Trans World Entertainment

Credits

Descriptions by
Reactor37654, mr3urious and rj4712

Captures by
MachineryNoise, Eric S., V of Doom, Supermarty-o, and TimYeiLogoCollector

Editions by
Blue2000 and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
AdjustTracking and DudeThatLogo

Background

Trans World Entertainment was started up and run by Moshe Diamant and Eduard Sarlui. It is not to be confused with another company of the same name which previously operated stores such as f.y.e. TWE eventually was absorbed into Diamant and Sarlui's Epic Productions; the TWE library would eventually comprise Epic's Sigma library, and is currently owned by MGM through Orion after it purchased the Epic library from PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

1st Logo (1984-December 27, 1989)

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Visuals: On a space background (look closely and you can see stars when the logo forms), there is a Tron-like grid with a fuchsia glow above it. As we go above the grid, a red and blue ribbon appears and makes a stylized "W". Smaller ribbons extend out of the main ribbon to form a "T" and an "E". "TRANS WORLD ENTERTAINMENT" appears below the "TWE". The logo then "sparkles".

Variants:

• On some releases, after the logo fades out, the red/white word "PRESENTS" would appear in the center of the screen.
• A recent Screenpix Westerns airing of Duel in the Eclipse had the name of the movie superimposed over a majority of the logo.

Technique: Motion-controlled animation.

Audio: A six-note synthesized theme that contains a section reminiscent of Viacom's "V of Doom" jingle.

Audio Variants:

• Another variant that was seen on Impact HD's print of Ator 3: Iron Warrior (1987) had the 1995 MGM lion roar playing instead due to sloppy plastering.
• Sometimes, the logo is silent instead or may have the film's opening music play over it.
• On Catch the Heat, a re-arranged version is heard.

Availability:

• Seen on B-movies on VHS in the '80s, most notably The Tomb, Soldier's Revenge, Outlaw Force, Nightmare Sisters, Defense Play, Monster Dog, Alien Predators, Jailbird Rock, Deadly Weapon, The Caller, Maniac Cop, Hobgoblins, and also on older VHS tapes of some DFE cartoons, such as The Barkleys and The Houndcats, among others.
• It is also seen on Catch the Heat and a low pitched version could be found on the Hulu print of Creature (1985) when it was still up there and was used on some of this company's theatrical releases, including Pray for Death (1985).
• This logo can also be found on the original RCA/Columbia VHS release of Arena and the original HBO Video VHS release of Riding the Edge.
• It was also spotted on local station airings of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), and can be found on the original VHS release thereof.
• It was also present on Comet airings of Creature and Curse II: The Bite.
  • It is also presumed to be present on the 2007 MGM/Fox DVD release of the latter film, though it is missing from Scream Factory's Blu-Ray release thereof.
• This logo may have been seen on the U.S. theatrical print of The Curse, and is also preserved intact on the VHS release thereof from Media Home Entertainment, but it is plastered by the MGM logo on current prints.

2nd Logo (October 1987-September 25, 1991)

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Visuals: Against a black background, a blue ribbon with a white outline zooms out, quickly forming a W similar to the previous logo, colored blue and red (from left to right). The "T" and "E" also take form similarly to the previous logo. The words "TRANS WORLD ENTERTAINMENT", written in a Microgramma font, fade in below when the logo forms.

Variant: On trailers from this company, "Coming From" would be above the logo.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A Chariots of Fire-like theme.

Audio Variants:

• On some movies like Teen Witch, the opening theme plays over it.
• Sometimes, the logo is silent instead.
• A variant with the first logo's music playing over it exists.
• On some releases, an announcer would also be heard saying the company name.

Availability: Mainly seen on theatrical releases such as Teen Witch, The Wild Pair, Night Game, and Seven Hours to Judgment, though it may be plastered by the MGM logo on newer prints; some TV prints may instead have the 1995 Paramount logo preceding it (the result of Paramount inheriting a TV distribution contract TWE and its successors, Epic Productions and Vision P.D.G. had with Viacom).

• On the Media VHS release and the now-defunct FEARnet's print of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (also preserved on the Arrow Films Blu-Ray release thereof), and on Starz Encore Action airings of Arena (as well as the Shout! Factory DVD release thereof), this plasters the 1st logo; however, it is unknown if it is retained on the recent Blu-Ray release of Arena from Arrow Films.
• This logo can also be found on the U.S. screener VHS release of Red Nights, released on video by Trans World themselves.
• It was also seen on ThisTV airings of Kansas and an MGM HD airing of Buy & Cell.
• It is also retained at the start of the Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray release of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), following the Amazon byline variant of the 2021 MGM logo.