Miramax/Summary

1st Logo(1980-1987)
Nickname: "Filmstrip M"

Logo: On a black background, we see a filmstrip and it slide up and down to made it into a letter "M". The text "MIRAMAX FILMS" next to the "M" fade in after a few second later. The M filmstrip shines.

Variant: On some films, such as Crossover Dreams,Ghost Fever, and The Quest, the logo is a simple textual graphic reading "A MIRAMAX FILMS Release" in a plain non-serif font.


 * On David the Gnome, a still version of the logo is seen with 'in association with' above the logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Silent, or the music from any given soundtrack. However, the longer version of the smooth piano synth from Cinar is heard over the animation and 3 bells clang for the shines in the M.

Music/Sounds Variant: On some prints of David the Gnome, the last note of the Cinar logo is played.

Availability: Very rare. It was seen on their limited output of this era such as Rockshow and The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, among others. The English-language print of David the Gnome also had this logo when it aired on Nickelodeon and TLC in the U.S., Family Channel in Canada, and across several other English-speaking territories. However, it is not preserved on DVDs of the show, but it is intact on the U.S. Family Home Entertainment and UK Video Collection VHS releases.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo

(March 27, 1987-December 11, 1998)

Nickname: "The Banner of Boredom"

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "MIRAMAX" in the Gill Sans Ultra Bold font. Below it is "FILMS", stretched to fit the width of "MIRAMAX", with a line on top and on the bottom of it.

Animated Variant: We see the water flowing as MIRAMAX logo ripple in as the screen turn black and it fully appear as FILMS and the lines fade in.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the theme of the movie or trailer. The animated version has the water flowing and off sync 1980 Theme(Last Note).

Availability: Rare. It's found on mainly trailers for some Miramax features and films such as The Unbelievable Truth, My Left Foot (VHS only) and Blue in the Face. It also makes appearances on Clerks and the 2002 restoration of A Hard Day's Night (1964).

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo

(September 11, 1987-October 29, 1999, 2002)

Nicknames: "The M", "The Big M", "Flashing M", "The Miramax M",  The Blue M 

Logo: A blue "M" in the same font as before zooms out to the left of the screen. It scrolls to the right, revealing "MIRAMA" in gold, and when it gets to the end, it disappears in a flash of light, revealing an "X". The word "FILMS" with its usual lines fades in below. A large "M" in black with a glowing blue corona surrounding it zooms out and borders the logo.

Variants:


 * For a number of years until Disney acquired the company, the word "presents", in script, would appear under the logo, depending on the variant.
 * For releases outside of the United States only, the word "FILMS" was replaced with "INTERNATIONAL".
 * On at least one occasion, the Roadshow Television logo transitioned into the international variant by zooming out with the "M".
 * On some films, such as Wings of the Dove, the "FILMS" text is omitted.
 * On some widescreen versions of the logo, the top and bottom edges of the "Big M" touch the black borders, or are cut off.
 * Sometimes, the logo fades out early while the rest of the music plays.
 * Rarely, the text would be silver.
 * On Ready to Wear, when the "M" zooms out, the entire logo zooms out even further.
 * On Johnson Movie, the 1998 logo seen to be a entire cityscape as it fly up to the Brooklyn Skyline as 1987 Miramax logo begin as normal before zooming out putting the city background

FX/SFX: The zooming out of the "M", the glowing letters, the flash, and the "Big M".

Music/Sounds: A calm synth theme. Some films have the opening theme of the film, or is silent.

Music/Sounds Variants:


 * On Pulp Fiction, the last two notes of the fanfare were cut off.
 * On films such as Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, the double pitched music from the Family Films variant of the logo is heard.

Availability: Used to be common, but due to chronic plastering with both 4th and 5th logos, now it's uncommon, bordering on rare. Examples with this are recent releases of Pulp Fiction and Sling Blade. This logo first appeared on I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, and made its last appearance at the end of Music of the Heart (which uses the next logo below at the beginning). The international variant is only seen on releases outside of the US, such as Australian prints of the Scream films, and UK prints of the Jackie Chan film Thunderbolt. However, it has appeared on some Region 1 DVDs of foreign films like Farewell My Concubine. The "presents" variant appears on the R1 DVDs of Strictly Ballroom, Kolya, the Live Entertainment releases of The Crying Game, the VHS releases of The Grifters (but not on the Canadian Cineplex Odeon VHS, where it's skipped entirely), ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, the Canadian VHS release of Prospero's Books, and the Canadian Seville Pictures DVD of Breaking the Rules (VUDU prints use MCEG instead, though with Miramax's jingle retained, oddly), among others. The version that fades out early can be seen on Il Postino (The Postman) and Everest''. Don't expect to see this logo on Bob Roberts. Despite the print logo appearing on posters and trailers, only the 1990 Paramount Pictures logo is used on-screen. It was also originally seen on U.S. theatrical prints of Freddie as F.R.O.7 and Tom and Jerry: The Movie, but the home video releases show no evidence, though in the case of the former, it's an alternate cut. Strangely, this can be seen on The Crow: City of Angels, but Dimension distributed the film. It was also spotted on the 1999 HBO DVD of My Left Foot, and is preserved on the Anchor Bay DVDs of Strapless and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. It is also seen on early U.S. prints of Princess Mononoke while later prints use the next logo. It was also seen on the Canadian VHS releases of The Girl in a Swing and The Miracle, despite that Millimeter and Prestige distributed those two respective films to U.S. theaters. Don't expect to see this on Sex, Lies and Videotape or on Reservoir Dogs. This may have been seen on theatrical prints of The Long Walk Home, but VHS releases skip the logo (despite its presence on the box). This also makes a surprise appearance on the US dub of Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra instead of the next logo, and is surprisingly intact on the Lionsgate Blu-Ray of Life is Beautiful.

