PolyGram Video/USA Home Entertainment Warning Screens

United States of America and Canada

1982–1992

Visuals: Almost the same as the 1979 Sony Video Software warning, except the warning stays still, the warning text is centered, and "WARNING" is in italics encased in a blue bar.

Technique: A digital graphic with fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on early PolyGram Video releases of the era. On PolyGram Music Video releases, it appears at the end rather than the beginning.

Editor's Note: Like the HBO Video warnings, it says "EDITING."

November 1990–February 9, 1999

Visuals: Same as the 1990 Warren Miller Home Entertainment warning.

Variants:

• On a tape of 100 Greatest Comebacks, the warning cuts in and fades out.
• On the 1999 VHS of Roger Waters: The Wall, the 1979 Warner Home Video warning is used instead.

Technique: A digital graphic with fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Rare. Mostly appeared on releases with the "VHS Assembly" logo, but it was used until 1999 on sports releases. One release with this warning is NFL CrunchCourse. It also appeared on the 1990 Warren Miller Home Entertainment VHS of Warren Miller Magic: Video Previews, a 1994 VHS of Andre Rieu: From Holland with Love, the VHS of Barney's First Adventures and the 1994 Bullseye Video VHS of The Final Goal. It last appeared on the DVD of The Best One Ever: Super Bowl XXXII (the VHS version uses the 4th warning).

1992–2002 (Canada)

Visuals: Almost the same as the 1983 Astral Video warning, except it's on a light blue background, everything is in capitals and the font of the warning text is different.

Variants:

• Most releases use only the English or French version of this warning, depending on the language.
• On some VHS tapes, it uses both languages.
• A black background variant exists.

Technique: A digital graphic with scrolling effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on all Canadian PolyGram Video releases from 1992-2002, such as Mr. Bean, and on English VHS releases by Malofilm from 1992-1997. Can also be found on some Périodica Vidéo releases, on a Koch International VHS of Backlash: Oblivion 2, on an Equinox Entertainment VHS of The Underground, and on certain Seville Pictures DVD and VHS releases from 1997-2003. It also made a surprise appearance on the Canadian VHS of Air Bud and appears on TVA International videos and Koch Vision tapes of Yoga Zone, as well. The black background version can be seen at the end of the 2007 THiNKFilm DVD of Bordertown, and at the start of the 2003 Velocity Home Entertainment VHS of Cold Vengeance.

1993–2002

Visuals: Almost the same as the 1992 TM Books & Video warning, except "FBI WARNING" is red without underline in Futura font and the warning text is in Helvetica font.

Variants:

• Sterling Home Entertainment releases, as well as the 2001 Replay Home Entertainment VHS of Double Deception and the 2002 EVG Digital Entertainment DVD of Hobbs End, have the words "FBI WARNING" slightly lighter and warning text in an Arial Bold font.
• While the warning usually fades in and out, on the original 1998 DVD releases of The Big Lebowski, Mr. Saturday Night, and Barney's Great Adventure, the warning cuts in and out.
• A CinemaScope variant exists on the 2003 Lionsgate DVD of Dust.
• A "squeezed" 16:9 version exists on Academy screener copies of Kill Bill Volume 1 and Miss Potter.
• A stretched widescreen version exists on the 2003 Artisan DVD of On Golden Pond.
• A filmed variant exists on some PolyGram Video releases from 1997 to 1999.

Technique: A digital graphic with fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on all USA Home Entertainment releases, as well as PolyGram Video releases from 1993 to 1999. Also seen on several Sterling/Studio Home Entertainment releases, some WarnerVision/KidVision releases, and tapes from Inner Dimension. Tapes from subsidiary Manga Entertainment, at least in the United States, had their own warning screens, detailed here. Also makes surprise appearances on the The Pool, Guilty by Association, Way Past Cool and Myscene: Jammin' in Jamaica, as well as Academy screener copies of Miramax's An Ideal Husband and Music of the Heart. It also appears at the end of the USA Home Entertainment DVDs of Traffic, One Night at McCool's, and Maybe Baby instead of the front.

