Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Copyright Bumpers)

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Main article: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment


1st Bumper (Summer 1990-2001)

Visuals: A copyright notice on a black background, which fades in and out.

Variants:

  • 1990-91 demos, such as Reversal of Fortune and Showdown in Little Tokyo, have the copyright in a different font and the text reading "Warner Home Video, Inc."
  • On Wyatt Earp and A Time to Kill, MGM/UA is mentioned alongside Warner.
  • On the 1994 demo VHS of The Saint of Fort Washington, the copyright is smaller.
  • On the 1995 demo tapes of Midnight Ride and The Wild Bunch, Cannon Video is mentioned alongside Warner.
  • On the 1997 demo VHS of Father's Day, the text is in a thinner font.
  • On the 2000 demo VHS of Eyes Wide Shut, the text is in a metallic font.
  • On turn-of-the-millennium DVDs of Turner Entertainment-owned product such as Show Boat, A Christmas Story, and Westworld, a similar copyright screen appears between the end of the film and the closing FBI warnings. Here, the text is placed in the middle and cuts in and out rather than fading.

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appears on demo tapes from Warner Home Video, with the exception of some tapes that open with retailer promo reels (including Murder in the First, Disclosure, and My Fellow Americans) and some demos of family-oriented features. The bumper's earliest known appearance is on the 1990 demo of Driving Miss Daisy, and it was last seen on the 2001 demo tapes of two remakes of older films, Get Carter and Sweet November.

2nd Bumper (December 20, 1996-February 5, 2013)

Visuals: On a specific background customized for the movie, we see copyright text, with its position varying by release.

Trivia:

  • Most of the time, the copyright can be accessed from an option reading "Continue." However, in some cases, it may also read "Web Info," "Next," or an arrow may be used in its place.
    • On disc 3 of the 2004 Four-Disc Collector's Edition of Gone with the Wind, it can be accessed from an option reading "Copyright," listed on the last page of the "Awards" section.
  • Some of these copyright screens contain typos: On the first edition of Batman Forever, the home video copyright reads "1977" rather than "1997," and Tequila Sunrise has "Summary" misspelled. In addition, DC Comics properties released after 1998 (excluding Superman Returns) usually have their URL reading "DCCOMICS.COM," while Catwoman prints it as "DCCOMIC.COM." The Powerpuff Girls Movie also features a typo: "Distributed by Warner Home Video, and AOL Time Warner Company."

Variants:

  • Warner Bros. DVDs from the official launch in December 1996 in Japan (March 1997 in the US) until November of that year have a giant Warner Bros. shield behind the text. Earlier titles have a cloudy background, while others (such as My Fellow Americans, The Witches of Eastwick, and Assassins) use a custom background.
    • Depending on the disc, the shield may have a banner (either empty or, in the cases of My Fellow Americans and Michael, with "WARNER HOME VIDEO" on it) or be presented without one.
    • Tequila Sunrise, one of the last discs with the shield variant, does feature the shield in its menus, but not the disc's main menu.
  • On Eraser and the first editions of The Fugitive and Unforgiven (some of WHV's very first DVD releases), the copyright notice is presented underneath a series of recommendations.
  • On L.A. Confidential, as the disc menus are styled like a newspaper, "COPYRIGHT" appears in a yellow bar at the top of the newspaper.
  • On Demolition Man, "RIGHTS" appears in a metal bar above the copyright.
  • On Under Siege, Father's Day, Tequila Sunrise, The Client, Victory, Point of No Return, and Altered States, the film's title is positioned above the copyright. (Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures also features this, except only his name is shown instead of "A LIFE IN PICTURES," which is replaced with "LANGUAGES." In addition, the original release of True Romance has it at the bottom left.)
  • Some DVD releases have a small copyright notice at the bottom of the main menu, which is structured like a "generic" menu, featuring a giant WB shield behind the text (with the movie's logo and disc specs at top) and only "Jump to a Scene" and "Start Movie" options beside it. (The 1999 DVD releases of Final Analysis, Fair Game, Innocent Blood, and Running on Empty, among others, also feature a "Languages" option.) This menu style was only used for a brief period of time from October 1998 to March 1999, but you can tell whether or not a release from that timeframe has it by checking the back of the DVD case for a menu still. DVDs featuring this menu also presented the movies with fullscreen transfers, and some of them were later reissued on Blu-ray (as well as some Warner Archive Collection manufactured-on-demand DVD reissues) in the original widescreen.
    • On 1999 releases with this menu, such as Burglar and Final Analysis, the web address appears above the copyright.
  • In some cases, the copyright text appears integrated into the set-up menu.
  • On the Director's Cut of Lethal Weapon 3, the "Artwork & Photography" year is credited as 1989 instead of 1992, the year of the film's actual release (it was the second film in the franchise that opened in 1989).
  • Starting with the May 1998 releases of Passenger 57 and Memphis Belle, website information would appear as well. From 1998-99, "Experience Our Web Site(s):" would preface the URL (or on the generic menu variant, "Explore our Website:").
    • In rare cases, another company's web address is used alongside Warner's. For example, on Castle Rock titles such as Forget Paris, City Hall, and Two Weeks Notice, the Castle Rock URL is mentioned (although the first release of The Shawshank Redemption, another Castle Rock film, only has Warner's URL).
    • On some 2000-01 releases, as well as the first four seasons of The West Wing, the website URL appears in the set-up menu, but the copyright notice is on its own separate page.
    • On 1998 releases, the website information appears on the first page of the "Reel Recommendations" section, while the copyright notice is on its own page, accessible from the cast & crew listing.
    • On Excalibur, Three to Tango, A Cinderella Story, The West Wing: The Complete Fifth Season, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!: Deluxe Edition (which features the Kids' WB logo in place of Warner's usual address), and V for Vendetta, the website information is listed underneath the copyright, as opposed to above.
    • On the 2000 reissue of Twister and 3000 Miles to Graceland, the website information is listed to the left of the copyright.
    • On My Blue Heaven, Murder in the First, Singles, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, and Mystic River (disc 1 only), the website information is listed to the right of the copyright.
    • On Beerfest, the URL is positioned next to the "LIVE FROM MUNICH" block, where the type of menu's name would usually go.
    • On Power, the URL is on the very last page of "Scene Selections."
    • On the 2003 DVD of Challenge of the Super Friends: Attack of the Legion of Doom, "VISIT SUPER FRIENDS ON THE WEB AT:" appears above the URLs.
  • On the 1997 release of The Bridges of Madison County and the 2001 release of Full Metal Jacket, "Home Video" is shown without a space.
  • Some releases have awards copyrights used alongside the main copyright.
  • On Diner, a second copyright screen is used for fellow Barry Levinson films Tin Men and Avalon, both of which were released by different studios. (Their trailers are included in a Levinson trailer gallery on the disc.)
  • On the 2003 reissue of Casablanca and Million Dollar Baby, the movie disc features the standard variant (accessible from the languages menu), but the special features disc features the integrated variant.
    • Conversely, the 2004 reissue of GoodFellas features the integrated variant on the first disc and the standalone variant on the second disc.
  • Some multi-disc releases usually feature different imagery on the copyright screens for each disc, while others (such as the two-disc editions of JFK, Any Given Sunday, and The Departed) use the same image on both discs.
  • On the last discs of some multi-disc cartoon releases of the era, additional copyrights for the programs included in the trailer gallery on the disc are featured alongside the main copyright.
  • On the 2002 reissue of True Romance, Warner Home Video's address is listed underneath the copyright.
  • International releases generally translate the text into its proper language.

