Palace Video (UK)

Credits

Descriptions by
Henrynguye5

Captures by
Henrynguye5 and TVB

Editions by
Henrynguye5, TVB and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
dylan fagan

Background

Palace Video was a division of Stephen Woolley's Palace Pictures that was formed to release his products on home video. They were one of the earlier pre-cert distributors to survive the 1984 Video Recordings Act, despite being one of the more noteworthy "Video Nasty" distributors, mainly due to their release of The Evil Dead.

By the mid-1980s, the distribution arm became the joint-venture business Palace, Virgin and Gold (Distribution) Ltd., alongside Virgin Video. Palace also began to utilize the Palace Pictures brand for their mainstream releases while the Palace Video name would be restricted mostly to children's and family releases with the occasional mainstream or horror release.

Palace Video closed their doors shortly after it's parent company went out of business.

Logo (November 1981-1995)

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Visuals: On a black background, a neon, light blue line appears from the left side of the screen. The line goes up in a very jagged pattern to a silhouette of a mountain with a castle on it (like a path). The castle has a TV tube shape above it. There is a purple haze (with a shade of pink on the bottom) behind the mountain as well. Once the line reaches the castle, lightning flashes as a thunder effect occurs, making a flashing, black and white silhouette of the castle. After the effect, the entire castle flashes and glows with strange neon effects. The text

PALACE
VIDEO

in blue appears twice in a neon font on one of the towers. While the camera pans to the TV tube, the blue text "PRESENTS" in the same font appears on the tallest tower. The screen then fills with white.

Variants:

• The red text "OUT NOW" may appear at the end.
• The way the logo ends may either sometimes fade out or cut out.
• Sometimes, it may cut to a light blue background with the white text, all stacked up, reading "Before the main feature, PALACE VIDEO Proudly Presents ......"
• Sometimes when the screen would flash to white, the screen cuts to a BBFC rating screen on a black background appearing as the ending of the music is heard. This is seen on the original 1982 UK VHS release of The Snowman.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: An eerie synth hum that sounds like the beginning of the 1986 Viacom "V of Steel" jingle, followed by thunder and a dark synth theme, ending with a whoosh.

Availability:

• Palace were usually known for distributing art house and horror films to video.
• Examples might be UK releases of Jim Henson's shows, Basket Case, and the infamous 1981 release of Pink Flamingos.
• Both the original pre-cert release and 1990 certified release of The Evil Dead also have this logo.
• It is also seen on the 1986 UK VHS release of Jimi Hendrix Plays Berkeley: An Electric Experience, the 1989 UK VHS releases of Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy, Muppet Babies: Muppets in Toyland/Scooter's Uncommon Cold, The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Grim Tales: Rumplestiltskin, and Bugs Bunny & Friends: Wackiki Wabbit, the 1990 UK VHS releases of Fraggle Rock Animation: The Great Fraggle Freeze, and The Poddington Peas, and the 1991 UK VHS releases of Father Christmas (1991), Rosie & Ruff in Puppydog Tales: Vol. 1, and Rosie & Ruff in Puppydog Tales: Vol. 2, respectively.