Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Main Logo Variations

Credits

Descriptions by
WizardDuck, LogoBoy95, AlaskanMalamute188, and indycar

Captures by
SubparMario63

Editions by
Yoshidude987 and indycar

Background

Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films was founded in the 1980s by movie producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Together, the duo had produced some of the most successful films of the 1980s, including Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop I and II, and Top Gun. The company didn't use a logo until 1990 on Days of Thunder. When Simpson died in 1996, it was renamed to Jerry Bruckheimer Films, with the logo first appearing on Con-Air. From 1983 to 1990, and again starting in 2014, the studio's films were released by Paramount Pictures and by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (later Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) through its Walt Disney Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Touchstone Pictures units from 1990 to 2013 (although select films were released by Columbia Pictures and sister company Screen Gems Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures).

Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

(June 27, 1990-May 27, 2022)

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Nickname: "Twin Lightning"

Logo: We start with sky blue clouds moving across the screen. Two bolts of lightning then strike and converge at the bottom as the clouds instantly turn orange. The screen zooms out in a box on a black background, as the text "DON SIMPSON/JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS" is revealed at the bottom of the screen.

Variants:

• The print logo was seen at the end of Bad Boys.
• An early version just has the company name.
• On Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life, the logo is shortened and the text is smaller.
• The trailers for Top Gun: Maverick and Bad Boys for Life have the logo minus the name.

FX/SFX: Appears to be live-action footage mixed with 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: Just the sounds of lightning. On Top Gun: Maverick, the opening theme of the movie is heard without any sound at all.

Availability: Uncommon.

• In its original run, the logo was seen on some films from 1990 until 1996, including Days of Thunder, Crimson Tide, Dangerous Minds, and The Rock.
• Following Simpson's death, however, Bruckheimer has opted to retain this logo on sequels to films he originally produced with Don Simpson when he was still alive, presumably out of respect; with the logo reinstated for Bad Boys II, Bad Boys for Life, and Top Gun: Maverick.
• The version without the lightning box was on a teaser trailer for Days of Thunder, which can be found on the 1990 Paramount VHS release of Black Rain.
• Don't expect this logo to appear on The Ref, strangely enough.

Editor's Note: The animation and atmosphere may get to some people who do not like lightning. It also looks poor, with limited visuals and choppy movement.

Jerry Bruckheimer Films

(June 6, 1997-)

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  Prototype version
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  Later version
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Nicknames: "The Road", "The Lightning", "The Tree"

Logo: We zoom down a road, as a thunderstorm brews above. Lightning strikes multiple times, as we encounter a leafless tree. Lightning strikes it, and leaves instantly appear on the tree. The screen freezes and zooms out in a box, as the text "JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS" is revealed below.

Trivia: According to Jerry Bruckheimer, the lightning bolt is meant to represent "the power of an idea." The tree was modeled after an oak on a property in Kentucky that Bruckheimer owns. He photographed the tree and sent it to Dream Quest Images, who created the logo.

Variants:

• There exists a prototype version of this logo, where the tree backdrop is entirely different. It also already has leaves on it and lacks the zooming down the road animation. The text is larger, more stretched out and in a green color.
• On Con Air, the logo is slightly longer, and the box above the text is bigger.
• There is a later variant where there is a thin yellow rectangle added around the clip as the camera gradually keeps zooming out. The text is also absent.
• A print version appears at the end of Deliver Us From Evil.
• There exists a short version beginning with the lightning strike.
• On ITV, ITV2 and Channel 4 UK airings of Coyote Ugly (2000) as well as Small HD Widescreen versions of Deja Vu (2006), the logo is cropped to 16:9 aspect ratio.

FX/SFX: Well-made CG animation that still looks great over two decades later.

Music/Sounds: Just the sounds of the wind and thunder.

Music/Sound Variants:

• Sometimes, the film's opening theme is heard, with the wind and lightning sounds intact.
• On Confessions of a Shopaholic, the film's opening theme is heard instead of any of the usual sounds.
• At the end of Black Hawk Down, it's silent.

Availability: Common.

• Appears on several films, including Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, and the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
• The later variant appears on most films from 2004 onward, beginning with National Treasure (though it does not appear on The Sorcerer's Apprentice).
• Does not appear on Remember the Titans, which uses the Technical Black Films logo instead.
• Also seen on two made-for-TV movies, which are Max Q (1998, co-produced with Touchstone Television), and Swing Vote (1999, co-produced with Columbia TriStar Television).
• The Sony Pictures Choice Collection DVD-R and Amazon Prime's print (provided by Samuel Goldwyn Films under license from Sony) of the latter title retain this (and on Amazon's print, this is followed by a filmed CTT logo).

Editor's Note: The animation and concept is very creative and professional. The lightning may startle some people though.