Fox Lorber Home Video

Background

Fox Lorber was a company founded by Richard Lorber (who later founded Koch Lorber in 2003). The company was acquired by WinStar Communications. In 2001, WinStar went bankrupt and the development subsidiary spun off, while the film catalog went to Wellspring, later to Genius Products, and then to Kino Lorber.

1st Logo (early 1980s)

Logo: On a black background, an F and a reversed L, made of orange sticks (that almost resembles a computerized "8", but is actually intended to look like a filmstrip) and the words "FOX/LORBER" in black with a glowing blue line through the middle spin and flip in with residue-trailing effects. When finished, "DISTRIBUTED BY", in a red font, and at an angle, flies in from the right of the screen, then straightens itself out. The logo stays on screen for about 5 seconds.

Technique: The zooming and flipping.

Music/Sounds: A synth whoosh, then a "ding" as the letters straighten themselves out.

Availability: Rare. Seen at the end of Fox/Lorber prints of Lone Star Films.

2nd Logo (mid 1980s-1995)

Logo: On a black background, the later Fox Lorber print logo is seen in purple, with 4 spinning stars inside it. It fades to blue, then green, then to blood red as the stars zoom out in it.

Byline: In early 1990's, the logo is bolder, seen in grey, and has the byline "A NEW VIDEO GROUP COMPANY".

Technique: The logo fading to different colors, the cheap stars. The final result is rather hard to read and the logo is far from the center.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on VHS releases at the time.

3rd Logo (1995-2001)

Logo: On a black background, we see a red rectangle, in 3D, revealing itself and rotating to face us, while the blue words "FOX LORBER" pop out of it, letter by letter. Once both the rectangle and the words face the viewer, "HOME VIDEO" flashes in the red rectangle. Then "A WinStar Communications Company" fades in underneath.

Variant: Early releases don't have the byline in the logo.

Technique: The letters popping out, the flashing.

Music/Sounds: A wind tune with a pounding backbeat, then a samurai-like wind instrument sounder.

Availability: Rare. Found on their releases of Suspiria, The Official Story, Ponette, Apartment Zero, and Becoming Colette, among others.

4th Logo (2000-2001)

Logo: On a smoky blue background, a filmstrip with glossy brown film scrolls in before gets wrapped by a reel, which appears via a flash of light. This happens 2 more times and then the camera pans down to it at a slight angle, revealing that the film has curved at its end. "FOX LORBER" flips in vertically one-by-one in a gold font on the left, while "FILMS" fades in one-by-one below it. As that happens, the top of the film disappears (the rest fade to a silhouette) and the text "Distributed by Winstar TV & Video" fades in below in a plain gold font as the logo shines.

Technique: The animation.

Music/Sounds: A loud space synth. Almost IMAX-esque.

Availability: Very rare. Seen on several releases, like the Dayereh DVD.