Does anyone remember the animated jingle intro they used to play in UCI in the early 90s? It used to depict different films like Top Gun and things like that and would mould from one into the other. Not seen it anywhere!
The 90's Ruled! I saw this logo at the UCI Basildon when I was about 7 or 8 and I can't remember what film I saw but this logo really scared me. But now I really want UCI back!
@jbsucksization1 i was exactly the same this along with the carlton screen advertising advert used to scare the living shit out of me but now, grown up i wish uci was still around :/
Good to see this again; happy memories of the old UCI at Merry Hill where I spent many a Sat night in the 90s, first with mates and later with the ex-GF.
I don't find it at all scary - I always thought this ident looked very classy and pretty impressive in a dark cinema.
Re. the 'great escape' tagline: I seem to recall it being introduced during Euro '96 as part of a campaign to attract those who wanted to 'escape' from the football on TV, and they stuck with it afterwards.
Bennjr I think you'll find that UCI aquired Storm cinemas not the other way round. UCI now manage Storm, and is still known as United Cinemas International.
This was used until mid-2001 actually. It used to come on as soon as the lights went down before the ads and once again before the main feature, but in the last couple of months it was relegated to just before the main feature (the programme thus starting with the Carlton intro). In manually starting sites, you had to time the starting of the projector so this came up just as the slide faded out!
No, UCI are now a differnt company here. It used to stand for UNITED CINEMAS INTERNATIONAL but now it stands for UNITED CINEMAS IRELAND. They have recently opened up several new Cinemas around the country. UNITED CINEMAS INTERNATIONAL were bought out recently by a group called STORM CINEMAS, who retained the UCI logo but changed the last word to IRELAND rather than the old INTERNATIONAL.
It's policy at just about every cinema to bring up house lights to mid (half brightness) at the start of the end credits. I've only worked at one cinema that didn't, and thats because the projector's automation system didn't have control of the house lights...
That's because although they're just 'credits', the film hasn't technically ended - it's entirely the person's choice if they leave during the credits as far as I care.
We have to respect that some want to watch!
It's different when you walk in during the ads as your eyes haven't adjusted from the outside light, but by the end your eyes will have adjusted enough for you to be able to leave in the dark.
Otherwise they'd have to raise the lights every time someone needed the toilet!
Another thing I miss about UCI was that they DIDN'T used to leave their houselights on during the ads - a company policy which even the General Manager couldn't over-rule then.
I hate houselights left on during ads - if you can't turn up on time then tough! There's something exciting about the housleights dropping at the start of the show, but now thanks to ODEON the ads just suddenly appear on screen with no warning (even though Pearl & Dean and Carlton contracts state otherwise!)... Grrr!
Yeah, i'm with you on that one. It is a bit annoying. We have to bring house lights down to mid for the ads, then fade them out for the trailers and feature. It's just a health & saftey thing. Too many complaints and legal troubles with people tripping up the stairs while going to their seats... :-/
This was discontinued in 2001 so it had a fair run.
There seemed to be a shortage of them towards the end though, as they originally played at the very start before the Carlton ads and then again before the feature...
...but it then only played before the feature before the new one was introduced and just started woth Carlton instead.
i remember seein this at the cinema in the 90's wen i was younger and because the cinema was darker and louder the ball and music used to scare me lol
Well since all UCI's in the UK (except in Ireland and Wales I think) have now becoming Odeons. Odeon are now starting to make things uglier. You got parent and baby shows and senior shows (which is for old people of course). And also for all cinemas including Odeon, Orange now advertises at the way beginning before the Carlton logo and even the film starts after the cinema's ident. Man what a way to see a film if Odeon has themes like that. Other companies like Empire don't do stuff.
Actually, all major cinema chains do the orange adverts, I work for vue now, and we do them too, it's a contractual things that they have arranged with both carlton screen advertising and pearl & dean...
I know all cinemas companies run Orange adverts as well. They are just not worth it, that's all. I'd love if the companies do their own logo idents again. Do you agree with me?
