Long HBO Open

[4patrickcharles]

Man the 80's what a great time to grow up...very special!!! 

[PrevueGuideChannel]

cool intro,would of liked to see the ratings bumpers though.

[videozfann]

retro gold!

[badheart30]

Back in the day (80s) we had one of each: HBO, Showtime, TMC, Cimemax, and the Disney channel. Born in 74.

[ThrogsNck]

Yea it was much easir and enjoyable to have just one HBO back in the 80"s. Simple yet effective. The old days of 36 channels to choose from. Born in 76.

[cr12221969]

What great about this open? It was all FILMED...thats an actual model with actual tiny buildings...even when the HBO logo comes out of the Big Bang! That is NOT computer animated at all. I remember there was an HBO short special (When HBO mostly only played movies, Inside the NFL, and Video Jukebox) about the FILMING of this opening...wish someone had it...it was fascinating!

[cr12221969]

@cr12221969 UPDATE!!! I found the documentary about the filming of the open!

Search for "HBO Intro: Behind the Scenes" wont let me post the direct link!

Enjoy!

[wurltee]

This intro was KILLER back in the day!

[tosspot86]

is that Clu Gulager at the very beginning, it looks alot like him

[dobb673]

Like most things from that era -- better!!!

[paulntraci99]

Brings back fond memory's thanks for sharing

[MsMercury]

Wow, I remember this and getting excited for the movie about to start.

[cameron20101000]

this variation was used from 1983-1985 and the short version was used from 1985-1987 and the second variation was used from 1993-1999.

[elterrible2007]

@cameron20101000 The version with the couple was used from September 1982 to December 1983, with the alternate music (as in this one) being used from January to June 1983. The verson that starts with the clouds was used from December 1983 to December 1986, and then was revived in 1993 until 1997. The short version was played mostly during the day and the long version was alternatly used after 8:00pm til 7:00am. I should know cause im obsessed with the open (as my wife would say)

[cameron20101000]

@elterrible2007 or late 1997

mostly until 1999 the date hbo start using hbo in city intro.

the feature presentation with the people was used from 1997-2000.

go find it in the search box.

[Landotter1]

OH HELL YEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... Feel like a teenager again..... Amazing!!!! Thanks for posting!!!!! Gotta pick up my headphones from the floor... was rocking-out too hard, maybe!!! :-D

[schuminweb]

When did this become the Feature Presentation opener? I always remembered a different tune at the end for the Feature Presentation.

[savere2006]

Brings back memories.

[anklebreakaj2]

everything was soooo epic back then

[philiptwood]

I remember when I saw this as a kid it reminded me of Superman the Movie with Christopher Reids.

[SuperGamer68]

You ALWAYS...ALWAYS KNEW something cool was in store 

[Landotter1]

@SuperGamer68 Yeah and remember video jukebox? They always played obscure stuff too!!!

[25phillycheesesteak]

Luv this opener!! Wish it could resurface!!

[fullmetalmedji]

Didn't even know that HBO existed in the early 80's.

[25phillycheesesteak]

@fullmetalmedji yeah, HBO has been around since the early 70's!

[Juliaflo]

@fullmetalmedji HBO has been in existence since 1972.

[pompom11]

HBO was so new and this opening got everyone excited and ran into the TV room, great Video I love it.

[bktravel]

I am 36, and remember watching this intro which meant it was time for Fraggle Rock, or a movie that you could only see in a movie theatre! I felt like the luckiest kid in the world to have HBO.. wow you guys must be rich, is what my friends would say LOL.. everyone LOVED HBO!

[brhutson]

The version of this intro that I remember being used in the early to mid 90's had different sounding music in the last few seconds as "HBO Feature Presentation" appeared on screen. I also remember a version without the extended opening sequence, but also had the different music at the end.

[saprater25]

Man, HBO was king back in the day. I just clicked on the Cinemax classic intro and didn't even recognize it. Of course, most households with small children avoided Cinemax, even to this day it's referred to as Skinemax. LoL That still didn't stop us from fiddling with the buttons (back when cable required boxes a numbered button for each channel) to try and descramble the "naughty" shows.

[harborhawk1]

greatest opening sequence ever

[SkyfireTheFox]

I loved this sequence. When I was younger, I thought the HBO logo was going to crash right through the TV.

[cheapcape]

I love this intro! Brings back a flood of eighties memories, when Saturday nights were a big event. I really miss that decade.

[simcityfan3]

Claymation?

