Palace Video (UK)/Warning Screen

(November 1981-1995)

Nicknames: "...OR ELSE!", "The Very Strict Warning", "The Warning That Gives People Nightmares", "The '...OR ELSE!' Warning"

Warning: On a black background, we see the warning text (in white):

WARNING THE COPYRIGHT PROPRIETOR HAS LICENCED THE FILM (INCLUDING ITS SOUNDTRACK) COMPRISED IN THIS VIDEOCASSETTE FOR HOME USE ONLY. ALL OTHER RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. ANY UNAUTHORISED COPYING, EDITING, EXHIBITION, RENTING, EXCHANGING, HIRING, LENDING, PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, DIFFUSION AND/OR BROADCAST OF THIS VIDEOCASSETTE OR ANY PART THEREOF IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. ...OR ELSE!

Variants:

• On the 1983 release of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and some Virgin Video tapes, the text is white on a blue background, without "OR ELSE!".
• A rare variant has the "ELSE!" of "OR ELSE!" flash red and blue. This was seen on the 1983 release of Angel (a Channel 4 TV movie).

FX/SFX: None.

Availability: Seen on most UK Palace Video releases with the "Haunted Castle/Neon Castle" logo, such as The Dark Crystal. Later Palace releases (that don't have the Neon Castle) such as High Spirits also have this. Also seen on Virgin Video tapes.

Legacy: The large "...OR ELSE!" text can be pretty menacing (or even funny) to some, making this one of the more unique warnings to exist.