Malofilm Video

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Malofilm Video was a French-Canadian film and VHS distribution company headquartered in Montreal, Québec. It was founded in 1974 as "Les Films René Malo" by René Malo, and later expanded into the home video market in 1983. Malofilm published films and released tapes licensed from New World Video, Republic Pictures Home Video and Vidmark Entertainment, as well as French-dubbed titles from MGM/UA Home Video (until the early '90s) and Paramount Home Video. Some of these tapes were distributed in Canada by New World Video. Malo was forced by health reasons to resign from the company in 1997 and it was renamed to Behaviour Communications, two years after Malofilm purchased Canadian video game developer Megatoon, and around the time that was renamed to Behaviour Interactive.

1st Logo (June 19, 1986-1991)


Visuals: A rainbow shoots forth from the left of the screen, as the black background fades to a blue gridded floor with a reddish sunset in the background. The rainbow turns into a bronze filmstrip as it spirals toward a smooth ribbon, joining it near the center to form an abstract "M". The filmstrip flashes, and "LES FILMS RENÉ MALO PRÉSENTENT" appears below in a white ITC Avant Garde font. The filmstrip sparkles a little after that.

Variant: On most tapes, the logo is videotaped and the text reads "RENÉ MALO VIDÉO PRÉSENTE".

Technique: Backlit cel animation.

Audio: "Prestige Logo (B)" by Paddy Kingsland, a track from the KPM music library that opens up with three bouncy drum beats, but with the arpeggio riser part cut and coupled with whooshes and a few dings.

Availability:

  • It can be seen on French-Canadian releases of MGM/UA Home Video and Paramount Home Video titles.
  • It can also be seen on the Canadian VHS releases of King of the Kickboxers, Mindfield, Black Christmas (1974), The Wizard of Speed and Time, Cyber Ninja (aka Warlords in Canada), The Decline of the American Empire, The Amityville Curse and Matinee (aka Midnight Matinee).
  • It also appears on French-Canadian prints of films they produced or distributed.

2nd Logo (1990-1997)


Visuals: Against a gray marble or cloudy sky background, a rainbow ribbon comes up from the bottom of the screen. The rainbow glides around to the right, and then twists itself into an “M”. The rainbow “M” turns gold from left to right while a beam goes through it from right to left. Two more beams shoot underneath the “M” from right to left, leaving behind the words "MALOFILM" and "VIDEO".

Variants:

  • Sometimes, the very beginning is cut off.
  • A short, filmed variant starts with the shooting beams; here, "DISTRIBUTION" replaces "VIDEO". Used probably for trailers and theatrical prints.
  • There is a version with odd color changes (desaturated and hue-shifted by about 120 degrees), ending in what looks green-tinted; it's seen on the 2002 Platinum Disc DVD of Blind Fear. This is most likely the fault of the DVD company themselves, since at the time, a majority of their DVD releases were unfortunate enough to be green tinted as well.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A low-pitched chime, then an ascending synth drone (not unlike THX), which leads into a triumphant synth hit and a 7-note chime tune. Reverse cymbal crashes are used for the beams shooting.

Audio Variants:

  • Later releases use a re-orchestrated version of the theme, beginning with a much more subdued, softer chime-like sound.
  • The distribution version uses the opening theme to the trailer, or a shortened version of the regular music.

Availability:

  • Releases with this logo include Monty Python and the Holy Grail and some of the Scanners movies, particularly parts 2 and 3 and Scanner Cop 1 and 2.
  • Also appears on some Canadian releases of Vidmark tapes such as Leprechaun, Spitfire, Heatseeker, and Best Kept Secrets.
  • It also appears on Canadian releases of VHS tapes from Republic Pictures such as A.P.E.X., and French-Canadian VHS releases of Paramount films such as Cool World.
  • Also found on a VHS release of Something About Love.
  • This makes an appearance on the 2002 Platinum Disc DVD of Blind Fear, and the French-dubbed version of Dead Cold before the Image Organization logo on its Canadian DVD release from Seville Pictures.
  • Also appears on Canadian VHS releases of the 1991 film The Psychic before the Cineglobe and C/FP Distribution logos, and on Frame Up before the Cineglobe logo.
Malofilm Video
Behaviour Communications
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