Yeah, cinemas still have ident logo's. cineworld have one, as do odeon, not sure if the Irish UCI's still use them... i think it's just vue that don't really use them anymore..
But, there's alot of money in that orange "gold spot"
Ok then. So Vue dosen't use their idents anymore right? Because at Empire Cinemas which I seen spider-man 3 at the gate that is, Empire didn't also use their own idents as well. As with cinemas with idents like Odeon. The orange ad even plays after the ident before the FACT warning shows up. What a daft way to start the movie. Otherway round please would be great Odeon or any company that has idents?
I believe the point of the "gold spot" advert slot, which is now contracted to Orange, is that it is the last thing that you see before the feature starts. At least thats my understanding of it...
Yeah, i think there was a UC&I cartoon on it, a different one each month. When the video got to the end it stopped, and as it was rewinding some some music would play...
I don't remember. I do remember that the ball goes through the scenes, for example under the sea, passing an aircraft carrier and finishes as you see it on the trailer above! That is all I can remember.
I totally agree with you, giving the trailer a place in history, Cinema History. As for the longer trailer, it starts with a ball coming from nowhere on a black screen, spins through some locations and them makes up the UCI logo and the you get "The Great Escape" which I think is a reference to "Escaping in to a world of the Cinema".
It was great to find the opening trailer for UCI Cinema, here on You Tube. Now here is a question, do you, by any chance have, the longer trailer which includes an aircraft carrier and underwater shots? I loved that trailer... Can you help?
erm... to answer: UCI & odeon are still two separtate companies, but they are both owned by the same company, terra firma. in the UK it was decided that odeon was the stronger brand, so they re-branded all of the UCI's into odeon's. but in Ireland UCI is a stronger brand, so they left them as UCI's.
Oh right, I worked in Coolock (first branch in Ireland) and I now work in a rival cinema of UCI, called Movies @ Ireland, in their second branch. VUE are over here too, one if Liffey Valley S.C., it's really cool. Oversized screens, etc. Do VUE in the U.K. do butter-sauce on their popcorn? We don't anymore, only UCI do, loads of cinema's lost it becuase it was often too messy to clean up and people would slip on the ground.
Since you uploaded the UCI logos. Can you please also upload the Odeon Cinemas and Warner Village Cinemas UK logos from past to present. I would intrested of seeing them as well. If you upload them, that would be brill!
Hey! Unfortunately i dont have any odeon or warner village ones. I got these uci ones off of old trailer dvd's which we used to show in the foyer. We're now odeon, but the odeon ones don't have the odeon logo on them for some reason... i know somebody else has put a VUE cinemas logo (formerly warner village) on youtube, just search for "vue cinemas" and it'll pop up. :)
Well let's just hope someone uploads the Warner Village Cinema logos on YouTube. Both old and new, there is a Warner Village ident somewhere on YouTube and it's just a parody of the ident with ''Merate Cinemas'' replaced.
Plugging the pc into the main AVR and running this monaural sound signal though the AUX input the sound coming though the JBL sound system sounds woolly ok its got a sub bass response down to 30Hz!
I don't see myself working in the cinema ever again not while digital projection is getting slowly advanced I don't see many job opportunities in the projection field personally anymore soon there will be just one projectionist to run a multiplex in the mid 21st century, maybe?
If I was to reflect a little more on The Great Escape theme it really does suck in terms of playback presentation of sound at UCI sites except some of the THX screens Empire is the king of presentation the High Wycombe site that kicked slammed into with good overall sound presentation while all the rest of the UCI sites suck including Tower Park it still sucks today I haven't seen a film there since 2004 I, Robot in screen 6 and it sucked with poor sound!
I used to work at the UCI Tower park complex at Poole during 1989 -1990, it was easy. I believe the projectors where Vic V that is still in use today and the Dolby CP-65 with SR type cards. today I think they have Dolby CP-500 in some screens? and dts but I hate dts sound in the cinema its only difference is higher bit rate less trouble of breaking down but its not impressed me at Tower park at all its sucks!