Europe and Oceania

United Kingdom and Australia

1981–1986

Warning: On a black background, this text is shown in white:

WARNING All rights of the
producer and of the owner
of the work reproduced
reserved. Unauthorised
copying, hiring, lending
public performance, radio
or TV broadcasting of this
video recording prohibited.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen at the end of the first PolyGram Video releases in the UK, such as Rankin/Bass' The Flight of Dragons and The Wind in the Willows. Also appears on many PolyGram rental releases of Spectrum Video material, including Endless Love, An American Werewolf in London, King of the Mountain, McVicar and Quadrophenia.

1983–1992

Warning: On a black background, we see the word "WARNING" in red. Below it is the following text in white:

This Videogram is for private domestic use only. All unauthorised uses, including copying, public performance, broadcast or transmission by diffusion service of the whole or part of this Videogram are prohibited. 　　Unauthorised use may incur damages for breach of copyright and criminal penalties of up to six months imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000

After a few seconds, it fades out.

Variant: On Hoyts-PolyGram Video releases, the background is white and the warning text is black.

FX/SFX: A fade-out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. It's usually seen on Hoyts-Polygram Video VHS releases in Australia. Strangely, it appears on the 1995 US Video Treasures VHS of Raw Deal, as this appears after the 1987-1998 Video Treasures logo and before the Hoyts-PolyGram Video logo, even though it's sourced from an Australian master.

1984–1998

1st Warning: On a black background, we see the word "WARNING" in orange, with the following text in orange:

All rights of the producer
and of the owner of the
work reproduced reserved.
Unauthorised copying,
hiring, lending, public
performance, radio or TV
broadcasting of this
video recording prohibited.

2nd Warning: After the above text fades out, we see the following text fade in, in exactly the same font as the first warning:

This video cassette was
duplicated by Rank
Video Duplication on behalf
of PolyGram Video
and with their approval.

Variant: Sometimes, the duplication notice is absent. This can be seen on British 4 Front Video and Channel 5 Video VHS releases.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen at the end of all British PolyGram Video releases from 1984 to 1993. It can also be found on releases from UK companies PolyGram acquired, such as 4 Front Video, Vision Video and Channel 5 Video. Starting in November 1990, coinciding with the PolyGram Video "VHS Assembly" logo's debut, the warning appeared at the start and end of later PolyGram Video releases from 1990-1992.

1990–1999

Warning: On a black background is the following text, all scrolling up, and in capitals:

WARNING
THIS VIDEOGRAM IS FOR PRIVATE
DOMESTIC USE ONLY.
ALL UNAUTHORISED USES INCLUDING
COPYING, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE,
BROADCAST OR TRANSMISSION BY
DIFFUSION SERVICE OF THE WHOLE
OR PART OF THIS VIDEOGRAM
ARE PROHIBITED.
UNAUTHORISED USE MAY INCUR
DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF
COPYRIGHT AND CRIMINAL
PENALTIES OF UP TO FIVE YEARS
IMPRISONMENT AND FINES OF UP
TO $50,000 PER OFFENCE FOR
INDIVIDUALS AND $250,000 PER
OFFENCE FOR CORPORATIONS.

Variants:

• On later years, different font, similar to Helvetica, was used.
• On later releases with the certain tapes, the text is replaced by the following:

WARNING

The Copyright Proprietor Has Licensed
The Picture And Soundtrack Contained In
This Video Cassette For Private Home
Use Only.
It Is An Infringement Of Australian
Copyright Laws To Copy, Reproduce,
Show In Public Including Hotels And
Motels In Whole Or In Part.
Violators Are Subject To Criminal And Or
Civil Prosecution.

FX/SFX: The text scrolling up.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on PolyGram releases in Australia, such as It's Fun to Learn with Spot Colors and Shapes, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Out of Africa (Universal) and Hard Target (Universal).

1988–1997

Warning: On a black background, we see the word "WARNING" in a white-colored Arial font, and below is white warning text.

Variant: A variant exists where the text is in a different font and "WARNING" is missing.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on British PolyGram Video releases from 1988-1997, such as Peter Jackson's Braindead, Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Shallow Grave, Twelve Monkeys and Trainspotting. It also appears on few American releases. Sometimes, at the end of UK VHS tapes, the warning screen is shown after the PolyGram Video logo. The variant was found, surprisingly, on the 1997 U.S. VHS of Lord of the Dance. It officially premiered on the 1988 UK VHS release of Fisher-Price: Things That Go Vroom.

Editor's Note: On the bottom paragraph, some of the punctuation is incorrect, and there are also spacing issues. And like the HBO Video warning screens, it says "editing."

