Popular Post Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 13, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted October 13, 2018 Anyone else ever notice that a lot of movies really feel like the studio they were made from? Like the Alien, Predator, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Titanic, Speed, ID4, Star Wars, etc. all have that distinctively 20th Century Fox feel about them. All the Star Treks and most of the Friday the 13ths have that Paramount feel (as do all those Oscar bait Paramount dramas from way back). The Supermans, Batmans, Lethal Weapons, Joe Dante movies and other one-offs all have that Warner Bros. feel. And of course the Jurassic Parks, Psychos, Back to the Futures, old spookies and anything with that bright, glossy Dean Cundy look has that Universal feel. There's more, but anyway, I've noticed this for years, and I could always have a movie pegged by its studio company behind it, even if didn't see the logo at the beginning. It goes to show there's more subtle branding distinction going on with these movies than just the logos themselves. There's something else embedded into them, a visual and atmospheric language indicating their aim to brand their products. It's not quite as obvious these days because movies from various studios seem to bleed into each other - the identifying characteristics have evaporated into a more, uh, universal digital look. Anyhoo, has this ever been a thing for anyone else? Ricard, Not Mr. Big, SteveMc and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 All modern Disney movies, from their other studios too feel clean and sterile. Flawless, visually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,337 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 You describe that as "flawless"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datameister 2,044 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 I immediately thought of Jurassic Park with Universal. Not sure why, but that film has always felt so prototypically Universal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,337 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 I don't have that. Star Wars (1977) and Alien (1979) are both 20th Century Fox movies, with only 2 years between them, and yet miles apart from one another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, Alexcremers said: I don't have that. Star Wars (1977) and Alien (1979) are both 20th Century Fox movies, only 2 years between them, and yet miles apart from one another. Yeah but they still have "that Fox" feel to them. Hell watching Alien these days, I still can't shake off those 1991 MasterCard ads and Meet the Press promos from my taped from TV video tape copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 4 hours ago, Alexcremers said: You describe that as "flawless"? There's technically nothing wrong with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Titanic feels more Paramount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,363 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 I’ve never felt anything studio-ish when watching a movie but I’m curious about what these hallmarks are. What kind of clues or feels make a movie “Universal” or “Fox”? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Always is very Universal. Even the poster. You can just see the Universal globe making the rounds to the tune of JH's fanfare. Or tranquil woodland ambiance. Whatever. Unlucky Bastard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 5 hours ago, Iron_Giant said: I’ve never felt anything studio-ish when watching a movie but I’m curious about what these hallmarks are. What kind of clues or feels make a movie “Universal” or “Fox”? I can't explain it. There's more to it. Fox movies from 1985 to 1992 all that a certain kind of Fox feel to them that's different to other periods. Might be that CBS/Fox logo at the beginning of the video tapes, but ones like The Fly, Aliens, Predator, Die Hard, The Abyss, The Fly II, Predator 2, Edward Scissorhands and Alien 3 all have that.... that particular Fox feel to them that's unique to their time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Dunno how others think, but I feel the opening logo at the beginning of a movie, whether it be the Disney castle or the Paramount mountain, sort of sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 And when you see a movie with the Paramount logo that actually has the Paramount theme, it feels like you just unlocked a rare item in a video game. A visitation that comes only once every 500 years. Gruesome Son of a Bitch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,363 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 It all sounds like some kind of classical conditioning situation to me. If Jurassic Park feels “Universal” to some, could it just be because its logo was the first thing you saw as a kid when the lights dropped and the jungley sounds came up? Not to mention JP theming at Universal Studios later on? Most of the movies mentioned so far are of the kind that stay in the memory if watched at the right, impressionable age, which might mean something, I dunno. A. A. Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Well you can often tell an old 30s/40s Warner Bros flick from an MGM counterpart. The actors are the first giveaway because very rarely would they ever crossover between studios. WB films were kind of gritty and manufactured, whereas MGM films were lavish and showy. Plus the RKO/Selznick films from the time looked like nothing else that was being made at the bigger studios. And the emerging Fox and Paramount were doing shit well into the 1950s that the others wouldn't dare touch, like science fiction (usually always starring Michael Rennie!), horror, and an endless stream of westerns, which you could always tell were shot on the Fox lot (or the Paramount lot of course). It wasn't until those successes that WB/MGM decided to do their own like Forbidden Planet and The Time Machine. And Iron_Giant, just watch the Problem Child movies, Casper and The Flintstones and tell me those don't feel like Universal movies. Actually Casper is an interesting case where the movie was Universal, but the direct to video sequels were distributed by Fox - how weird! And Bette Davis played Elizabeth II twice, once in a 30s WB film, the next in a 50s Fox film... and they both feel completely different! The WB one feels more elaborate, whereas the Fox one feels more... I dunno, the lighting feels more TVish and the sets look more phony, like it was build for The Time Tunnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Disney Star Wars without the FOX logo is just wrong. Chen G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 7 minutes ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said: Disney Star Wars without the FOX logo is just wrong. And yet TFA still feels Fox-like to me. Funny that! 9 hours ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said: Titanic feels more Paramount. This is another interesting anomaly in studio feels in movies. I mean to me, it's always been a 20th Century Fox picture, plus Paramount mentioned at the beginning. The home video releases were always Fox in Australia, I went on the Titanic ride/exhibit at Fox Studios Australia in 2001, and Cameron seems to feel at home there. And yet Americans just accept it as a Paramount picture. And then there are other weird cases where a movie that was made by one studio suddenly changes hands and then it's re-released by another studio! Like JFK, you wouldn't question it being a WB film, but its blu-ray release on Australia was done by Fox - that just blows my brains away!