Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios: Difference between revisions

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

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

'''Technique:''' A printed graphic filmed by a cameraman.

'''Availability:'''  Seen at the end of very early MGM-era films such as ''He Who Gets Slapped'', ''Lady of the Night'', and ''Cleopatra'' (1928), and also as an opening logo, like on ''Greed''.

* 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 (Numa)<ref>https://calisphere.org/item/33aa2009c076c8900cc1e640aebb0e64/</ref> appears. The usual MGM marquee is seen below, with the ribboning in white, the wreath in {{color|gold|yellow}}, the mask in {{color|red}}, and the marquee in {{color|green}}.

'''Technique:''' A printed graphic with the lion used being a live-action photograph.

File:MGM(12).jpg|MGM Silver Anniversary card, seen before the MGM lion.

'''Visuals:''' A new MGM lion named "Jackie" appears in a slightly redone film-like ribboning. Jackie roars three times and then looks offscreen. The marquee from the last two logos is seen below.

'''Trivia:''' Jackie was born in 1915, and was nicknamed "Leo the Lucky" because he survived several accidents, including two trainwrecks, an earthquake, and an explosion inside the studio. He retired in 1931 and was given to the Philadelphia Zoo, and died in February 1935 from heart problems. His hide is currently on display at the McPherson Museum in McPherson, Kansas.

* This logo would sometimes appear in sepia.

* In Turner's colorized versions, the ribboning is in a {{color|#E5890A|brownish-gold}} color, the wreath is {{color|green}}, and the mask is {{color|red}}.

* There's another color variant, like the aforementioned logo, but with the marquee in {{color|red}}.

* There's another colorized variant of the 1938 version, with the ribboning in either {{color|#E5890A|brownish-gold}}, {{color|#FFD93D|pastel yellow}}, {{color|#F2D64A|goldenrod}}, or silver.

* On a Dutch print of ''Dood Water'' (translated as ''Dead Water'', 1934), the logo looks entirely redrawn with the mask also being slightly different as well.

'''Closing Variant:''' After the MGM merger, a variant of the Metro-Goldwyn Pictures closing logo, with the appropriate addendum, was used on the studio's end cards from 1924 until the 1950s.

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with the elements surrounding the lion being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

* In the 1993-1998 MGM/UA Home Video logo, Jackie roars with Tanner's roar instead of his own roaring sound.

* It was also seen on the reconstructed Turner Classic Movies version of ''London After Midnight.''  

* The last few films to use this logo were ''The Affairs of Dobie Gillis'', ''Big Leaguer'', ''The Actress'', and ''Main Street to Broadway''.

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

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with the elements surrounding the lion being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

'''Audio Variant:''' On ''Crazy House'' (1930), the logo is silent.

'''Visuals:''' Another two-strip Technicolor lion named "Coffee" appears in a slightly redrawn film-like ribboning, with the mask redrawn as well. 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 {{color|red}}.

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

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with the elements surrounding the lion being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

'''Audio:''' Just Coffee's roar.

'''Availability:''' Seen on several of MGM's color short subjects, including ''Roast-Beef and Movies'' and ''Wild People'', as well as the first season of MGM's "Happy Harmonies" cartoons.

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

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with the elements surrounding the lion being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

'''Audio:''' Some films would feature Tanner's roar, while animated features would use Coffee's. Other live-action films would have the music's intro with Tanner roaring. For the long version, it's just Tanner roaring.

File:MGM Jackie the Lion logo (1954-1956, Blackboard Jungle).png|Black and white version, which uses Jackie instead of Tanner

'''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-and-white films and Tanner on color films. Also, a registered trademark symbol is added underneath the left side of the filmstrip.

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with the elements surrounding the lion being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

'''Audio:''' Tanner and Jackie roaring.

Behind the scenes=

'''Visuals:''' A new lion appears, named Leo. 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.

'''Technique:''' Live-action footage, with the elements surrounding the lion being a printed graphic composited over the footage.

'''Trivia:''' This was actually based on the print logo that was used by MGM Home Entertainment and MGM DVD, as seen on VHS and DVD covers and other merchandise. The gold mask used here also looks similar to the one in the 1993 MGM/UA Home Video logo. The footage of Leo in this logo is actually taken from a negative master of the 1958 film ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', as the original three-roar footage from 1957 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 [https://garycoates.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/logo-history-restoration-article.pdf here.] 

* October 31, 2008-February 6, 2009: A new roar sound that also has elements of the 1982 and 1995 MGM lion roars and is more powerful than its predecessor, once again mixed by Mark Mangini. This new sound was reportedly created because the current ones did not have the lion roaring thrice like the longer version. This was also used on the trailers for ''Fame'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine''.

* June 12, 2009-March 16, 2012: The 1995 lion roar is used.

'''Audio:''' The 1995 roar is used, along with whooshes throughout the animation and the sound of a running film projector before the lion roars. The noise dies down after the first roar. There is also an extra growling sound added after the second roar.