Written by Silversword55, WizardDuck and mr3urious
Logo captures by Bob Fish and V of Doom
Editions by Eric S., WizardDuck, mr3urious and Bob Fish
Video captures by JoeCool85


Background: Inspired on a Vancouver landmark, the Lions' Gate Bridge (officially known as the First Narrows Bridge), this Canadian film production/distribution company was founded originally by director Robert Altman in 1972, selling it after to Jonathan Taplin in 1981. During much of the 1990s, this company was known as Cinépix Film Properties, Inc. (CFP), but in 1995 this company was re-incarnated by Frank Giustra, being currently a film subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment.


1st Logo
(1995-1999)

Nickname: TBA

Logo: TBA


FX: TBA

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare coupled with whooshing and shining sounds.

Availability: Seen on pre-1999 films of the era from Lions Gate.

Scare Factor: TBA



2nd Logo
(1999-2004)

Nicknames: "Comets", "Shining Constellation"

Logo: Against a dark blue stafield BG, several stars swirl around to form a stylized light blue lion, which zooms out. Some more stars that turn from white to gold zoom out and arrange themselves on the logo, and the words "LIONS GATE FILMS", in gold, flash in at the top right of the lion. A burst of light wipes in a white line with the byline "A LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" underneath it. The words sparkle a bit.

FX: The stars and sparkling.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Seen on Lions Gate films from the period.

Scare Factor: Low.



3rd Logo
(2004-2005)

Nickname: "LGF"

Logo: Against a dark sky with clouds and thunder, the words "LGF", followed by "LIONS GATE" and "FILMS" below, appear in a "flashing" effect. It zooms forth, and the Lions Gate byline from before gets wiped in from left to right.

Variant: On some films, the logo is tinted green.

FX: The clouds, thunder, and "LGF" appearing.

Music/Sounds: Usually silent, but some films use thunderclap sounds with the sound of a sword being drawn and hitting another sword.

Availability: Can be seen on films such as The Punisher, Search for Bobby Long and Saw.

Scare Factor: Low to medium, due to the darkness, thunderclap and sudden appearance of the logo.



4th Logo
(2005- )

Nickname: "The Lions Gate Sky"

Logo: We see several gears moving, then the camera zooms all the way back, and out through a keyhole, revealing an enormous gate, with the company's "lion" logo on it. The gates open and we see the words "LIONSGATE" over a heavenly sky background.

Variant: There is a version which appears on horror films, where the gears and gate are rusted, and the "LIONSGATE" text appears over a hellish, red sky, in a metallic texture.
FX: The animation of the gears and gate.

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare for the regular version; the horror version has the sounds of a rusty gate and gears.

Availability: The regular version can be seen on several movies, such as Akeelah and the Bee. The horror version can be seen on the Saw movies from Saw II onwards, and The Descent, among others.

Scare Factor: It depends on the version shown. The normal version is considered low, but the horror version is medium to high.