This was fantastic, it's better than the pap that Odeon is currently showing. I used to go to UCI alot in my childhood and this I thought was just damn cool, although it scared almost everyone else.
''The Great Escape'' was NEVER the favourite film, it was just a way of saying you could relax and that the cinema was a great escape. I used to work at UCI Coolock and that's what we were told.
I like this UCI logo intro better. The one with the weird comet on. And also, why is The Great Escape words at the end? Maybe it's UCI's favourite movie perhaps??? And also, I remember this one. It brings sweet memories!
Yeah, I used to like it. It sound great in dolby digital and from a projectionists point of view it was better 'cos it didnt look as bad when it got dirty as the orange one did. As for the great escape thing; It was just the UCI motto. A sort of "great escape" into the world of movies. I thought it was a bit lame though.
I like this UCI logo intro better. The one with the weird comet on. And also, why is The Great Escape words at the end? Maybe it's UCI favourite movie perhaps???
Used to dread this bit when I was wee. Looking back, I have no idea why.
FacePimpd 2 months ago
As loud and as painful as a 20 bar pressure relief valve >_<
Bud947 3 months ago
Does anyone remember the animated jingle intro they used to play in UCI in the early 90s? It used to depict different films like Top Gun and things like that and would mould from one into the other. Not seen it anywhere!
jared1971 8 months ago
@jared1971 Yes I remember that!
andreweasygale 4 months ago
The 90's Ruled! I saw this logo at the UCI Basildon when I was about 7 or 8 and I can't remember what film I saw but this logo really scared me. But now I really want UCI back!
jbsucksization1 10 months ago
@jbsucksization1 i was exactly the same this along with the carlton screen advertising advert used to scare the living shit out of me but now, grown up i wish uci was still around :/
MitchyGDLP 5 months ago
who would say 10 years later i'd be working for the company in Portugal...
pedroferreiralp 1 year ago
God this is so retro its wierd to think the 90's still had this. Saturdays at the UCI at the Hatfield Galleria.
6000mphx 2 years ago
I went to see Disney/Pixar's WALL-E at the ODEON Cinemas at the Metro Centre(former UCI) as well back in 2008
chaoreturnsforgood76 2 years ago
The UCI in the Metro Centre Gateshead is now rebranded as an ODEON cinema now, when I went there back in 2008 it was to see Disney/Pixar's WALL-E
chaoreturnsforgood76 2 years ago
Good to see this again; happy memories of the old UCI at Merry Hill where I spent many a Sat night in the 90s, first with mates and later with the ex-GF.
I don't find it at all scary - I always thought this ident looked very classy and pretty impressive in a dark cinema.
Re. the 'great escape' tagline: I seem to recall it being introduced during Euro '96 as part of a campaign to attract those who wanted to 'escape' from the football on TV, and they stuck with it afterwards.
richedwards79 2 years ago
I remember before the feature UCI would play an animated film representing various famous movies. Does anyone know if it's on here?
martybhoy72 2 years ago
Comment removed
Paulcloud 2 years ago
I remember this too, would love to see it again. If anyone manages to track it down a link would be much appreciated.
Paulcloud 2 years ago
Bennjr I think you'll find that UCI aquired Storm cinemas not the other way round. UCI now manage Storm, and is still known as United Cinemas International.
filmalive 3 years ago
Erm... I think its was late 2000 if i remember correctly.
theevilant 3 years ago
it must have been very late 2000 because i remember seeing chicken run at the uci in surrey quays and this was on
The6thSimpson 2 years ago
This was used until mid-2001 actually. It used to come on as soon as the lights went down before the ads and once again before the main feature, but in the last couple of months it was relegated to just before the main feature (the programme thus starting with the Carlton intro). In manually starting sites, you had to time the starting of the projector so this came up just as the slide faded out!
