Republic Pictures Home Video

Background

Republic Pictures Home Video was the home entertainment division of the new Republic Pictures that was established in 1985 after closing down NTA Home Entertainment to distribute most Republic releases on video. After the company was folded into Viacom, Artisan Entertainment and later Lionsgate Home Entertainment released their films on home video under license by Paramount Pictures. Ever since the folding of Republic Pictures into Paramount, their library is distributed by Olive Films, under license from Paramount. Melange Pictures, LLC is the copyright holder for Republic's films.

1st Logo (1985-1987)

Nickname: "The Bald Eagle in the Sky"

Logo: It's basically the same as the 1985 Republic Pictures logo, except a few seconds later, "HOME VIDEO" fades in below the company name.

Variant: An early "prototype" variant showed the text in a plain yellow Helvetica font which zooms in from behind the volcano. Also, the clouds don't move.

FX/SFX: Same as the 1985 Republic Pictures logo, with the text "HOME VIDEO" fading-in.

Music/Sounds: None, but on some video releases, a light synth tune was heard.

Availability: Appears on Republic Pictures videos from the '80s. Look at the tape case for a print version of this logo; it's printed exactly as it appears on-screen. One such release is the two-tape set of the 1939 serial Daredevils of the Red Circle. The "prototype" version appeared on a 1987 Betamax of The Men (1950), which used a 1985 video master.

Editor's Note: This is a rather basic home video logo, but it does its job.

2nd Logo (1987-1990)

Nickname: "The Chyron Bald Eagle"

Logo: On a grey gradient background, we see the Republic Pictures print logo on the left. The eagle and the mountain are in monochrome, and the sky is Turkish blue. The words "REPUBLIC PICTURES HOME VIDEO" appears in orange and seen in its usual font.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Scarce. It's seen on Republic Pictures Home Video tapes from the period. Unlike the previous logo, this logo's print counterpart is no guarantee of its on-screen appearance.

Editor's Note: A bit of a step down from the previous logo. This is basically an on-screen print logo.

3rd Logo (1990-1996)

Nickname: "The Restored Bald Eagle"

Logo: On a blue sky background, we see the Republic Pictures eagle, perched on a volcano, but this time the words "REPUBLIC PICTURES HOME VIDEO" appears in a plain white Goudy Old Stylefont.

Variant: On a laserdisc of The Quiet Man, we see just the eagle and volcano at first, and a few seconds later the text appears.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on prints of some Republic Pictures videos from the early 90s. Though Republic Pictures replaced this ID with the next logo on video releases in 1993, this logo continued to appear on trailers for another few years. This was retained on the 2002 Artisan DVD of The Quiet Man. This is also preserved on Lionsgate DVDs of Republic Pictures films. Surprisingly, it appears on TCM's prints of The Fabulous Dorseys and Venus in Furs.

Editor's Note: Like the first logo, it's a basic home video logo that does its job.

Final Note: After 1993, Republic Picture began to simply use their regular logo at the time for home video releases.