Mosfilm

Credits

Descriptions by
Eric S., EnormousRat, and Gilblitz112

Video captures courtesy of
Peakpasha, Albina Limarenko, mol4ok, EnormousRat, and aashinina

Background

Mosfilm (Мосфильм) is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films. The company was founded in 1920 on the base of two nationalized pre-revolution film studios, and gained the current name in 1935. The logo was introduced in 1946.

1st Logo (1946-1947)

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Logo: Just several lines of text with the bigger word "MOSFILM" below them, all in a bold white Russian Cryllic font. The top line of text is separated by a white line, and a patterned line borders the bottom, with the year "1946" spaced out under it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Either none or the intro theme of the film.

Availability: Nearly extinct. This was a placeholder used for one year and was promptly changed when the famous second logo was finished. It's preserved on a few films.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (July 2, 1947-May 6, 2002, December 21, 2007, May 3, 2012, February 28, 2013, June 7, 2015)

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Nickname: "The Russian Statue", "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman"

Logo: On a dark background, a miniature model of "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" is shown facing the right, along with the Kremlin and its Spasskaya Tower to the right. Under the monument, the word "Мосфильм" is seen below in a simple font, made of glass standing on a trapezoidal base. The monument then turns towards the screen as a orange light, possibly meant to represent a sunrise, illuminates behind the statue. The text then turns white.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the logo is cut to its final seconds.
• A later version, starting in 2001-2002, had the logo remade in CGI, with statue being more metallic-looking, the sky more realistically, and the text being pitch-black but then shines brightly at the end.
• Films shot in a letterbox format have the logo zoomed out dramatically, showing more of the Kremlin's wall on the right, and a massive empty space on the left. The Spasskaya Tower's pinpoint also glows red in this version.
• In later years, the logo would zoom out to the upper left corner of the screen to give room for the other company working with it.
• A version with a dimmer skylight and snow coming down can be seen on the 2007 film The Irony of Fate 2.
• A remake with a dimmer look to it appears on White Tiger in 2012.
• Two different logos were used on the War and Peace film series (1966-1967). On films 1 and 2 of the series, the statue is on the right, seen from the side, and the name is written left to it in a more ordinary font. On films 3 and 4, the regular logo is smaller, doesn't have the Kremlin next to it, and is positioned in the top left corner.
• On a Sovscope (70mm) print of the Russian films Ilya Muromets and Scarlet Sails, the monument is moved towards the left and the letters in "Мосфильм" are more spaced out.
• On the Russian release of Eternal Comrades, a Soviet-North Korean film co-produced with Korean Film, a special variant was created. It has a black background with the Mosfilm logo still on the top left, and the Korean Film logo still (albeit mirrored) on the bottom right. The North Korean release of the film had a completely different variant (see the Korean Film page for more details).

FX/SFX: The monument turning, the sky turning red.

Music/Sounds: None, the opening theme, or a ominous series of piano notes.

Music/Sounds Variant: In The Irony of Fate 2, chimes are heard along with the sound of snow falling.

Availability: Common; can be seen on almost every Mosfilm movie during the period, such as the three-part War and Peace film series. If you watch US prints of those movies, the Janus and Criterion logos would be seen before this one.

Editor's Note: This is a very professional-looking logo.

3rd Logo (2003-June 19, 2014)

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Nickname: "CGI Russian Statue"

Logo: On a black background, light rays emerge from the monument, as it turns from the right and a cloudy sky fades in below. As it rotates, it zooms out and the word "Мосфильм" shines in the same font as before, with it continuing to shine as the Kremlin comes into view and the star glows brightly. The sky fades out, followed by the rest.

Variant: On Goodbye, Mom (До свидания, мама), the logo appears in black and white.

FX/SFX: The monument shining, the camera turning, the sky illuminating. Nice CGI.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common; can be seen on most of the Mosfilm movies of the period starting with There Is Only One Life (Жизнь одна).

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (June 2, 2013- )

Nickname: "CGI Russian Statue II"

Logo: The camera fades into a overhead shot of the monument in a shiny gold. The camera then rotates downwards and zooms out, with glowing rays, and lens flares shining off it. As it zooms out, it passes over the name "Мосфильм" in a different orange font and heads for a straight-on view of the entire logo. The also starts to glow white a bit, and that lingers even when the rest of the logo fades out.

Variant: On Weekend, the logo appears in black and white to match the style of the movie.

FX/SFX: The animation, which looks a bit computer generated.

Music/Sounds: A humming soundtrack or none.

Availability: Currently used. Seen on most of the recent Mosfilm productions starting with Weekend.

Editor's Note: None.