Variety Film

Background

Variety Film is an Italian film distributor founded in 1945 and based in Rome. It mainly manages the rights for every type of exploitation while also dealing with the restoration and long-term digital preservation of audiovisual products.

Contents

1st Logo (1940s)	2nd Logo (7 March 1951)	3rd Logo (23 December 1952-3 March 1955)	4th Logo (5th logo placeholder) (15 December 1956)	5th Logo (18 March 1958-24 February 1972)	6th Logo (31 October 1969-1990?)

1st Logo (1940s)

Visuals: In front of a hand-drawn version of the Statue of Liberty, A spotlight from the bottom fades in front of the statue. "VARIETY FILM" in an arched format then appears in front of a statue slightly angled to face the camera letter-by-letter. When the text stops appearing, a bunch of blurry concentric circles emitting from the bottom fade in, which causes the skyline against the statue to fade out, only leaving the statue, the spotlight, and the text onscreen. After a few seconds, "presenta" wipes in the right side of the screen, as the entire logo fades out once it appears.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: A basic horn fanfare.

Availability: Unknown. ^[Examples?]

2nd Logo (7 March 1951)

Visuals: Against a spinning sunburst-like curtain backdrop, there is a carved emblem in the center of the screen mainly consisting of a triangle containing a small "FILM" and a star underneath and a stretched rectangle containing 5 horizontally aligned stars enclosing a chiseled "VARIETY". Two shadow blocks from the right and left sides block out the light shining on the symbol, making it a silhouette, while a white "PRESENTA" in a rounded font wipes in from the left and right sides.

Technique: A mix of live action and cel animation.

Audio: A triumphant orchestral theme.

Availability: Appears on Il caimano del Piave.

3rd Logo (23 December 1952-3 March 1955)

Visuals: Against a twinkling space background, the same emblem from before is displayed albeit "VARIETY" is silhouetted and is against a grey trapezoid. A white block of light illuminates "VARIETY" turning it to white, along with "presenta fading on the bottom-right corner.

Technique: Traditional animation.

Audio: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Appears on Totò e le donne and Totò e Carolina .

4th Logo (5th logo placeholder) (15 December 1956)

Visuals: Against a black background, the same emblem but with "VARIETY" and "FILM" silhouetted is displayed on the left side. A white block illuminates behind "VARIETY", making it more visible, as well as "FILM" doing the same thing and "presenta" fading on the bottom-right corner simultaneously.

Technique: Rostrum camera.

Audio: The opening theme of the film.

Availability: Likely a placeholder logo. Appears on Guaglione.

5th Logo (18 March 1958-24 February 1972)

Visuals: Against a black space background, two lights converge and collide, causing a red rectangle and a red triangle to appear. The red turns gold, and five black stars appear within the rectangle and one star at the bottom of the triangle. The stars become gold with black outlines. "VARIETY" appears in a chiseled gold font between the rectangle and the triangle, letter by letter. "FILM" fades in within the triangle. The final product is the same emblem as the previous logo. To the right, "Presenta" writes itself in, in a white script font.

Variant: The logo is slightly different on Napoli, sole mio, where the space background has a different starfield and the logo along with "Presenta" is closer. It also appears to be B&W.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: A flourish held throughout, a rising glockenspiel tune, and the sounding of a bell.

Availability: Appears on Napoli, sole mio, and also appeared on Seven Blood-Stained Orchids as released on home video in Argentina.

6th Logo (31 October 1969-1990?)

Visuals: Against a blue space background, a white light shines in the center of the screen a few times before a red triangle spins in. A light streaks above it and causes a red rectangle to appear. Between the rectangle and triangle, a dark blue trapezoid appears, "VARIETY" appears in gold within the trapezoid, and "FILM" appears in gold within the triangle. Five stars appear one by one inside the rectangle, then from the top of the screen a sixth star streaks to the bottom of the triangle. "PRESENTA" appears in white next to the finished product, which is a simplified version of the emblem used by the previous logos.

Technique: A mix of stop-motion and cel animation.

Audio: A twinkle, followed by a series of five rising notes and a synthesized tune.

Availability: Seen on Così dolce... così perversa, The Last Shark, and also presumably on old Italian prints of Trap Them and Kill Them and Zombi 2. Also seen on Grunt! la clava è uguale.

External Links

Variety Film credits on IMDb