Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios: Difference between revisions

'''Visuals:''' Over a black background is a marquee with torches surrounding it, similar to the MGM print logo. A statue of a lion rests on top. There is text over the marquee reading:

 

<center>A</center>

<center><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''Metro ''Goldwyn'''''</span></center>

<center><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''PICTURE'''</span></center>

 

On the first part is "A", in the middle is "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''Metro ''Goldwyn'''''</span>" ("<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''Metro'''</span>" is the Metro Pictures logo of the time and "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''Goldwyn'''''</span>" is in a script font), and on the bottom is "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''PICTURE'''</span>", looking slightly smudged out in the center.

* Depending on the film the <u>colours</u> are different.

* On ''Cleopatra'', the logo reads "DISTRIBUTED BY Metro-{{Font|Times New Roman|'''''Goldwyn'''''}}-Mayer DISTRIBUTING CORP" and the lion is realistic.

'''Visuals:''' Same as the final [[Goldwyn Pictures]] logo, but a new lion named "Slats" occupies the circle. Slats moves his head from right to left and then looks at the camera, and later looks around aimlessly. Instead of "A GOLDWYN PICTURE", the marquee below the logo now reads

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''M^etro'''</span>{{color|white|----------------}}<br /><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''Goldwyn'''''</span><br />{{color|white|----------------}}<span style="font-size: 18px">m</span>ayer</div>

all in differing fonts. "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''M^etro'''</span>" is in a plain serif font, "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''Goldwyn'''''</span>" in a more fancy script font, and "<span style="font-size: 18px">m</span>ayer" in an Art Deco-esque font.

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, which differs depending on the film, with the elements surrounding Slats being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

* Due to the 1965 MGM vault fire, existing prints of most films from this era have the 3rd logo plastering this one, this is not easy to come across.

* Currently, it is seen on ''He Who Gets Slapped'', ''Confessions of a Queen'', ''The Unholy Three'' (1925), ''The Circle'', and ''Battling Butler''.

* It may have also been seen on some original prints of ''London After Midnight'', ''Lady of the Night'', and ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'' respectively.

'''Visuals:''' Nearly the same as before, but the ribboning has been slightly redone and a different lion named "Numa<ref>https://calisphere.org/item/33aa2009c076c8900cc1e640aebb0e64/</ref>" appears. The usual MGM marquee is seen below, with the ribboning in white, the wreath in yellow, the mask in red and the marquee in green.

'''Technique:''' A printed graphic with Numa being a live-action photograph.

* In Turner's colourized versions, the ribboning is in a brownish-gold color, the wreath is green, and the mask is red.

* There's another colour variant, like the aforementioned logo, but with the marquee in red.

* There's another colourized variant of the 1938 version, with the ribboning in either brownish-gold, pastel yellow, goldenrod, or silver.

* In 1931, the ending title has been changed. The "{{font|Times New Roman|''The End''}}" text has now been larger, and the pseudo logo now appears smaller and is outlined in white.

* From late 1938 to 1941, the closing logo features the reclining lion carving on a white (later grey) marble background, with "{{font|Goudy Old Style|THE END}}" in black, and a pseudo logo in the same color is below. Starting in 1939, the font was changed, and "{{font|Monotype Corsiva|The End}}" text appears in script font, and appears in white along with the pseudo logo in the same color.

* In 1942, during the WWII-era, the "{{font|Monotype Corsiva|The End}}" words were moved to the top of the screen and the pseudo logo was moved to the bottom to give the space for the following advertisement:

* Starting in 1949, the "MADE IN HOLLYWOOD, U.S.A. by {{font|Times New Roman|Metro}}-{{font|Monotype Corsiva|G}}{{font|Times New Roman|''oldwyn''}}-{{font|Times New Roman|Mayer}}" phrase is shown. In 1952, the end title card fades in first, then the title of the movie and the same phrase fades in between top and bottom below, respectively.

* On some films, such as ''Red-Headed Woman'', ''Maytime'' (1937), ''Topper'', and ''Rosalie'' (1937), the "THE END" text is only shown. Also, the MGM pseudo logo is absent, like the 1st [[MGM Cartoons]] logo.

'''Variant:''' While the logo was made in colour, a black and white version exists. Said variant was seen on ''The Mysterious Island'', which was originally shot in colour, but only a black/white version is known to exist.