MysteryManfrom79 2 years ago
No, UCI are now a differnt company here. It used to stand for UNITED CINEMAS INTERNATIONAL but now it stands for UNITED CINEMAS IRELAND. They have recently opened up several new Cinemas around the country. UNITED CINEMAS INTERNATIONAL were bought out recently by a group called STORM CINEMAS, who retained the UCI logo but changed the last word to IRELAND rather than the old INTERNATIONAL.
bennjr 3 years ago
No, I think you'll find it's still United Cinemas International (Ireland) Limited, just as it always was.
kingrikk 2 years ago
Is UCI a british chain?
sahguhTDNM 3 years ago
Coolock.
bennjr 3 years ago
I used to work for UCI and we used to have great craic turning on the house lights to basically get customers out of the screen ASAP! LoL!
bennjr 3 years ago
It's policy at just about every cinema to bring up house lights to mid (half brightness) at the start of the end credits. I've only worked at one cinema that didn't, and thats because the projector's automation system didn't have control of the house lights...
theevilant 3 years ago
Yeah it helps when you're sweeping up all the crap from the 'patrons' who were watching the previous show. I hate customers.
sictv13 3 years ago
That's because although they're just 'credits', the film hasn't technically ended - it's entirely the person's choice if they leave during the credits as far as I care.
We have to respect that some want to watch!
It's different when you walk in during the ads as your eyes haven't adjusted from the outside light, but by the end your eyes will have adjusted enough for you to be able to leave in the dark.
Otherwise they'd have to raise the lights every time someone needed the toilet!
MysteryManfrom79 3 years ago
No, i don't remember that..
theevilant 3 years ago
Another thing I miss about UCI was that they DIDN'T used to leave their houselights on during the ads - a company policy which even the General Manager couldn't over-rule then.
I hate houselights left on during ads - if you can't turn up on time then tough! There's something exciting about the housleights dropping at the start of the show, but now thanks to ODEON the ads just suddenly appear on screen with no warning (even though Pearl & Dean and Carlton contracts state otherwise!)... Grrr!
MysteryManfrom79 3 years ago
Yeah, i'm with you on that one. It is a bit annoying. We have to bring house lights down to mid for the ads, then fade them out for the trailers and feature. It's just a health & saftey thing. Too many complaints and legal troubles with people tripping up the stairs while going to their seats... :-/
theevilant 3 years ago
i remember going 2 see dr.dolittle before coming back from visiting my dad and this logo came up i was so scared
iLikepie270 4 years ago
This was discontinued in 2001 so it had a fair run.
There seemed to be a shortage of them towards the end though, as they originally played at the very start before the Carlton ads and then again before the feature...
...but it then only played before the feature before the new one was introduced and just started woth Carlton instead.
MysteryManfrom79 4 years ago
i remember seein this at the cinema in the 90's wen i was younger and because the cinema was darker and louder the ball and music used to scare me lol
XloveisabattlefieldX 4 years ago
Afraid i don't have any of the old tapes..
theevilant 4 years ago
And man I miss the old idents like this one. These bring memories back to 1996 I went to see Space Jam at the MetroCentre. :-(
supersmith3000 4 years ago
Well since all UCI's in the UK (except in Ireland and Wales I think) have now becoming Odeons. Odeon are now starting to make things uglier. You got parent and baby shows and senior shows (which is for old people of course). And also for all cinemas including Odeon, Orange now advertises at the way beginning before the Carlton logo and even the film starts after the cinema's ident. Man what a way to see a film if Odeon has themes like that. Other companies like Empire don't do stuff.
supersmith3000 4 years ago
...like that.
sorry for spelling mistake.
supersmith3000 4 years ago
Actually, all major cinema chains do the orange adverts, I work for vue now, and we do them too, it's a contractual things that they have arranged with both carlton screen advertising and pearl & dean...
theevilant 4 years ago
I know all cinemas companies run Orange adverts as well. They are just not worth it, that's all. I'd love if the companies do their own logo idents again. Do you agree with me?
supersmith3000 4 years ago
Yeah, cinemas still have ident logo's. cineworld have one, as do odeon, not sure if the Irish UCI's still use them... i think it's just vue that don't really use them anymore..