[VenusInFurs]

Oh man! I remember this opening. Me and my parents would usually watch whatever "new" movie they showed on Saturday nights back then and this was always played beforehand.

I miss the 80s!

[katmusic2006]

yeah, these younguns have no idea what they missed. 1 of my faves.

[Cyclops236]

I wish I was on an airplane that landed on an HBO logo I could play with it and then fall down with a parachute.

[krystlerita]

Epic

[gtyme125]

HBO was MAGIC back then.....how far they've fallen...

[cheapcape]

@gtyme125 Agreed, you couldn't pay me to subscribe to HBO now, but in the eighties it was like gold. At school, we used to think that any kid who had HBO at home was privileged, lol!

[ianwzxr]

@gtyme125 - Yeah, dominating the emmys for years, leading all pay channels with about 28 million subscribers, and leading pay channels (by FAR!) in earnings to the tune of $1.2 billion. They're grateful you're not running things.

[gtyme125]

@ianwzxr You must not have been alive or were very young in the 80s....

[rellytee]

i listened to this opener close to 20 times before i got enough, it bring back so many memories

[Wildcock23]

Magic. Pure magic.

[indyotto]

It's fun to see this again. Reminds me of being a little kid, when having HBO was a big deal.

[jakestooge34]

I think this variant was only used from 1982-1984. The version with the fog at the beginning was used a lot more.

[BlackCloudBoss]

I bet if they still have the original film version, they could show this in high def.

[MustangScott2000]

I remember this from when i was a Kid and Ghostbusters came on! lol Thanks for this!

[LastStarfighter]

What was so great about this was that it always made watching a movie feel like an event.

[electrocute1979]

Everything feels like an event when you're young....*sheds tears*

[enigmaticocean]

HBO should really use this when they play older movies.

[jerm83182]

i agree it does bring back memories

[PetersTrainz101]

That's true

[jakeseyes]

WOW! A blast from the past-- good stuff!

[RetroJenny]

Thanks for posting. I needed a nostalgia boost. LOL

[level242]

ooooh I wonder what the movie is gonna be:Zapped with Scott Baio,Stripes with Bill Murray,The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training or Race for Your Life Charlie Brown

[theotherspartan]

lol

[kcmann4152]

I was born in 73' I loved this opening...especially before Fraggle Rock. It gave me time to grab a (glass bottle) of pepsi. Those were the days.

[MrDrProfessorJrMD]

I wish they'd bring back the glass bottles.

[kcmann4152]

hahaha....I was just talking about the glass bottles today to my younger g/f. I told her they just tasted waaay better than any soda in a plastic bottle.

[MrDrProfessorJrMD]

@kcmann4152 Indeed it tasted better. And stayed colder. Although people like me were probably part of the reason why they quit making them. As a punk ass teenager, I would smash them on the road, against buildings, and play my famous game "bottle soccer" in parking lots.

[kcmann4152]

HAHhahaha.  Thats awesome.

[saprater25]

@kcmann4152 OMG...I loved Fraggle Rock. I remember thinking it would be so cool if I could eat glass radish sticks. LoL. This show and Brain Games were my two favorites.

[hssenior]

this makes me think of being in big cities in the late hours

[tvpirate05]

I want this as my ring tone, dammit!

[Kaufmancab51]

go to the international jingle collection, get the hbo_1983.mp3, and send it to ur phone via email

[jakestooge34]

Yes, the long version was only used in its first year, it got progressively shorter as the years went by.

[jakestooge34]

I have a lot of HBO tapes that date back to 1984 and most of them have the short version that start with the "big bang".

[LFWISKOOL]

Did you know the first airing of Star Wars on HBO

in 1983 had the big bang first?

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

Thanks! HBO was great back then.

I wonder if anyone has the PRISM movie opening here on YouTube.

[futbolt]

i never had HBO but this is why everyone thought it was so cool. i was a kid i watched at a neighbors.

[jakestooge34]

This was probably only used during the early days when HBO first broadcasted 24 hours a day. The intros I've seen either started with the "big bang" exploding effect or when it opens with the fog and then starts with the camera traveling through the city.

[cj397]

yeah def. i was born in 1991. and all the vhs tapes that my parents recorded of 80's and 90's movies all had it start out in just the city, and it didnt show the people in the apartment, and it was different music.

[Darkgrl1019]

ah dang..makes me wanna see a movie now!

[coopcs1]

brings back some great memories, thank you!

[Flababo]

Thank you so much for posting this! I remember that well from when I was a kid, and I never thought I'd ever see it again.