word "intervallo" can be seen next to the UIP logo. Again, this can be seen on longer films that UIP distributed in Italy.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Availability:

• Appeared on several UIP distributed films before either the Paramount, Universal or DreamWorks logos on films released.
• Most international home video and TV prints of these do not have this logo, as they likely use US prints converted into PAL format.
• The long version has been spotted on the First Look Home Entertainment DVD of Elling, and an iTunes Spain print of La Flaqueza del Bolchevique (2003).
• Again, the easiest place to find this is on international trailers for these films.
• In the UK and Ireland, if you go to see a 35mm screening of a Universal/Paramount/DreamWorks movie from between 2001-2003, this logo will show up before it (Shrek being one such release).
• It also precedes the first DreamWorks Animation logo on British theatrical prints of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
• Also appeared on a Toggle.sg print of the Singaporean movie One Leg Kicking (which has since been removed).

4th Logo (November 27, 2003-2007, 2010-2018)

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Visuals: On a white background, different rounded blocks zoom in from white mist, first sparsely before rapidly picking up the pace. As the camera pans around, these blocks are shown forming up the UIP logo from before, but the entire logo is in blue and the URL is in Helvetica, as well as under the logo. As the camera finishes turning around, the last few blocks come in to fill up the logo, leaving an end result that has several small cuts in it.

Variants:

• There is a short version of this logo.
• On some trailers, the print logo is seen on a blue background.
• On 35mm uncropped film scans, the logo is in open-matte.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A three-note synth drone that is held throughout the logo, accompanied by "whoosh" noises as the blocks fly past. Usually, however, it's silent.

Availability:

• Was spotted on a bootleg DVD of Shark Tale and an Australian cable broadcast of The Truman Show.
• In the UK and Ireland, this was seen in front of theatrical releases of Universal/Paramount/DreamWorks films from 2003 to 2007. It was seen before 35mm showings of Serenity and Team America: World Police, and was also seen on a 35mm print of Shrek 2.
• The long version can be seen on US iTunes and Amazon Prime prints of the 2014 Argentinian movie Delirium.
• Starting in 2010, the shortened version of this logo can be found on trailers of movies uploaded by the official UIP YouTube account in certain regions; this may not be the case for post-2018 releases.
• It makes an unexpected appearance at the start of a recent CBS Europa (Poland) airing of the 2005 TV movie 14 Hours.
• It also possibly appears on Japanese theatrical prints of The Great Wall (2016), and on Turkish theatrical prints of Bad Cat.
• It also appears on South African prints of Dredd (2012), replacing the Entertainment Film Distributors logo seen on British prints.

Final Note

In mid-2007, the UIP branding was retired in most countries, with films instead being released through Paramount Pictures International or Universal Pictures International Entertainment. However, the company was reorganized in 2010 and currently distributes films in some smaller nations outside of the US, such as Turkish prints of Buena Vista International releases (as UIP has a deal with BVI there), and theatrical prints of Sony Pictures films in Argentina and Poland.

◄ Cinema International Corporation

United International Pictures