Columbia Pictures: Difference between revisions

Following a reorganization, the Cohn brothers renamed the predecessor company as "Columbia Pictures Corporation" on January 10, 1924. Columbia's product line consisted mostly of moderately budgeted features and a short-subject program of comedies, serials, cartoons, and sports films. Columbia gradually moved into the production of higher-budget fare, building a reputation as one of Hollywood's more important studios. On December 23, 1968, it was reorganized as '''Columbia Pictures Industries''' after Columbia Pictures Corporation merged with its television division [[Screen Gems Television|Screen Gems]]. On June 22, 1982, Columbia Pictures was sold to [[The Coca-Cola Company]] for $750 million. In December 1987, it became part of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, with Coke owning 49%. Finally, on November 8, 1989, it was sold to Sony Corporation of Japan. Since 1998, Columbia Pictures has been part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group (Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group since 2013), which is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony.

Columbia Pictures titles were distributed through a partnership with [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] under the name [[Warner-Columbia Films|Columbia-Warner]] internationally (with some partnerships in [[Columbia-Cannon-Warner Distributors|the United Kingdom]]) until 1987, when Columbia reorganized its international distribution division into [[Sony Pictures Releasing International|Columbia Tri-Star Films]]. The UK partnership would last until 1988.

'''Logo:''' On a {{color|darkgray|dark gray}} background with arch clouds below, we see a woman dressed in a Roman soldier's outfit (similar to the Greco-Roman goddess Athena/Minerva), crowned with a wreath and covered in a toga, holding a shield in her left hand and holding an olive branch in her right hand. We see the text "COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION Presents", with "COLUMBIA PICTURES" arched above, "CORPORATION" underneath it in a straight line, and "Presents" below.

'''Logo:''' We see a medium shot of a lady holding a light torch in her right hand, depicted with a dark bob and a Cleopatra-esque headdress across her forehead. She is draped in an American flag complete with the stars on her left shoulder and the stripes coming across her middle, supported by her left arm, and hanging down her right side. Her torch is displayed with a rather primitive, flickering style of animation emitting lines of light as rays. The Torch Lady's head is under an arch of chiseled, square-shaped letters reading the words "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION". At the end of the movie or short subject, the words are "THIS IS A COLUMBIA PICTURE" with "The End" below it in a script font.

* In 2004, [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment]] released several colorized ''Three Stooges'' shorts; these had the Torch Lady in color as well, and the words are in {{color|gold|yellow}}.

'''Logo:''' We see the lady, this time standing on top of a pedestal with a backdrop of clouds over her, while she is holding her light torch. Much more refined, ethereal and goddess-like, her facial features are less pronounced and she looks away (up and to the right) instead of straight ahead. Her headdress is absent and her hair sweeps back instead of hanging by the sides of her face. The drape over her shoulder is less obviously an American flag, with the stars on the left shoulder being toned down in a shadow, and the stripes are visible only on the portion of the drape hanging down her right side. "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION" is replaced with the tall chiseled letters of "COLUMBIA" (which fades in a second afterward) running straight across the top section of the screen, with the lady's torch glowing in front of the "U". A new form of animation is used on the logo as well, with a torch that radiates light instead of flickers. Until the mid-1960s, this logo would also appear at the end of films, sometimes with the words "The End" in a script font.

* January 26, 1955: The logo is adapted for CinemaScope. The Torch Lady loses her slipper-clad foot peeking out from the bottom of her robe as it divides just above the pedestal. Also, the clouds behind the logo are more concentrated in the center and more billowy in shape.

* Two ending variants existed for short subjects during the early 1940s: (1) Near the top of the screen, "THE" is in a 3D-like Futura font with a white face and dark/light shadows to the left of the Torch Lady, and "END" in the same font and effects is to the right; the shadows from "THE END" go behind the Torch Lady to an unknown vanishing point behind the rays of her torch (much like the early-to-mid-60's [[Four Star Television]] logo's effect). Near the top of the Torch Lady's pedestal, "COLUMBIA" is in a small but wider version of the company name's "chiseled" font, and "SHORT" "SUBJECT" "PRESENTATION" is chiseled onto each step of the pedestal, going from top to bottom respectively (when seen on colorized prints of ''The Three Stooges'', "THE" "END" and "COLUMBIA" are in a {{color|gold|yellowish}}-{{color|gold}} color, and the clouds and shadows are shades of {{color|darkblue|dark}} and {{color|lightblue|light blue}}, respectively); and (2) the standard "The End" additional text below would read "A Columbia Short Subject Presentation". These variants are usually seen on ''The Three Stooges'' shorts and often accompanies the aforementioned title card variant.