But, there's alot of money in that orange "gold spot"
theevilant 4 years ago
Ok then. So Vue dosen't use their idents anymore right? Because at Empire Cinemas which I seen spider-man 3 at the gate that is, Empire didn't also use their own idents as well. As with cinemas with idents like Odeon. The orange ad even plays after the ident before the FACT warning shows up. What a daft way to start the movie. Otherway round please would be great Odeon or any company that has idents?
supersmith3000 4 years ago
I believe the point of the "gold spot" advert slot, which is now contracted to Orange, is that it is the last thing that you see before the feature starts. At least thats my understanding of it...
theevilant 4 years ago
Yeah, that must be it and, what is gold spot then you said?
supersmith3000 4 years ago
Yeah, i think there was a UC&I cartoon on it, a different one each month. When the video got to the end it stopped, and as it was rewinding some some music would play...
theevilant 4 years ago
I don't remember. I do remember that the ball goes through the scenes, for example under the sea, passing an aircraft carrier and finishes as you see it on the trailer above! That is all I can remember.
TLCjOHN 4 years ago
I totally agree with you, giving the trailer a place in history, Cinema History. As for the longer trailer, it starts with a ball coming from nowhere on a black screen, spins through some locations and them makes up the UCI logo and the you get "The Great Escape" which I think is a reference to "Escaping in to a world of the Cinema".
TLCjOHN 4 years ago
Crossed wires here I think, I wondered if the DVD had the longer trailer/Ad on it. I t would be great to see again.
TLCjOHN 4 years ago
It was great to find the opening trailer for UCI Cinema, here on You Tube. Now here is a question, do you, by any chance have, the longer trailer which includes an aircraft carrier and underwater shots? I loved that trailer... Can you help?
TLCjOHN 4 years ago
Hi,
Looks like i've been pipped to the post, as it were..
Yeah, i remeber the logo you're on about, but it wasn't on any of the dvd's. it might have been on the old lobby videos, but they're all long gone...
I havn't seen the logo in many years tho.. sorry. hopefully someone else aill upload it from somewhere :)
theevilant 4 years ago
Thank you for your help. I will keep my fingers crossed someone finds a copy and upload it to You Tube. All the very best. :)
TLCjOHN 4 years ago
erm... to answer: UCI & odeon are still two separtate companies, but they are both owned by the same company, terra firma. in the UK it was decided that odeon was the stronger brand, so they re-branded all of the UCI's into odeon's. but in Ireland UCI is a stronger brand, so they left them as UCI's.
theevilant 4 years ago
So, yes they still use UCI logo's as they are still UCI. Not odeon.
theevilant 4 years ago
The Warner Village cinemas ident was EVEN scarer than UCI.
supersmith3000 4 years ago
this used to scare the shit out of me when i was was like 5. Strange because it scared all of my friends as well.
canadaonly2 4 years ago
scared me silly wen i was little too
iLikepie270 4 years ago
Scared me witless when i was a kid.
aealtrus 4 years ago
Too shame UCI is now Odeon. UCI and Odeon are sreprate cinema companies back then.
supersmith3000 4 years ago
So since you uploaded the logos. Do you really used to work at UCI which is now Odeon?
supersmith3000 4 years ago
That's correct. I still work for UCI, but they're now re-branded as Odeon.
theevilant 4 years ago
Which branch do you work for?
bennjr 4 years ago
Used to work at Surrey Quays, Then Whiteleys. I now work for VUE at their new site in the o2 (millennium dome)...
theevilant 4 years ago
Oh right, I worked in Coolock (first branch in Ireland) and I now work in a rival cinema of UCI, called Movies @ Ireland, in their second branch. VUE are over here too, one if Liffey Valley S.C., it's really cool. Oversized screens, etc. Do VUE in the U.K. do butter-sauce on their popcorn? We don't anymore, only UCI do, loads of cinema's lost it becuase it was often too messy to clean up and people would slip on the ground.
bennjr 4 years ago
Since you uploaded the UCI logos. Can you please also upload the Odeon Cinemas and Warner Village Cinemas UK logos from past to present. I would intrested of seeing them as well. If you upload them, that would be brill!