'''Visuals:''' Another two-strip Technicolor lion named "Coffee" appears in a slightly redrawn film-like ribboning with the mask redrawn. Coffee snarls while looking down and then roars. The Latin phrase is still shown inscribed on the circle. "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">TRADE</span>" and "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">MARK</span>" appear on different sides. The usual MGM marquee is seen below. The ribboning and wreath are white, and the mask is red.

* A B&W variant also exists on prints in said colours.

'''Visuals:''' A new lion named "Tanner" appears in this logo. He is the one of the three-strip Technicolor lions. The Latin phrase on the circle is red, the words "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">TRADE</span>" and "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">MARK</span>" are yellow, and the red mask and the ribboning are redrawn slightly with orange accents on certain parts of the filmstrip ribbons. The wreath is yellow and on the MGM marquee, the letters "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''M'''</span>", "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''G'''''</span>", and "M" are red, with the remainder of the letters in yellow. Tanner roars three times.

'''Visuals:''' This time, the MGM marquee below the logo has been permanently dropped, and the name "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''Metro'''</span>-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''Goldwyn'''''</span>-Mayer" has been placed on top of the logo and is slightly arched, minus the hyphens in between the names. Jackie appears on black/white films and Tanner on colour films. A registered trademark symbol is added underneath the left side of the filmstrip.

* A CinemaScope variant exists. After the logo fades out is the golden text "IN '''CINEMASCOPE'''", with "'''CINEMASCOPE'''" in its respective font, similar to the one used by 20th Century Fox, all on a black background.

'''Visuals:''' A new lion named George appears in the studio's logo. The ribboning is more stretched out than in the earlier versions. The red mask appears redrawn and the wreath looks more stretched out below. The color of the letters "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''M'''</span>", "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''G''''''</span>", and "M" are still red, but look faded. A registered trademark symbol has been added. The first version has the lion looking at the camera, then he turns away and starts roaring. Then he would later look back at the camera and roar again and snarl. The other would have the lion look at the camera first, then would roar while looking up and snarl at the end.

'''Visuals:''' A new lion named "Leo" appears. The script "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Metro Goldwyn Mayer</span>" is in a new font. The wreath and the mask are redrawn once again, and the ribboning on the sides is stretched out even more. Leo roars at first, then turns his head to his right. He would roar again for the second time and look away, and would do the same thing on his third roar and would look away for the final time.

* May 23, 1974-July 4, 1975: A special variant was used to commemorate MGM's 50th anniversary. At the top, "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''Metro Goldwyn Mayer'''}}", in the same font as the 1957 logo, is in yellowish-gold, and the wreath is slightly thinner. Inside the circle is the phrase "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''BEGINNING OUR NEXT 50 YEARS...'''}}", with "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''B'''}}" a bit bigger and stretched vertically, also in yellowish-gold, as Leo roars. There would be a crossfade between the phrase and Leo. Instead of "{{Font|Times New Roman|TRADE MARK}}" seen on the sides of the circle, "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''GOLDEN'''}}" is seen on the left and "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''ANNIVERSARY'''}}" is seen on the right in the same color. Leo would roar again two more times. This became the basis of Leo's two roar footage.

* June 3, 1983-February 21, 1986, July 10, 1987: The marquee name was altered to read "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">MGM/UA Entertainment Co.</span>", following their acquisition of United Artists in 1981, with all text (apart from the initials and Latin phrase) rendered in orange. Everything else remains the same.  

** Starting with the release of ''Dream Lover'' on February 28, 1986, it reverted back to the name "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer</span>". However, the MGM/UA variant appeared on the 1987 film ''O.C. and Stiggs'' (which was originally made in 1985, but was shelved for two years).

'''Visuals:''' On a blue background, there is a yellow-orange outlined drawing of a lion's head in a circle. Below it are the letters "'''MGM'''" in yellow-orange.

* June 22, 1984-January 18, 1985: For the studio's 60th anniversary, the arched words "DIAMOND JUBILEE" appear in white above the logo. On the circle is inscribed "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">METRO GOLDWYN MAYER/UNITED ARTISTS</span>"" in red, instead of the usual Latin phrase. The mask is redrawn once again, with the mouth inside the mask in white, and the wreath surrounding the mask is not there. Below the mask is a ribboning banner that reads "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ENTERTAINMENT CO.</span>" On the right side above the ribbon, there is a small trademark symbol, and below the logo is the phrase "SIXTY YEARS OF GREAT ENTERTAINMENT" in white. Leo roars while the letters "M", "E" and "J" sparkle.