Editor's Note: One of the more iconic movie logos of the 90s. This logo utilizes an effective use of cel animation.

4th Logo

(December 11, 1998-present)

Nicknames: "The Buildings", "Lights/Lites in the Big City", "Manhattan Skyline", "The City", "Miramax Skyline"

Logo: We zoom down a river, and pan up to see the skyline of Manhattan, New York, at sundown. As the sun sets, the lights in the building windows begin to turn on, like normal when it is sundown. As we zoom in closer to the buildings, several lights begin forming the print Miramax Films logo, simply in white (no glowy effects like last time). The city skyline fades to black as the Miramax Films logo forms, piece by piece, while zooming towards the center of the screen. The end result is similar to the 2nd logo.

Trivia: If you look hard enough, you possibly may see the World Trade Buildings. This was animated long before the original World Trade buildings collapsed on September 11, 2001. On recent films shot on digital, the right tower is removed and the left one is placed to the edge of the city skyline.

Variants:


 * From 1998 until 2004, the logo was shot on 35mm film. In the logo's final years from 2005-2008, it is shot on digital.
 * In 1998 for the first film for this logo, there a prototype, we see the sun flashing before flying down to a river before pan up to see the skyline as the 1998-2001 logo begins.
 * For this logo's first official year (1999, even though this logo debuted in 1998), the words "20TH ANNIVERSARY" appear above. The city look different and sun is setting as we go to skyline before the Miramax Films animation begins. The 20th logo is seen
 * There is a prototype variant of the "20TH ANNIVERSARY" logo where the top text is in orange or yellow, depending on the film quality and the animation is the prototype version.
 * Yet another variant of the "20TH ANNIVERSARY" version exists. On a couple of films released in 1999, the anniversary text is smaller.
 * For releases outside the United States, the word "FILMS" was replaced with "INTERNATIONAL". There is an anniversary variant of this version also.
 * There exists a 1.78:1 open-matte version where the landscape is zoomed out much farther back. This version is seen on the Miramax DVD release of Three Colors: Blue, and on some films released between 2007 and 2008 such as The Queen.
 * Starting in 2001, the logo is always on the cityscape background, but the city has grown and expanded with the World Trade Center and it pan up to sky background and fly down to the CGI Miramax City(Since 2001) as we pan down to Miramax City version of Time Square as the Miramax logo is seen on the sign on the CGI Building. We pan to it and it shines and we fade out. There a variant for World Trade Center Films that as we slide down to New York City, we stop at the 2 World Trade Center Building as the Miramax Presents fade in and out before zooming into a CGI sign says(A World Trade Center Film)before we fade out to black
 * Starting in 2008, Same concept as before, but instead of the skyline, we pan up to see the Brooklyn Bridge at sundown. As the sun sets, we zoom towards the buildings until we finally get to the skyline of Manhattan. One difference of the skyline is that the World Trade buildings are gone (possibly due to 9/11). After we get to the city, the lights in the building windows begin to turn on, like normal when it is sundown. As we zoom slowly to the skyline, several lights begin forming the Miramax Films logo like before. The city skyline then fades to black as the Miramax Films logo forms, piece by piece.
 * Starting in 2016, the 2001 and 2008 version combine with 2015 logo design by Blue Sky, Jacob T into a one biggest cityscape background with the 2001 still there(2008: Sun going down and light turning on(Seen on all films as a variant), 2001(Same as normal).
 * For a short time in 2002 when the current logo is shown, it is seen at a apartments(CGI), and the CGI Blocks version of Miramax logo is seen as the 1999-2001 animation.

FX/SFX: The CGI effects are nothing short of perfect/ A marvelous hybrid of live-action and CGI effects for the 2008 and 2016 logo.

Music/Sounds: The logo is usually silent, or has the opening theme of the film playing over it. Although some films, such as Music of the Heart, have a pleasant orchestrated piece with a few instruments in the selection.

Music/Sounds Variants:


 * On early films with this logo such as Children of Heaven, and pre-1998 films such as The Harmonists and Mouth to Mouth, it uses the theme from the last logo!
 * On the some older HDTV airings and the UK Studio Canal Blu-Ray of Shaolin Soccer, it uses the shortened theme from the next logo, possibly due to a botched plaster job.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on releases from 1998 to 2008 and was the norm for plastering the previous logo, but is replaced with the next logo on most newer prints of their film library. This logo first appeared on Shakespeare in Love, and made its final theatrical appearance on The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Gangs of New York (2002) does not have this logo at all. In an interesting occurrence, when Confessions of a Dangerous Mind airs on Starz/Encore, the standard-definition version retains this logo, but the high-definition showing features the next logo below instead. It's surprisingly preserved on the Criterion Blu-ray and DVD of Naqoyqatsi on the Qatsi trilogy set. VHS tapes and DVDs of movies released during this logo's span are almost always guaranteed to have this logo, such as Pokémon Heroes. Despite plastering from the following logo, it can still be seen on Netflix prints of The Talented Mr. Ripley and There Will Be Blood.

Editor's Note: Despite the nice CGI, some people don't like how this plastered the previous logo on some films.