* On a Super 8mm colorized print of the ''Krazy Kat'' cartoon "The Katnips of 1940", a copyright disclaimer was superimposed into the logo, reading:

* This was seen on early releases of the 1975 version of ''The Stepford Wives'', but when [[Viacom (1971-2006)|Viacom]] bought the rights to the film, along with the rest of the [[Palomar Pictures International|Palomar Pictures]] catalog in the mid-'80s, the logo was deleted. However, following the release of the 2004 remake, [[Paramount Pictures]] gained rights to the original film through Viacom (owner of the former company), and added their 2002 logo at the beginning of all current prints.

'''Logo:''' It begins with the familiar Columbia Torch Lady (a less-detailed {{color|gold|yellow}}-toned 1942/1955 Torch Lady), standing on the pedestal holding her light torch against the backdrop of clouds. Then, the picture moves upward and towards the torch as the rays pull in, which shines even more as the picture blurs around it. It then emits a flash that fills the screen. When the flash dissolves, the light torch itself appears, as if in a sunburst, against a black screen and as it shrinks, it changes into a more "abstract" torch: a {{color|blue}} half circle, or a semicircle, with thirteen white light rays in the center and the words "{{Font|serif|{{color|orange|Columbia Pictures}}}}" in a Souvenir Medium font under it. The entire logo then slowly backs away as it fades out.

* The animation for the Sunburst logo was provided by Robert Abel and Associates, who specialized in elaborate, motion-controlled animation and lighting effects, and also did work on commercials (early 1970s 7-Up ads among many others) and ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture''.

'''Technique:''' Very well-done motion-controlled cel animation that still looks good over 40 years later.

'''Music/Sounds Variant:''' The USSR Version includes an announcer.

'''Legacy:''' Although it sticks out from the other Columbia logos in design, this logo is still a favorite of many.

* September 23, 1992-May 14, 1993: The same closing logo, but with "COLUMBIA PICTURES" in the Bank Gothic font with the SPE byline below. On ''A River Runs Through It'' and ''El Mariachi'', as well as [[Castle Rock Entertainment|Castle Rock]] films, the words "RELEASED BY" appear on top. A variant of this appeared at the end of ''Josh and S.A.M.'', released on November 24, 1993. In this one, it has "A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE" above the "RELEASED BY" variant, while the movie itself would use the 1993 logo at the beginning. The possible reason for this is that the film was delayed; a teaser for said film, which was found on the 1993 VHS releases of ''Single White Female'' and ''Mr. Saturday Night'', had it originally intended for a spring 1993 release, but when it finally came to theaters, Columbia might have replaced the 1989 logo with their new logo, but didn't touch the credit logo. Another example of Sony's poor editing habits.

* 1993-2008, 2019: First, we see a ray of light, resembling a sunburst, with the cloud background fading in a brief second later. The light is coming from a torch, as we zoom out to reveal that a face-lifted Torch Lady, now with a more detailed and realistic look, is holding it. Once the camera is fully zoomed out, "COLUMBIA", seen in a bold, {{color|silver}} chiseled font, fades in atop the Torch Lady. A ring of light then shimmers around the lady.

* 2006-2014: Starting with ''The Holiday'', released on December 8, 2006, the logo was given enhancements to better resemble the 2001 [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment]] logo and Michael J. Deas' original artwork of the logo. The hand is in a different pose in which her finger is at the tip of the torch. The sky is also darker and the "COLUMBIA" text has more {{color|silver}} in it and is slightly off-center. Trailers and TV spots, however, continued to use the 1993 version of the logo until 2008. On ''The Holiday'', it shows the logo already formed; the fully animated variant debuted on ''Ghost Rider'', as between those two films, the 1993 version was still used until ''The Messengers''; and additionally came back for a one-time revival in 2019 with ''Little Women'' (2019).

* The logo's most recent overhaul was undertaken during this era when Sony Corporation of Japan (which bought Columbia on November 8, 1989) commissioned illustrator Michael J. Deas to redesign the lady and return her to her "classic" look. The result, based on Deas' sessions with Mandeville, Louisiana homemaker Jenny Joseph, who posed for him with a makeshift robe and torch, was a taller, slimmer Columbia Torch Lady with lighter, curlier hair and a dimmer torch. Rather than use Joseph's face however, Deas constructed a composite face made up of a couple of computer-generated features. Deas' artwork, created in 1992, was featured in the [[Columbia Pictures Television]] and [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Columbia TriStar Home Video]] identities prior to this logo's appearance. The logo was animated at Kleiser/Walczak Construsction Company, now known as Synthespian Studios. Jeff Kleiser (the brother of ''Grease'' and ''Flight of the Navigator'' director Randal Kleiser), and Diana Walczak were lead animators, while Ed Kramer and Joel Hynek assisted in production. The staff used 2D elements from Deas' painting, edited them using Adobe Photoshop running on an Apple Macintosh Quadra 950 workstation and converted them to 3D. The clouds were divided up to 66 image maps and Walczak mapped every cloud onto a 3D object and twist-distorted and translated on Alias/Wavefront Advanced Visualizer graphics software running on a Silicon Graphics Crimson Elan workstation. The woman was also converted to 3D by sculpting a real model and scanning it using a Polhemus 3-space digitizing pen.

