Lorimar Film Entertainment

Credits

Descriptions by
James Fabiano, Sean Beard, and Matt A.

Editions by
V of Doom, thehugetvfan and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
Eric S.

Background

Lorimar Productions began to produce movies in 1971, starting with the independent film The Sporting Club. Later on, the company acquired the Allied Artists Pictures library in 1980 when said company went under, but it didn't have its own movie distribution/production arm until April 21, 1986, when Lorimar-Telepictures was formed by the merging of Lorimar with Telepictures. Shortly afterwards, the new venture created Lorimar Motion Pictures; in January 1987, it was renamed to Lorimar Film Entertainment, though it was still referred to as Lorimar Motion Pictures on-screen. On January 11, 1989, Lorimar was acquired by Warner Communications and its film unit was absorbed into Warner Bros. Today, most of the Lorimar movie releases, with the exceptions of The Choirboys, The Last Starfighter and Tank (Universal), An Officer and a Gentleman (Paramount), and The Toxic Avenger Part II (Troma), are currently held by Warner Bros. Entertainment.

1st Logo (March 20, 1981-1986)

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Visuals: It's only the same as the 1978 TV logo, except the logo is slowed down and the text is orange-ish red, with "PRESENTS" below.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the LORIMAR text is red.
• Sometimes, it's bylineless.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: None.

Availability:

• Warner Bros. has a poor habit of plastering their logo over this one, while Universal leaves it intact most of the time.
• It can be still be seen on Escape to Victory and Tank after the 1963 Universal logo.
• The first VHS, and current DVD/Blu-ray of The Last Starfighter (1984) also retain it after the Universal logo, but was plastered with the 1984 WB shield on old full-screen TV airings, and the 1997 Universal logo on the 1999 DVD release.

2nd Logo (1986-September 9, 1988)

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Visuals: The sequence starts with a yellow flash with a white sunburst in the middle. As the flash fades, the word "LORIMAR" (not in the normal connected font), with "MOTION PICTURES" underneath, slowly zoom in. All the words are red with white and blue outlines. Under the "MOTION PICTURES" text is an upside down red triangle shape with white lines to give the logo a 3-D look. At the point of the triangle is a half circle shaped space, and as the logo forms, the sunburst becomes a little yellow flash of light that moves downward and enters the opening at the logo's bottom. Under the entire logo is the byline "A DIVISION OF LORIMAR-TELEPICTURES".

Variant: The first movies using this logo had no white and blue outlines, making the logo almost entirely red.

Technique: Motion-controlled animation.

Audio: Silence or the film's opening soundtrack.

Audio Variant: On a late 1980's HBO airing of The Fourth Protocol (1987), the gongs from the Rank Organisation logo can be heard due to a sloppy plaster. However, it is not present on the VHS release.

Availability:

• This is retained on the Warner Archive DVD-R of Orphans, the Warner Archive Blu-ray of Running On Empty, and the Columbia TriStar/Sony DVDs and 88 Films UK Blu-Ray of Two Moon Junction (RCA/Columbia released the film on VHS/Laserdisc, since Lorimar only had theatrical distribution rights).
• This was also originally seen on films such as The Boy Who Could Fly, The Morning After, Big Shots, The Fourth Protocol, and Made in Heaven.
• Return of the Living Dead Part II also had this logo, but with Warner's plastering habits, it got plastered on the 2004 DVD release. The current Scream Factory Blu-Ray release, however, restored it since it features a new 4K restoration.
• Also found on the Lorimar Home Video releases of Action Jackson, including the late 1990's Warner Home Video VHS and a Bounce TV airing in January 2016.

◄ Allied Artists Pictures Corporation

Lorimar Film Entertainment

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