HBO Home Entertainment Warning Screens

US/UK Warnings

November 15, 1981-1982

Warning: On a black background is the following text:

WARNING:

The program contained in this videocassette is licensed only for unadvertised, private home use. All other rights - including, but not limited to, duplication, broadcast by any means, rental or loan circulation for profit-making and/or library purposes, and all forms of public display - are retained by the copyright proprietor. The FBI investigates allegations of copyright infringement, and federal law provides severe criminal and civil penalties for those found to be in violation.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. Found on the earliest Thorn-EMI Video releases, preceded by the still Thorn-EMI logo.

1982–1991; 1994

Warning: Same as the 1979 Sony Video Software warning, except with two red lines appear near the top. On top of the first big line, "LEGAL WARNING", in white and in big letters, types itself in. Then, in the middle of the lines, "FOR PRIVATE HOME USE ONLY", in white as well, types itself in. On the bottom of the second red line, "ALL OTHER RIGHTS RESERVED", also white, types itself in. Finally, below that, the following text in white types itself in:

ANY UNAUTHORISED COPYING, EDITING,
EXHIBITING, RENTING, EXCHANGING,
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE, DIFFUSION,
RADIO OR TELEVISION BROADCASTING
OF THIS VIDEOGRAM OR ANY PART
THEREOF IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

Variants:

• As seen at the end of American prints of Duran Duran, the original SVS warning is used instead.
• A black and white variant exists on the 1983 VHS of The Captain's Paradise.

FX/SFX: The words being typed in.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on all Thorn-EMI Video releases of the era in the US and the United Kingdom, including Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings. This also appears on a variety of locally-pressed New Zealand tapes by various distributors (Thorn-EMI Video had left there in 1985), and also on UK tapes released by Cannon/Pathé Video from 1986-1991. It makes a surprise appearance on the 1994 U.S. Republic Pictures Home Video VHS of Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Editor's Note: This warning, alongside much of the subsequent warnings, says that "editing" tapes is illegal, which shouldn't actually be if splicing VHS tapes to fix them counts as "editing." This part of the warning became the subject of a spoof in episode 23 of Oddity Archive, "Scary Logos (and Other Nostalgic Video Terrors)," in which the series' host (Ben Minnotte) mentions this, only to open his house door to discover cops sent by the FBI, who beat him up (off-screen) for doing so.

July 1985–1988

Warning: On a gray-dark blue gradient background, we see the following text in white:

LEGAL WARNING

FOR PRIVATE HOME USE ONLY

ALL OTHER RIGHTS RESERVED ANY UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, EDITING, EXHIBITING, RENTING, EXCHANGING. PUBLIC PERFORMANCE, RADIO OR TELEVISION BROADCASTING OF THIS VIDEO PROGRAM OR ANY PART THEREOF IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on all Thorn-EMI/HBO and HBO/Cannon releases, as well as 1987-1988 HBO Video releases and early GoodTimes Home Video releases. It can be seen on releases of TriStar, Thames, Hemdale, Orion, Kings Road, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Gladden Entertainment, and Thorn EMI/Cannon Screen Entertainment titles in America, such as Night of the Creeps, Back to School, Hoosiers, Near Dark, and The Manhattan Project, to name a few.

Editor's Note: Same as the last warning.

1980s-1990s (Braingames eras)

Warning: Same as the 1983 Braingames warning.

FX/SFX: Same as the 1983 Braingames warning.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1983 Braingames warning.

Availability: Seen on Braingames tapes distributed by Thorn-EMI/HBO Video.

Editor's Note: Same as the 1983 Braingames warning.

1988–1993

Warning: On a fushsia/dodger blue gradient background, the words "LEGAL WARNING" appear on top with the text below, all in white.

Variant: On the 1992 VHS of Rock-a-Doodle, the background is a gray backdrop of multiple copies of the HBO Video logo, with "LEGAL WARNING" in red and all the text is in a different font.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on most HBO Video releases of the era. This mostly comes from releases of Miramax, Samuel Goldwyn, Hemdale, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, and Kings Road, as well as TriStar, Orion, and Weintraub Entertainment Group films, as well as several HBO theatrical films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, such as Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, Mom and Dad Save the World, and Ricochet.

Editor's Note: Same as the 2nd warning. The background colors are also an eyesore. Plus, on the Rock-a-Doodle variant, its creation seems rather futile.

1993–2006

HBO Home Video Logo '02

Warning: Same as the previous one, except the warning text is in a Futura font in yellow, it stands against a shimmering red curtain with multiple copies of the HBO Home Video logo, and it fades in and out.