* Starting with the release of ''The Juror'', released on February 2, 1996, "{{color|#FFA500|'''a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company'''}}" appears on the bottom, being slightly off-center. When it debuted, the byline is chyroned in cheaply and is a lot bigger and wider than the proportion of the "COLUMBIA" name and the pedestal. Starting with ''The Craft'', released on May 3, 1996, it is way smaller, narrow, and fades in. However, some post-1996 films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'', ''Wild Things'', ''Dance with Me'', and John Carpenter's ''Vampires'' may have this logo without the byline, while trailers and TV spots continued to use the bylineless version of the logo until 1999 for unknown reasons. The last film to use this byline was ''Captain Phillips'', released on October 11, 2013.

* In late 2013, the byline was shortened to "{{color|#FFA500|'''a Sony Company'''}}", with the {{color|orange}}-{{color|gold}} color of the previous byline changed to a {{color|brown|bronze}} and is properly centered. This byline debuted on ''American Hustle'' (US prints only and only appears at the end, the film itself uses the 1976 logo), US prints of ''The Monuments Men'', and the official trailers for ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' and ''22 Jump Street''.

* In 1999, the company celebrated its 75th anniversary. The beginning of the logo starts off with the 1936 logo of Columbia Pictures in black & white, leaving the 1993 cloud background intact. The Torch Lady then slowly morphs into the current Torch Lady as the effects from black & white later turn to color. As the camera zooms back, we see a red arched banner dropping from above saying "SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY LIGHTING UP SCREENS AROUND THE WORLD" and the Torch Lady standing on the pedestal, where we see a red box with the gold, giant chiseled name "COLUMBIA" inside on top, and the small word "PICTURES" below in spaced-out letters. We also see the gold giant number "75" unfolding in between the Torch Lady.

* The superimposed closing variant features the Torch Lady (and the cloud background) placed inside a rectangular box. The torch and the cloud background overlap the top of the box. To the left of the logo are the words "COLUMBIA PICTURES" (in the same Bank Gothic font as the previous logo), with "COLUMBIA" over "PICTURES". The phrase below the text reads "A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE" or "RELEASED BY" (both in the small-caps format) above the logo with the SPE byline underneath the logo. On some movies such as ''Stuart Little'', the animated short ''Early Bloomer'', ''Hollywood Homicide'', and ''13 Going on 30'', the SPE byline is smaller, more spaced out, and is in a different font. Depending on the credits, the logo and the text may vary in color. Starting with ''American Hustle'', the byline was shortened to "'''a Sony Company'''", though the older SPE byline made a surprise appearance on ''Pixels'', released on July 24, 2015.

* One early closing variant featured the boxed Torch Lady logo at center, with "COLUMBIA PICTURES" and the SPE byline below one another. Sometimes, the text and byline are smaller and the logo is bigger to fit the width of the text. There is a version where the logo is inverted and no SPE byline appeared on ''Warriors of Heaven and Earth'' in 2003 and ''Kung Fu Hustle'' in 2004 and also seen on some films like ''Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway'' and ''The Mitchells vs. the Machines'' with Sony byline. Beginning with ''Life'' in 2017, a revised version of this variant is used. Here, the text and byline are larger.

* The 1993 main version has the piano tune emphasized more, and sounds more "stripped down" compared to later iterations. This variant debuted on ''In The Line of Fire'' (the second film to use the 1993 logo). It was used mostly on films from 1993-1998, however it made a surprise appearance in some 2000-01 films. It is the one usually associated with the "original Columbia 1993 logo".

* The 1993 alternate version is reorchestrated, and has additional sections/instruments (such as brass, chimes, synthesizers, and flute sections), and sounds way more powerful than the other fanfares listed here. These sections would become the basis for later renditions of the fanfare. If you hear closely, the percussion (piano and drums) is not as pronounced as the other versions. It only appeared on five films from 1993-1997, however: ''Last Action Hero'' (the first film to use this logo), ''Geronimo: An American Legend'' (although some prints may have the common piano version), ''Little Women'' (1994), ''Josh and S.A.M.,'' and ''Buddy''. Why this fanfare was seldom used remains unknown to this day.

* The 1998 alternate version has the piano tune emphasized more, but seems to have the additional brass and chime sections based from other renditions. It also sounds noticeably powerful. This version first debuted on ''Stepmom'', released on December 25, 1998. It was used in tandem with the 1998 common version. The final film to use this rendition was ''Hotel Transylvania'' (2012).  

* On ''Palmetto'', yet another arrangement of the theme is heard without cymbal hits, ending smoothly with synthesized flutes. This variant was only seen on original Columbia TriStar releases, as current releases remove this logo (prior to Time Warner owning the [[Castle Rock Entertainment|Castle Rock]] library, as ''Palmetto'' is a Castle Rock film, however a recent TCM France airing retained the Columbia logo, which was also in widescreen).