Cinetel Films

Credits

Descriptions by
Eric S.

Captures by
Camenati

Background

Cinetel Films, known on-screen as CineTel Films, was an independent film production/sales agent company founded in 1980 by Paul Hertzberg and Lisa M. Hansen in Chicago, Illinois. Initially named Chicago Teleproductions, it took on its current name in 1983 when the studio relocated to Los Angeles, California. Over the years, CineTel was prolific in the direct-to-video and made-for-TV landscapes with their low-budget genre fare, specifically horror and action films with name talent. In 2021, the company rebranded as BD Films and their previous library was sold to Vision Films two years later. Streaming rights are currently held by FilmRise. Rights to some of their earlier films are currently with MGM.

1st Logo (1984-February 25, 2007)

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Visuals: On a black background, a white line wipes in the words "CineTelFilms". The words have a rainbow trailer flowing through them.

Variants:

• In later years, the colors flow at a much slower, almost unnoticeable pace.
• An in-credit variant exists, consisting of the logo in white and the words "A" and "Release" above and underneath the company name.

Technique: 2D digital animation.

Audio: Usually silent, or on rare occasions, the film's opening music playing over it. Earlier films will have a synth theme playing over it and others have an ascending theme followed by a thunderclap; the latter is composed by Chuck Cirino and can be heard on the Ghoulies IV soundtrack.

Availability: Found on films by the company, including 976-EVIL and its sequel, The Astral Factor, Class of 1999 Part 2: The Substitute, Hit List, Armed Response, Cold Steel, We're Talkin' Serious Money, Out of the Dark, Tripwire, Masters of Menace, Cyclone, Past Midnight, Say Yes, Fast Getaway and its sequel, Solar Attack, Excessive Force 2: Force on Force, Hardbodies 2 (excluding current TV/DVD prints which are plastered with the MGM logo), the Relentless series, Teresa's Tattoo, Too Much Sun, and Ghoulies IV, among others. One of the last films to feature this logo was Fire Serpent. It may have been seen on U.S. theatrical prints of Star Knight, but the Vidmark Entertainment VHS doesn't use a logo; additionally, foreign prints (and a print on the now-defunct AT&T U-Verse Screen Pack service, in addition to the Echo Bridge DVD releases) feature the Manson International logo instead. It is unknown if this logo can be seen on the U.S.A. Home Video VHS of E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind, which was the company's first film. It also may be seen on international prints of Payback (1990), Deadly Surveillance, Sci-Fighters, and Entangled, among possible others, as Cinetel held international distribution rights to those movies.

2nd Logo (February 2007-December 3, 2019)

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Visuals: There is a crystal version of the Cinetel Films logo shining with rainbow colors and zooming to take its position. Then blue light passes over the text and the logo fades.

Closing Title: On a black background, there is a still, white version of the logo with a reflection below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A whoosh sound.

Availability: Can be found on later films from this company, such as Termination Point, Ogre, the 2010 version of I Spit on Your Grave and its sequels and Storm Cell. The logo was last used on The Boy, the Dog and the Clown.