supersmith3000 4 years ago
Hey! Unfortunately i dont have any odeon or warner village ones. I got these uci ones off of old trailer dvd's which we used to show in the foyer. We're now odeon, but the odeon ones don't have the odeon logo on them for some reason... i know somebody else has put a VUE cinemas logo (formerly warner village) on youtube, just search for "vue cinemas" and it'll pop up. :)
theevilant 4 years ago
Well let's just hope someone uploads the Warner Village Cinema logos on YouTube. Both old and new, there is a Warner Village ident somewhere on YouTube and it's just a parody of the ident with ''Merate Cinemas'' replaced.
supersmith3000 4 years ago
Plugging the pc into the main AVR and running this monaural sound signal though the AUX input the sound coming though the JBL sound system sounds woolly ok its got a sub bass response down to 30Hz!
Ashley4Movies 4 years ago
I don't see myself working in the cinema ever again not while digital projection is getting slowly advanced I don't see many job opportunities in the projection field personally anymore soon there will be just one projectionist to run a multiplex in the mid 21st century, maybe?
Ashley4Movies 4 years ago
If I was to reflect a little more on The Great Escape theme it really does suck in terms of playback presentation of sound at UCI sites except some of the THX screens Empire is the king of presentation the High Wycombe site that kicked slammed into with good overall sound presentation while all the rest of the UCI sites suck including Tower Park it still sucks today I haven't seen a film there since 2004 I, Robot in screen 6 and it sucked with poor sound!
Ashley4Movies 4 years ago
I used to work at the UCI Tower park complex at Poole during 1989 -1990, it was easy. I believe the projectors where Vic V that is still in use today and the Dolby CP-65 with SR type cards. today I think they have Dolby CP-500 in some screens? and dts but I hate dts sound in the cinema its only difference is higher bit rate less trouble of breaking down but its not impressed me at Tower park at all its sucks!
Ashley4Movies 4 years ago
Oh my god, I haven't seen this since I was a kid. Thanks so much! Where did you get these? Do you have prints that you got telecined?
lyris1 5 years ago
I got it off an old foyer dvd that we used with trailer on. Don't have any prints tho, they all got thrown out and i forgot to nick one!! :(
theevilant 4 years ago
holler if you hate the director's chair/senior screen/newbies/oldies tag.
Blue is ok.. Salsa is annoying.
cinemec 5 years ago
Everything about Odeon sucks. FULL STOP. in my opinion!!!
theevilant 5 years ago
totally agree with you there!!
supersmith3000 4 years ago
They've all gone to Odeon!
Pots of tea in the screen. Pfft.
kingrikk 4 years ago
This was fantastic, it's better than the pap that Odeon is currently showing. I used to go to UCI alot in my childhood and this I thought was just damn cool, although it scared almost everyone else.
stevieg2087 5 years ago
''The Great Escape'' was NEVER the favourite film, it was just a way of saying you could relax and that the cinema was a great escape. I used to work at UCI Coolock and that's what we were told.
bennjr 5 years ago
1 more thing. When was this UCI logo first shown in UK cinemas?
supersmith3000 5 years ago
Not sure. Think it was probably the late 80's...
theevilant 5 years ago
I like this UCI logo intro better. The one with the weird comet on. And also, why is The Great Escape words at the end? Maybe it's UCI's favourite movie perhaps??? And also, I remember this one. It brings sweet memories!
supersmith3000 5 years ago
Yeah, I used to like it. It sound great in dolby digital and from a projectionists point of view it was better 'cos it didnt look as bad when it got dirty as the orange one did. As for the great escape thing; It was just the UCI motto. A sort of "great escape" into the world of movies. I thought it was a bit lame though.
theevilant 5 years ago
I like this UCI logo intro better. The one with the weird comet on. And also, why is The Great Escape words at the end? Maybe it's UCI favourite movie perhaps???
supersmith3000 5 years ago
this one looks a bit cheap compared to the later version the way it shakes
zakwoodman 5 years ago