Constantin Film

Constantin Film is a German film production and distribution company founded on 1 April 1950 by Waldfried Barthel & Preben Philipsen in Frankfurt, Germany, and later moved to Munich. In 1977, Constantin went bankrupt, and its property was acquired by Bernd Eichinger, who launched Neue Constantin Film in 1979. The company expanded to film production in 1983 and it was renamed back to Constantin Film AG in 1999. The company is best known for producing Der Untergang (Downfall), the Resident Evil film series, and the Fantastic Four movies. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Highlight Communications AG since 2009.

1st Logo (August 10, 1950-March 23, 1962)

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Visuals: Just the text "Constantin-Film" shown in a fancy script font, set up in a slight arch. To the bottom right, "ZEIGT:" can be seen in a tall sans font.

Variants:

• The background the logo appears on varies from film to film, and usually appears in-credit. Here's some known background variants:
  • Sinbad The Sailor (1950): The background is light blue.
  • The Green Archer: The background is dirty grey, with a large jagged black object taking up most of the space.
• On Mein Mädchen ist ein Postillion, the text is stacked and is in a different script.
• On some films, the text is in a different, less fancy script font. This would be the basis for the current logo.
  • The text may also read "Constantin-Filmverleih".

Technique: A painted cel, sometimes superimposed.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Seen on several German prints of Columbia Pictures movies from the time, as well as domestic movies, starting with the German release of Sinbad The Sailor (1950) and last seen on Der verkaufte Großvater (1962).

• Can be seen on The Green Archer, Mein Mädchen ist ein Postillion, and Mein Schatz, komm mit ans blaue Meer.
• Most German releases tend to retain these, as well as any time they're shown on German television.

2nd Logo (April 15-August 25, 1960)

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Visuals: On a matte grey background, the white script "Constantin" writes in from left to right, with the "i"'s dot being the last piece drawn in. Below, "Film verleih GmbH" in the same font, fades in below, and "zeigt:" pops in at the bottom of the screen in a much smaller print size. All of the text casts a drop shadow over the background.

Variant: On Ich zähle täglich meine Sorgen, the logo is wiped in as Peter Hollmann (played by Peter Alexander) pulls off a green cloth off of a black cloth covering a canvas, and the camera zooms into it to fill the screen.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Seen only on The Terrible People (animated) and Ich zähle täglich meine Sorgen (in-credit). Used in tandem with the previous logo.

3rd Logo (June 19, 1962-1982, 2010-)

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Visuals:

• June 19-September 28, 1962: A rotating sunburst pattern, with gradient rays and its origin point set at the lower center, fades in turning clockwise, while another sunburst rotates behind it in an opposite direction. From the center of the sunburst, the text "Constantin" zooms in 3 parts in sync with the fanfare, written in a soft cursive font. The text starts off black for a few frames, then grey with a black outline, and finally light grey with a 3D white trail, although "tin" appears as black first and then becomes a trail first before its grey copy catches up into place. After a few seconds, the serif text "FILM" fades in below as "Constantin" turns white with black trails, and "bringt" appears below in the same font as "Constantin".
• 1962-1965?: A recreated version of the previous logo. 2 layered sunbursts slowly rotate in counterclockwise and clockwise directions respectively, with the origin point set in the lower center of the screen. From the center light, "Con" quickly zooms up to the left with a trail, before gaining a gradient and shading upon stopping in place. This is followed up by "stan" and "tin" in sync with the music, creating "Constantin" in a script font that matches closely to the previous logo. Below, "FILM" in a serif font, fades in below, followed by "bringt" in the same font popping in.
• 1965-1977: Same as the above, but now the logo is in color; the rays are white and blue, the "Constantin" text is colored red with a black trail and gains a yellow gradient and shading upon stopping in place and "FILM" and "bringt" are in yellow.
  • 1978-1982: When the company was relaunched in 1978, the red text "neue", in Arial Black, fades in to the top left of "Constantin", and the entire logo has a yellow tint to it.
• 2010-: A CGI recreation of the logo. A blue light flare glows just below the center of the screen, and a pair of layered ray patterns fade in, rotating in opposite directions of each other and colored dark blue and white. The "Constantin" text, now in the same font as the 1996 logo and colored white with a dark blue trail, zoom in the same way as before, and "FILM", now in the same style as "Constantin" zooms in from underneath the logo, and then the characters "3D" zoom in below it, floating freely around. The logo then fades out a few seconds later, followed by "3D". Later on, the fade in at the beginning doesn't occur, and "PRÄSENTIERT" zooms in below in place of "3D".

Trivia: The background and fanfare were used for the Roxy Films logo in the 1970s, which was discovered on August 8, 2022 by YouTuber Mr. Gann.

Variants:

• The proportions, colors, and tint are known to be slightly different across different films.
• On The Door with Seven Locks, its possible first appearance, the logo is darker overall and "bringt" is replaced by "zeigt" in Rockwell, which fades in below. The Constantin logo and background are also set far lower than usual, causing them to overlap "zeigt".
• A B&W variant of the later 1962 version has the "Constantin" text in white with a beveled appearance, "bringt" is larger, and the entire logo seems to have a black outline.
  • A B&W variant of the regular logo is also known to exist.
• Sometimes, the background is shown in a darker tint, though this might be due to film deterioration.
• On one film, a man appears in a circle, which zooms up to his face three times. At the end, the man pushes the logo away.