1997–1999

Warning: Same as before, except the font is in Helvetica. Once again, on a black background, the white text split in two rows in Helvetica with "WARNING" on the top fades in, and after 20 seconds it fades out, sometimes slower.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on British PolyGram Video releases from 1997-1999, such as Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, The Borrowers, Spice World, The Game, Hard Rain, A Life Less Ordinary, PAWS, and The Gingerbread Man. Sometimes, at the end of UK VHS tapes, the warning screen is shown after the PolyGram Video logo.

Editor's Note: Although the punctuation on the bottom paragraph has been fixed, the previous warning's other errors are still present.

1998–1999

Warning: On a black background, we see the white word "COPYRIGHT NOTICE.". Below it is the white warning text.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on British PolyGram Video DVD releases, such as The Game.

Editor's Note: None.

Final Note: When PolyGram dissolved in 1999, Universal, DreamWorks, Channel 5 Video, Vision Video Ltd. and Abbey Home Entertainment began using this warning screen.

Germany

1993?–1999

Warning: On a black background, the 1993 PolyGram Video logo animates as normal, however, once it's done, some German warning text in a blue color begins scrolling up as the logo fades out. Following the scroll, publish info scrolls up and settles on the center of the screen.

Variant: Some releases have the text in a more plain blue color and in a slightly different font. The publishing info also varies depending on the release.

FX/SFX: The logo animating, the text scrolling.

Music/Sounds: For the first few seconds, just the sounds of the logo. Afterwards, it's silent.

Availability: Seen on German PolyGram releases including Barney's Insel der Fantasien (Barney's Imagination Island).

Editor's Note: On the regular variant, where is the year of publishing, and why are "PolyGram GmbH" and the publish symbol spaced so far apart?

France

1993–1997

Warning: On a black background, white warning text in European French stretches in.

FX/SFX: The stretching.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on European French PolyGram releases.

1996

Warning: On a black background, we see same white warning text in European French, led by the word "EDV 764" in red at the end, scrolls up.

FX/SFX: The scrolling up.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: This was found on a European French VHS release of The Confessional.

1997

Warning: On a black background, we see white warning text in European French scrolls up, then the word "EDV 764" fades in and out.

FX/SFX: The scrolling up of the warning text, and the word "EDV 764" fades in and out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: This was found on a European French VHS release of Sleepers.

1997–1999

Warning: On the same background as the 1997 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment logo (and other PolyGram logos at the time), we see white warning text from the 1993-1997 warning in European French. After 15 seconds, the warning text fades out, and the word "EDV 764" fades in.

FX/SFX: The warning text fades out after 15 seconds, and the word "EDV 764" fades in.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on European French PolyGram releases.

Spain

1980s

Warning A: On a blue background, we see the text in a computerized font.

Warning B: On another blue background, we see the underlined word "AVISO LEGAL".

Warning C: On the same previous background, the white warning text in European Spanish scrolling up.

FX/SFX: For Warnings A and B, none. For Warning C, the scrolling up.

Music/Sounds: For Warning A, none. For Warnings B and C, an announcer reading the text.

Availability: Extremely rare.

1990s

Warning: On a black background, the white warning text in European Spanish scrolling up.

FX/SFX: The scrolling up.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on European Spanish tapes, including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.

Denmark

1980s

Warning: After the PolyGram Video logo fades out, everything except for the red background, we see the following text scrolling up:

Denne videokassette tilhører
Polygram Home Video
Kassetten må ikke sælges og må
kun udlejes til privatpersoner
af en af ejeren godkendt
forhandler.

Kassetten må kun benyttes til
PRIVAT BRUG,
dvs. til forevisning uden
vederlag i private hjem.

Det er forbudt at anvende
kassetten til offentlig frem
visning herunder gennem kabel-
TV, hotel-TV eller lign. Salg,
videreudlejning, pantsætning,
udlån, redigering el. kopiering
af kassetten eller dennes cover
er ligeledes forbudt.

Overtrædelse vil medføre
STRAF OG ERSTATNINGSPLIGT
og vil blive retsforfulgt af
Foreningen af Danske
Videogramdistributører.

FX/SFX: The scrolling.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on PolyGram Video's tapes from Denmark.

1990s

Warning: TBA.

FX/SFX: The scrolling.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Same as the previous warning.