Variant: On later VHS releases, the background is black and the warning text is white.

FX/SFX: The curtain shimmering and the warning fading in and fading out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on HBO Home Video releases of the era, as well as on early DVDs such as Circle of Friends, A Bronx Tale, and When it Was a Game. Its last appearances were on The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Sometimes in April. The black background appears on 2003-06 VHS releases of HBO Films productions such as Normal and My House in Umbria, following the eleventh warning.

Editor's Note: Same as the 2nd warning.

1998-January 14, 2020

Warning: Same as the later DVD/Laserdisc variant of the 1980 MCA/Universal Home Video warning.

Variants:

• Starting in 2005, the warning is presented in widescreen.
• On Blu-rays, such as Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season, the warning text is rearranged.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on a lot of DVD releases from HBO, such as Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, I Spy: A Thing that Flings and Other Stories, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Out of Season, Warm Springs and Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season. It was also seen on HBO programs distributed by Universal Studios.

Editor's Note: This warning feels kind of outdated on later releases.

1998–January 23, 2001 (Alternate A)

Warning: Same as the Columbia Tristar Home Video/Entertainment warnings. 

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on certain DVD releases from HBO, such as Cher: Live in Concert, Stomp Out Loud, If These Walls Could Talk 2, Babar: King of the Elephants, and The Tuskegee Airmen. It was also seen on HBO programs distributed by Columbia Tristar Home Video.

1998-September 14, 2004 (Alternate B)

Warning: Same as the 1997 PBS Distribution warning.

Variant: On Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team, the warning appears squeezed.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on certain DVD releases from HBO, such as Flashpoint, Jeff Foxworthy: Totally Committed, Above Suspicion and Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now. Also on PBS DVD releases.

1998-2005 (Alternate C); December 26, 2007

Videotaped version

Warning: Same as the 1990 MGM/UA Home Video and MGM Home Entertainment warning.

Variants:

• On some DVDs, such as ¡Three Amigos!, Sex and the City: The Complete First Season, Volunteers, and When Trumpets Fade, the warning is taken from a video master, as evident in the fuzzy picture and the fade out.
• On the 2007 DVD of Living & Dying, New Line's variant is used in widescreen.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on most DVD releases from HBO, such as Goodnight Moon and Other Tales, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and 61*, as well as season sets of shows like Everybody Loves Raymond and The Sopranos. It was also seen on HBO programs distributed by MGM Home Entertainment.

2001 (Alternative); 2003-2006

Warning: Same as the 1979 Warner Home Video warning.

Variants:

• On some tapes such as Pavement, Larceny, and Elephant, "FBI" is smaller, the FBI seal is in grayscale, and the text is centered.
  • A sub-variant exists, with "WARNING" positioned differently, "FBI" thinner, and the FBI seal wider.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Same as above. This made a surprise appearance on the 2001 demo VHS of Wit.

January 7, 2020-present

FBI Interpol (OIPC) Warning Screen (Warner Home Video version) -English & Français-

Warning: Same as the current Warner Bros. Home Entertainment warnings.

FX/SFX: Either the text scrolling, fades, or none.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on current American HBO releases distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Australian and New Zealand Warnings

1981–1984

Warning: On a blue background is the white warning text with a black outline, in an unusual font, scrolling up quite quickly, before segueing into the first Thorn-EMI Video Australia logo.

Variant: Later releases which had the second logo have the warning on a dark blue-green background, the text scrolls up slower and cuts to the second Thorn-EMI Video Australia before completely making it to the top of the screen.

FX/SFX: The fade-in and the warning text scrolling up.

Music/Sounds: None for the earlier warning in Australia. The later warning and all New Zealand titles feature the first couple of bars of the Thorn-EMI Video logo from the time, which varies by country, just before the warning finishes scrolling.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen only on Australian and New Zealand VHS and Betamax releases from Thorn-EMI Video from the early 1980s.

1984–1987

Warning: On a black background, we see the white warning text from before, led by the text "COPYRIGHT WARNING" scrolling up.

FX/SFX: Same as the previous warning.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on later Thorn-EMI Video Australia and all Cannon Video Australia releases, like Charlie Muffin.

1986–1987

Warning: On a black background with a white bar on top, the top part has the black word "WARNING" in spaced out letters. On the bottom part, we see the first half of white larger Australian copyright text, reflecting the New Penalties Copyright Amendment Act 1986. We cut to the second half of the text.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare. This is seen on Cannon Video's Australian tapes from after acquiring Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, such as Legend.