Technique: Cel animation for the 1962 version, CGI for the 2010 version.

Audio:

• 1962-1982: A long timpani roll plays out, rising in pitch as cellos plays, followed by a bombastic brass fanfare in the key of B major, played in 3 key sections for each of the syllables zooming in before finishing in a dramatic flourish. There are two known versions, both composed by Peter Thomas Music:
  • 1962-1979?: The regular version, also used on the 1978 variant.
  • 1972?-1982: One with a more dramatic tone and a flat timpani roll without cellos.
• 2010-: An ascending orchestral fanfare.
• Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability:

• Early 1962 Version: Can be seen on original German prints The Inn on the River, The Door with Seven Locks, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1962) and possibly other films from around the time frame.
• 1962-1982: The logo with first version of the theme can be spotted on many distributed or produced films of the time and is usually retained on newer releases, among them the Blu-ray of Winnetou's film debut, The Treasure of Silver Lake. In the United States, the logo appears on Das Boot.
  • The second theme can be found on comedy, war and biographical drama films from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, as well as some prints of pre-1962 films from the company released during this logo's usage, such as Love Barbarian Style (1973), Virgins of the Seven Seas (1974), The Last Word (1975) and Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo (1982).
• 2010-: It has been spotted on German 3D theatrical prints and 3D Blu-rays of Resident Evil: Retribution and Animals United, as well as other movies with 3D prints. The later "PRÄSENTIERT" version used to be seen on the old Constantin Film website, along with the 4th logo and both versions of the 5th logo, but it was also spotted on a Russian print of Suck Me Shakespeer 2 and may possibly appear on future films.

4th Logo (1984-1996?)

Visuals: Just the large white words "NEUE CONSTANTIN FILM", each word for a line on a black or blue background.

Technique: Fading effects, or a still graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Sometimes plastered over with the next logo, but saved on German prints of films produced or distributed by Constantin Film, such as Die Katze, Feuer, Eis & Dynamit, Der Bewegte Mann, The Neverending Story and The House of the Spirits.

5th Logo (Distribution logo, March 7, 1996-)

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Visuals: A bar of white light opens up and brings forth a blue film roll expanding outwards, with extra bars rising up as they both rotate in opposite directions. When the camera is really close to the film roll, the white text "Constantin Film" in a cursive underlined font, basically being in the same font as original print logos, projected onto the inside of the reel. A light flashes, teleporting the camera into the center, and the roll of film turns upward, with "Constantin Film" disappearing off of the side and reappearing inside the reel, colored in dark red (1996-1999), later white (since 1999). The logo blinks as the reel keeps spinning, which then slows down to a halt, and then the logo fades back into view and zooms in slowly.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the URL "www.constantinfilm.de" is added below.
• Starting in September 2011, the logo has been remade with more realistic lighting and effects, like the "Constantin Film" projection given a glow effect and now having the proper proportions, and the actual logo is given a 3D effect with a broad border on the words. There also appears to be the same film reel rotating in the background when the logo is seen. This version was first seen on The Three Musketeers (2011).
• There's an in-credit closing variant and a print version.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A string-driven, triumphant orchestral piece, with a phaser noise for the flash. NTSC prints rarely had the fanfare low pitched (due to PAL to NTSC conversion). Sometimes, it is silent, or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability:

• It is the easiest logo to find from this company, since they released and co-produced more popular films such as the Resident Evil franchise and released foreign films released in the U.S. through Sony Pictures Classics. It is also used as a de-facto home video logo in Germany.
• The version with the URL is seen mostly on older German releases and prints.
• The early red version was first spotted on a trailer for Das Superweib before debuting on the film itself.
• The 1999 version (albeit silent) makes an appearance at the start of The NeverEnding Story on the Australian DVD release (and subsequent reprints) of said film, even though it's the English version of the film.

6th Logo (Production logo, September 10, 2004-)

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Visuals: A blue flare of light runs across the screen from left to right, illuminating the silhouette of "Constantin Film" as it does, all on a cloudy night sky. After the light runs off-screen, the logo brightens up from right to left in a light blue tint, gaining depth as it slowly zooms in.

Variant: A black background variant exists, with a flatter white logo used instead.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A five-note horn theme, sounding very similar to the end of the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo, or the opening theme. On U.S. prints of DOA: Dead or Alive, a dramatic drumbeat is used while the light passes through the logo. It echoes through the rest of it.

Availability:

• Seen on almost all of the Resident Evil movies in North America, debuting on the North American release of Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
• It is currently used on films that Constantin Film served as a producer on, while the previous logo is used as their distribution logo (except on trailers). As a result, such as on Er ist wieder da and German prints of Monster Hunter, the 4th logo is shown before another production logo (Mythos Film in the case of the former) or funding credits (in the case of the latter), while this one is shown afterwards.