Exclusive Films

Background

Exclusive Films was an old distribution arm of the British film company Hammer Productions, created in 1935 by Enrique Carreras. Several years later, Hammer went bankrupt, but Exclusive survived and registered the name again in 1949, then in 1975 it collapsed and went inactive for several decades.

In May 2007, Dutch producer John De Mol (co-founder of Endemol and Talpa) retrieved the rights for Hammer and Exclusive to resurrect the company; the new company started distributing under the management of Nigel Sinclair and Guy East. The revived company was folded into AMBI Group (now AMBI Distribution) in 2016.

1st Logo (August 17, 1936)

• 

Visuals: Over a gray background, there is a white circle, which contains a stylistic drawing of a ship being sailed rightwards with clouds at the back of it over the sea. There is a roll being rolled diagonally at the back, which folds and has a white, serif "EXLUSIVE" underneath and folded diagonally back and folded back to have a white, serif "FILMS". Below it is a banner reading "PRESENT" in serif.

Technique: A still printed image.

Audio: Opening part of the movie.

Availability: Seen on Song of Freedom.

2nd Logo (June 24-July 14, 1949)

• 

Visuals: A picture of a "Ship O' The Line" type ship on the open sea fades in. Then the words "EXCLUSIVE FILMS" and small "present" in a serif font wipe in from the left. After a while, the text wipes out and the picture soon fades out.

Technique: Motion-controlled animation superimposed over a still image.

Audio: A drum and brass fanfare culminating in five hits.

Availability: Seen on Ringside and Arson, Inc.

3rd Logo (September 25, 2009-April 27, 2012)

• 
• 
• 

Visuals: In a thick cloud of mist, there is a ship's wheel spinning clockwise, that flies by to the right of the screen. It disappears in a cloud of fog, then the fog disappears, revealing the sails of a ship, which too disappear in the fog. The fog then splits in two and reveals a light green ship (it appears to be a "Ship O' The Line" type). A flash appears below the ship, and the words "EXCLUSIVE FILMS" (or just "EXCLUSIVE") fade in below the ship. The byline "AN EXCLUSIVE MEDIA GROUP COMPANY" is seen on the bottom.

Variants:

• On films distributed by Exclusive, "EXCLUSIVE FILM" and "DISTRIBUTION" fade in below the ship.
  • A still version exists, where the ship outline is black with light beaming behind it and the name is white.
• A version exists where "M E D I A G R O U P" is seen right below "EXCLUSIVE".

Technique: CGI by Garrett Knisley and Hugo Codinach at PIC Collective.

Audio: An orchestral fanfare with sounds of the wheel turning, sails flapping and thunderclaps. Sometimes, it's silent.

Availability: Seen on Wake Wood, and international prints of The Way Back and Let Me In.

4th Logo (February 22, 2013-2016)

• 

Visuals: It starts off the same as the previous logo, but the ship doesn't flash, the fog stays moving in one direction and the camera zooms out farther than usual. Then, the ship disappears in a thick cloud of fog revealing the text "EXCLUSIVE" in a Monument Ultrabold font. A line flashes below that, and "M E D I A" is seen as well.

Technique: CGI by PIC Collective.

Audio: The opening theme of the movie or none.

Availability: Seen on Snitch, Metallica Through The Never, Parkland and international prints of A Walk Among The Tombstones, among other films.