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,363 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 13 minutes ago, Norma's Corpse said: Well you can often tell an old 30s/40s Warner Bros flick from an MGM counterpart. The actors are the first giveaway because very rarely would they ever crossover between studios. WB films were kind of gritty and manufactured, whereas MGM films were lavish and showy. Plus the RKO/Selznick films from the time looked like nothing else that was being made at the bigger studios. And the emerging Fox and Paramount were doing shit well into the 1950s that the others wouldn't dare touch, like science fiction (usually always starring Michael Rennie!), horror, and an endless stream of westerns, which you could always tell were shot on the Fox lot (or the Paramount lot of course). It wasn't until those successes that WB/MGM decided to do their own like Forbidden Planet and The Time Machine. And Iron_Giant, just watch the Problem Child movies, Casper and The Flintstones and tell me those don't feel like Universal movies. Actually Casper is an interesting case where the movie was Universal, but the direct to video sequels were distributed by Fox - how weird! And Bette Davis played Elizabeth II twice, once in a 30s WB film, the next in a 50s Fox film... and they both feel completely different! The WB one feels more elaborate, whereas the Fox one feels more... I dunno, the lighting feels more TVish and the sets look more phony, like it was build for The Time Tunnel. I’ll take your word about the look and feel of films from the earlier decades, since I (am loathe to admit) I’ve seen so few of them. I’ll also give those ‘90s movies a careful look if I ever watch them again. There could be something there I just never noticed before. On that note, I always felt Jumanji (1995) was very... 1995 to me. Was that a Universal picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 1 minute ago, Iron_Giant said: On that note, I always felt Jumanji (1995) was very... 1995 to me. Was that a Universal picture? Jumanji was TriStar. Movies from Sony are just weird. Many of them don't really have a feel, per se. I mean the late 50s/early 60s WWI and WWII flicks have that distinct Columbia feel. But TriStar... god, I don't know. Supergirl was initially made through WB, but ended up being released through TriStar, but still retains that distinctive Salkind feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,344 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 -Disney right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 5 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said: -Disney right now As usual, I keep forgetting about Disney. Those Touchstone films of the late 80s have a feel, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Dick Tracy. You can sort of tell they were made on the same lot or have the same... thing about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said: Disney Star Wars without the FOX logo is just wrong. Eh, it's much worse that they took it out of the old ones and substituted a terrible hodgepodge edit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 9 minutes ago, Holko said: Eh, it's much worse that they took it out of the old ones and substituted a terrible hodgepodge edit. I wonder if they'll put it back now that they're about to own 20th Century Fox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I doubt it. Why would they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Because it's utterly iconic? At least they should have it before the unaltered versions. If they don't, then it's already not unaltered because a part of the archived strip has been cut out, and it's a very slippery slope from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 1 minute ago, Holko said: Because it's utterly iconic? Star Wars is utterly iconic, the Fox Fanfare is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Everyone who has ever seen the original six knows they begin with the Fox and Lucasfilm logos over the Fox fanfare. Even the Anthology and the SE albums have the Fox Fanfare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 So the Fox Logo and fanfare are iconic because Star Wars is iconic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Williams even wrote the SW opening crawl music in the same key as the Fox Fanfare so they'd match up. Chen G. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 The Fox logo and fanfare being in front of Star Wars is iconic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 That doesnt mean anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 It means everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chen G. 3,949 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 The Fox fanfare does work in tandem with the opening crawl of Star Wars very, very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 This is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,337 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 But is it the same key? The Fox Fanfare has one note that doesn't belong in the Star Wars key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 16 minutes ago, Alexcremers said: But is it the same key? The Fox Fanfare has one note that doesn't belong in the Star Wars key. I think I read that in the book full of writing that came with the SE CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,337 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 It is true that it starts with the same note that ends the Fox Fanfare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Of course. Williams is a very good musician and ensured his opening would match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 George Lucas specifically wanted the movies to open with the extended FOX logo. It's a part of the movie. I remember watching movies that opened with the logo after seeing the SW movies and thinking it might be a SW until the fanfare suddenly ended and it was Home Alone or Alien or something. That logo in front of SW left a huge impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,337 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said: George Lucas specifically wanted the movies to open with the extended FOX logo. It's a part of the movie. The extended Fox Logo theme is for when the CinemaScope technique is used, which Star Wars did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Look, its just an old movie logo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,337 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 3 minutes ago, Stefancos said: Look, its just an old movie logo! It changed people's lives, Steef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Near, far, whoever owns the Star War, I believe that the FOX logo does go on. Unlucky Bastard and Chen G. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 41 minutes ago, Alexcremers said: The extended Fox Logo theme is for when the CinemaScope technique is used, which Star Wars did. CinemaScope was discontinued as a cinematographic process in 1967 with its final film being In Like Flint. All other subsequent films using anamorphic formats were from Panavision or other variants, like J-D-C Scope in ROTJ. SW and ESB were just vanilla Panavision anamorphic, not CinemaScope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,344 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I like to play a logo before I start a movie in my streams. For example, I recall playing this before starting The Burning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 But was Titanic filmed in Panavision or Super 35? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said: But was Titanic filmed in Panavision or Super 35? Funny you should ask since Super 35 lenses and cameras were supplied by Panavision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,533 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said: But was Titanic filmed in Panavision or Super 35? As far as I'm aware, if was filmed in anamorphic. @Norma's Corpse Jerry is right: Panavision is a make of camera, and not a film format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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