Janus Films

Background

Janus Films is one of the first film distributors to bring what are now regarded as masterpieces of world cinema to mainstream American audiences and can be credited with helping to introduce Americans to the work of Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa among other well-regarded directors, being founded in 1956 by Bryant Halliday (an actor who appeared in films such as Devil Doll and Tower of Evil) and Cyrus Harvey, Jr., who ran the 55th Street Playhouse in New York City and used it as a primary location for exhibiting Janus-distributed films. Haliday purchased the historic Brattle Theater, a landmark in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge, MA. Harvey and Haliday converted the Brattle into an art film moviehouse in the mid-1950s. In 1966, Haliday sold the Brattle (which he continued to manage well into the 1970s), as well as Janus Films to Saul J. Turell and William Becker. Their sons, Jonathan B. Turell and Peter Becker, who own The Criterion Collection, are presently managing the company (http://www.janusfilms.com), which is still active in the art-house cinema world.

1st Logo (1956- )

Nickname: "The Janus Emblem"

Logo: On a black background, we see a white oval, with Janus' head inside it. The text "JANUS FILMS" appears next to it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very common. Appears on films that it licenses, including American prints of many Rank Organisation films and those of the above-named directors, as well as post-2015 American prints of Watership Down. On releases from The Criterion Collection, this logo always follows the former logo.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1956-1975)

Nickname: "The Janus Emblem II"

Logo: Same as above, but "A" appears above "JANUS FILMS", and "RELEASE" appears below it.

FX/SFX: None; same as before.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Again, as listed above. This appeared on early Criterion DVD releases and also at the start of Film Odyssey presentations on PBS in 1972.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1956-1970)

Nickname: "The Janus Emblem III"

Logo: TBA.

FX/SFX: None; same as before.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extinct. This was used early on as a closing logo for Janus Films releases. Seen at the end of the Key Video release of Jules and Jim.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (November 18, 1970-1984)

Nickname: "The Janus Emblem IV"

Logo: On a blue stone-like BG, we see a yellow oval with a Janus head inside it. The text:

A JANUS FILMS
PRESENTATION

appears next to the Janus.

Variant: There is another version of this logo, and next to the Janus reads:

FROM THE
JANUS FILM
COLLECTION

FX/SFX: None; same as before.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Once again, this can be seen on Rank Organisation films as well as foreign-language movies distributed by the company during the 1970's. It also appears on the Embassy Home Entertainment VHS release of The Red Balloon. One of its first appearances was on the 1970 reissue of Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast. It presumably plastered a previous logo on the PBS broadcast and Embassy release of The Seventh Seal. It also appears on the CBS/Fox Video release of Grand Illusion.

Editor's Note: None.