ITC Film Distributors Ltd.

Background
ITC Film Distributors Ltd. was the film distribution division of ITC Entertainment. The studio only distributed films in their native United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. Most of the studio's films are currently owned by ITV. it was closed down the film distribution division in 1987.

1st Logo (March 27, 1978-1983)
Nicknames: "The Tri-Pinwheels", "ITC Pinwheels"

Logo: On a black background, three pinwheels come up and move around randomly. The three then converge, and for each of them one of the opposite pairs of sails merge into one, leaving three stacked diamonds, or the ITC logo without the letters (the first set from the left is brown, the second green, and the third light brown. The second and third slide left into the first set, and become a three-dimensional version of the design, with "I" in the top diamond, "T" in the middle and "C" in the bottom diamond. The words "FILM DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED" appear to the right immediately after the flash.

Variants:


 * On the Vestron Video VHS release of The Norsemen, the logo is blacked out but the theme can still be heard. This is seen before the 1973 American International Pictures logo.


 * A shortened version exists. This was primarily appears on trailers of films.
 * There is a version where the D in "LIMITED" is on the very edge of the frame.
 * There is also a version where the entire logo has a light blue tint. The ITC logo is also larger in this version.

FX/SFX: The pinwheels spinning, moving, and morphing into the diamonds. Probably cel animation, which actually looks pretty neat for it's time.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral flute piece that switches to a bombastic orchestral fanfare. Sometimes, it is silent or higher pitched (likely depending on the region formats).

Music/Sounds Trivia: The music was sourced from two separate tracks from the Bruton Music library, "Destiny" (composed by Keith Mansfield) and "Endeavour" (composed by John A. Coleman). "Destiny" was also used for the MGM/UA Home Video coming attractions bumper, and "Endeavour" appears in the 1980 Gold Key Entertainment logo.

Availability: Extremely rare. Current prints of the films will likely have either the American distributors' logo or an ITV logo. Films that had this logo usually only had it on the original United Kingdom prints. Films that originally had this include Gregory's Girl and the Space: 1999 films Destination: Moonbase Alpha (where this logo debuted), Alien Attack, Cosmic Princess, Journey Through the Black Sun and Invasion: UFO. This could be on UK theatrical prints of The Muppet Movie, The Last Unicorn, The Big Sleep, and Saturn 3. This logo may have been seen on pre-certification VHS releases by ITC Home Video. The silent variant made a surprise appearance on a February 2020 UKTV Drama airing of Gregory's Girl.

Editor's Note: A favourite among many thanks to the animation and music, though some may be dizzy due to the spinning pinwheels.

2nd Logo (1981-1987)
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Nickname: "ITC Rainbow"

Logo: We start off on a black screen with a red star engulfing the screen. The star zooms out and changes to yellow, then blue, then pink, light blue, and then green. The star then reappears with a rapidly spinning pattern inside it. A light gray bar of light with rainbow colored rays fades in and the star disappears. The light bar moves slowly like it's scanning before drawing, as more stars sparkle in the background. As the light bar moves to the bottom, a star flashes in the middle and a light gray box with a rainbow is wiped in from the top, replicating the light bar's pattern. The rays disappear one by one in a random fashion and the ITC logo and "FILM DISTRIBUTORS LTD." fade in below the box and the box is finished drawing, revealing it had different sized lines at the end of the rainbow.

FX/SFX: The star zooming, the bar moving and the rainbow forming are all early CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A beautiful orchestral fanfare, composed by John Barry, which was originally used as the theme for Raise the Titanic. Sometimes, it is silent.

Availability: Near extinction. This appeared on the 1983 pre-cert Guild Home Video VHS release of Cujo and the original pre-cert Hokushin Audio Visual VHS release of Q: The Winged Serpent; it is unknown what other films had the logo. Like the previous logo, this logo may have been seen on pre-certification VHS releases by ITC Home Video.

Editor's Note: None.