Technique: Various styles of animation.

Audio: None. However, on The Powerpuff Girls Movie, disc 1 of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Batman Begins, and Ace Ventura Deluxe Double Feature, we hear music tracks over it.

Availability: It appears in the menus of WHV DVDs from the time (with the exception of some discs that don't have set-up menus, earlier Turner Entertainment releases, Mini-DVD versions of any of these titles, The Aviator, and the 2005 release of Heat). Depending on the age of the release, the non-integrated versions can be accessed from either the cast listing or the set-up menu, or in a few special cases, other menus (for example, some 2-disc releases have it in varying places on the second disc, and disc 1 of Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection has it accessible from the second page of the "Cartoons" menu). Starting in October 2007, copyright notices were no longer being used on major Warner releases, though they were still used on occasion beyond then, mainly on children's fare and DC Comics releases. These are also retained on the Paramount reissues of the first two seasons of South Park, which were originally released by Warner. The 2005 Special Edition of Batman Returns, despite it being a two-disc release, only has a copyright on the first disc. Examples of where to find each version:

  • Shield variant (December 20, 1996-November 19, 1997; August 20, 2002): Blade Runner (original release, Japan and US versions), Twister (original release), A Time to Kill, The Glimmer Man, Tin Cup, "10", Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin (1997 releases), Outbreak, The Pelican Brief, Blazing Saddles, Cool Hand Luke (1997 releases for both), Murder at 1600, Gremlins (original release and Special Edition), Maverick, Demolition Man, Tango & Cash, Ladyhawke, Assassins, Dangerous Liaisons, Pale Rider
  • Standard variant, accessible from cast listing (April 15, 1997-December 1999): Batman, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Dog Day Afternoon (1997 releases of all four), The Client, Conspiracy Theory, The Bridges of Madison County (original release), Victory, Dave, Memphis Belle, Passenger 57, Sphere, Lethal Weapon 4, The Negotiator, The Avengers (1998), The American President, Mickey Blue Eyes
  • Standard variant, accessible from "Languages" menu (1999-October 16, 2007): The Exorcist III, Message in a Bottle, Falling Down (original release), Wild Wild West, City Hall, The Shawshank Redemption (original release), The Perfect Storm, JFK: Oliver Stone Collection (first disc only), Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (reissue), Best in Show, Ocean's Eleven, Full Metal Jacket (reissue), Space Cowboys, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Heartbreak Ridge, Amadeus: Director's Cut (first disc only), What a Girl Wants, A Cinderella Story, A Star is Born (1976), Night Court: The Complete First Season, Batman Begins, Corpse Bride, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Syriana, Firewall, The Ant Bully, The Lake House, Beerfest, Fort Apache, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Departed, Big Jim McLain, The Cowboys: Deluxe Edition, Deliverance: Deluxe Edition, Full House (seasons 1-7)
  • Generic menu variant (October 6, 1998-March 30, 1999): Boiling Point, Burglar, Doc Hollywood, Final Analysis, Her Alibi, Lean on Me, Lovesick, Made in America, The Man with Two Brains, Protocol, Spies Like Us
  • Integrated variant (May 18, 1999-October 16, 2007): Caddyshack II, Out for Justice, Murder in the First, Deathtrap, Heat (first release), Creepshow, Stealing Home, American Flyers, Twister (reissue), Diner, Lethal Weapon 1-3 (director's cuts), Any Given Sunday (first disc only), 3000 Miles to Graceland, Training Day, A Walk to Remember, Two Weeks Notice, Wildcats, Kiss Me Kate, Cradle 2 the Grave, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Chasing Liberty, Mystic River, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: Two-Disc Special Edition, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, The Wild Bunch: Director's Cut, Ace Ventura Deluxe Double Feature, Blood Diamond

See Also

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