* An early version of the 1986 logo also exists, which can be found on some prints and the 1987 U.S. VHS release of ''Where the River Runs Black'', where Leo is slightly off-centered.

* October 30, 1987-1992: There is a byline that reads "{{Font|Times New Roman|An MGM/UA Communications company}}". The byline was used intermittently from late 1988-1992, mainly on trailers. However, it makes an appearance on the original VHS release of ''Leviathan'' (another version has the bylineless logo). Films with this byline are generally preceded by the MGM/UA Communications logo.

* 1994: For the studio's 70th anniversary, the text "{{Font|Times New Roman|70th ANNIVERSARY}}" is used, and the logo is pushed up to the top. "{{Font|Times New Roman|ANNIVERSARY}}" in spaced-out letters, wipes itself on the bottom of the logo, then "{{Font|Times New Roman|70th}}" appears. Starting with this logo, the ribbons now appear in a darker golden-brown color.

* 1999: 75th Anniversary logo; "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''75''' A LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE}}" is used. The MGM logo is once again moved up. When it begins, "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''75'''}}" zooms back and rests. "{{Font|Times New Roman|A LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE}}" appears and shines. There is a version on ''The World Is Not Enough'' without the animation.

* January 12, 2001-April 28, 2009: A "{{Font|Times New Roman|www.mgm.com}}" web address is added below the logo.

* Some films that used the 2001 version of the logo, such as ''Wicker Park'', ''Good Boy!'', and ''Bulletproof Monk'', have the URL off-center.

'''Visuals:''' Same as the previous logo, but with several enhancements: the text, ribbons and mask, along with its wreath, are now all in a lighter, more metallic shade of gold; the URL now reads "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''MGM.COM'''}}"; and the footage of Leo has been digitally enhanced.

'''Closing Variant:''' At the end of ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' and some catalog titles, in which the words "{{Font|Times New Roman|DISTRIBUTED BY MGM DISTRIBUTION CO.}}" appear in place of the URL. On a WGN airing of ''Mr. Mom'', a slightly different font is used.

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with a digitally-made filmstrip and text, done at Pacific Title. The footage of Leo in this logo is from a negative master of the 1958 film ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', as the original 1956 negative was believed to be lost. Leo was then given an HD enhancement, with his mane and ears digitally remodeled to remove film fuzz and blemishes. They were also made to overlap the film ribbons in order to give the logo more depth. More info on the project can be found [https://garycoates.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/logo-history-restoration-article.pdf here].  

'''Visuals:''' Over a black background, the logo starts with flickers of light. The image then pulls back to reveal that it is a pupil, an extreme close-up of Leo's eye. The camera zooms out to reveal Leo, the ribboning, mask and the words "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">TRADE MARK</span>" on both sides (from the previous logo, all in gold and metallic) ease back with the ribbons moving (the words "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ARS GRATIA ARTIS</span>" moves from right to left), as "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Metro Goldwyn Mayer</span>" appears shimmering and eases itself above the ribboning. The company name is darker and appears to have a "shining" effect applied to it, while the mask is also different as well. Leo, whose 1957 footage is digitally restored and enhanced, like the previous logo, roars as this happens.

'''Visuals:''' On a black background, a golden, rounded square passes by, bringing in a bright light. Another square passes while the screen zooms out through another to reveal it is inside the golden filmstrip ribbon. The ribbon zooms out and settles in place, this time reading "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ART FOR ART'S SAKE</span>" (the English translation of the usual "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ARS GRATIA ARTIS</span>") written in MGM's custom typeface (named Metro Mayer Serif). A bright light is seen filtering out of the words in the ribbon, filling it with gold. By the time the light fades away from the right, the ribbon gains an extremely shiny metallic luster, and the English translation changes back to its familiar Latin version. The ribbons on either side of the circle unfurl into their familiar form as Leo (now an updated, photorealistic CGI rendering of him, based on the 1957 footage) fades in and roars. The mask (once again redesigned, with a solid mouth this time) and leaf-like design around it grow and fade from the darkness, and the company name zooms out (just like the previous logo) and shines on top of the ribbon, with "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">TRADE MARK</span>" fading in shortly after. The entire logo has a subtle, faint golden shine all around it.

{{Chronology|[[Metro Pictures Corporation]]<br>[[Goldwyn Pictures]]<br>Louis B. Mayer Pictures<br>[[Solax Studios]]<br>[[United Artists]]<br>[[United Artists Releasing]]<br>[[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation]]}}

 

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