Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warning Screens

Late 1979–May 29, 2007
 Warning : On a black background, we see a black square on the left with the standard FBI logo in white. On the right is a white box containing generic warning text in the Univers Condensed font, with a red " WARNING " in Helvetica Condensed Bold above it.

 Trivia : In a similar occurrence to how the 20th Century Fox warning appeared in Amazon Women on the Moon, this warning makes a cameo during a scene in Mel Brooks' 1987 sci-fi farce Spaceballs, released by MGM. In that scene, while trying to find the location of the movie's protagonists, one of Dark Helmet's (Rick Moranis) officers locates an "instant cassette" (a VHS released to stores while the movie is still in production) of Spaceballs. He pops it in, and when the tape begins, this warning is shown.

 Variants :
 * On some tapes, a "shadow" effect on the "WARNING" text has been spotted.
 * Until 1981, the "Title 17" text is in the Helvetica Condensed font.
 * On some tapes from 1981-1986, the background is white and the warning has the "Title 17" text.
 * There is another version in which the FBI seal was slightly larger and the right side of the white box was rounded. The first three DVD Volumes of Charlie & Lola from 2006-2007 also use this version (strangely, volume 3 does not contain the Warner Home Video On-Screen logo, but it still contains this warning screen, instead of the Warner Home Video On-Screen logo, it is oddly replaced by the 1990 BBC Video UK Warning Screen due to weird international plastering and before going straight to the 1997 BBC Video Logo).
 * There is a smoother version that faded in and out intact, apparently from a character generator, with a bolder "FBI" lettering and cleaner text, on some tapes. This version was also seen on the 1998 Laserdisc of Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and the widescreen DVD of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban.
 * Another version appears to be digitally generated, with the "FBI" text not blocky or spaced properly.
 * There is also a version where the whole thing is on a blue background.
 * On early Warner CEDs and Laserdiscs such as Risky Business, "WARNING" is in a wider font, and all the text is in white against a completely black background.
 * Shout! Factory and Universal Music DVD releases also used this, except the FBI seal is colored.
 * On BWE Video releases, "FBI" has spaces between the letters.
 * On the extremely rare 1989 VHS of Hell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'n' Roll, the word "FBI" is very thin, just like the Hanna-Barbera Home Video and/or Pioneer Entertainment warnings, while the font is different, the bottom text is altered, a comma is after the word "tapes," and the FBI seal is missing.
 * On Strand Releasing releases, "WARNING" is very bold, "FBI" is in a different font, the text is altered, and the FBI seal is colorized.
 * On York Entertainment releases, "FBI" and the FBI seal are missing, "WARNING" flashes, and the text is different.
 * On Feature Films for Families releases, the warning text is slightly different. "WARNING" is slightly bolder on some releases, while on later releases, the font is different and "WARNING" is much bolder.
 * On Planet Video and Regal Video releases, the above-mentioned version is poorly filmed. Planet Video version contains shading, while Regal Video releases, it flies over and the FBI box is gradient and has the Magnavox Magnavision background music.
 * On some Continental Video and Cinema Group Home Video releases, the warning has an orangish tint. Continental releases "page flip" to it, while Cinema Group uses a checkerboard effect.
 * On a Rock Video Monthly VHS, the warning is placed on a red background. Kid Rhino Home Video releases also use this variant, except the background is blue.
 * There is a smoother version similar to the 1982 version, except the warning text is bolder and redder. This can be seen on the 2006 DVDs of Dombey and Son, David Copperfield, and The Pickwick Papers.
 * On Chronical Videocassettes releases, "FBI" is bolder and the warning text is in Gill Sans font.
 * On Image Magnetic Associates releases, there is a filmed version in which the right of the white square is rounded.
 * On early releases, the warning text is slightly different, a different font is used, and the right corners are rounded.
 * Black-and-white variants of both versions exist. The B&W version of the latter variant can be found on the 1990-92 VHS releases of Days of Wine and Roses and Kisses for My President.
 * On the 1980 WCI Home Video release of "10", the first version fades to the Orion Pictures logo.
 * On 1992-1999 MPI Home Video releases, the background is black-blue gradient with all copies of the word "FBI" and the word "WARNING" is in Gill Sans font.
 * On Program Hunters and pre-1992 Prism Entertainment releases, the background is blue, "WARNING" is medium gray, and film grain is present.
 * On NTA Home Entertainment/Republic Pictures Home Video releases, the background is coral pink.
 * On Cannon Video releases, the background is blue with the box with the FBI logo and the word "WARNING" is in the top.
 * On Synapse Films releases, the warning is mentioned above with stripes.
 * On Pioneer Entertainment releases, the FBI seal is colorized.
 * On 1983-1984 Walt Disney Home Entertainment releases, the word "WARNING" is black and the background is poppy red.
 * On 1979-1982 Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment and early RCA/Columbia releases, the background is red and the warning looks like it was lit up by an old bulb.
 * On Philips Interactive Media VCD releases, the word "FBI" is red while everything else is in black and white.
 * On 1981-1987 Media Home Entertainment releases, the background is blue, the left side is rounded, and everything else is white.
 * On 1983-1991 Embassy/Nelson releases, the background is either blue or purple, "WARNING" has an exclamation mark, and there's extra warning text above it.
 * On an NHL Productions VHS of Mission Accomplished: The 2001 Colorado Avalanche, the above variant is on a black background.
 * Another variant is used on Unicorn Video releases, where a tacked-on copyright date appears.
 * On most 1997-2004 DVDs, a screen freeze of the warning fades in and out.
 * A widescreen version of this appears on DVDs (and sides of two-sided DVDs) formatted in widescreen, where the warning is "stretched" into a 1.85:1 frame.
 * On the 2003 DVDs of LeapFrog presents: The Letter Factory and The Talking Words Factory (and its Lionsgate reissues), the screen cuts to the Canadian warning scroll.
 * On the 2004 DVDs of LeapFrog presents: Talking Words Factory II - Code Word Caper and Math Circus, the warning fades out at the end.

 FX/SFX : None, but this cut right to the WCI/WHV (on 1980-1985 releases) or Embassy Home Entertainment (see below) logo.

 Music/Sounds : None usually, but on the DVS VHS of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Miles Neff says "An FBI warning appears" and reads the first sentence, except it ends on "...motion pictures or videos." On the DVS VHS of The Wizard of Oz (1939), Kria Sakakeeny says "A warning appears" and reads the entire first sentence.

 Availability : Extremely common. It appears on all WCI/Warner Home Video releases from its first twenty in 1979 all the way until December 2004, and some BBC releases from after that. Also seen on some tapes released by Strand/VCI and the Video Collection, as well as certain Orion Home Video, Diamond Entertainment and later Magnum Entertainment releases, the Crystal Cathedral's 1991 VHS of The Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral, the 1990 PolyGram Music Video VHS of Roger Waters: The Wall, the 2002 Republic Pictures/Artisan Entertainment Collector's Edition DVD of High Noon, an Archive Film VHS of Creepy Classics with Vincent Price, a 1995 Blockbuster Video release of Halloween, tapes by Deutsche Grammophon Video, Arena Home Video, and Starlight Home Entertainment, the MLB Home Video VHS of 1997 World Series Video, the 1996 Squirrelly Productions VHS of Squirrelly Adventures with Gregg Bassett and His Furry Friends, and the 1994 JTC Home Video VHS of Field Dressing Your Deer.
 * The "shadow" version was exclusive to Rhino Home Video releases.
 * The early version can be found on Blazing Saddles (Warner's first video release), Dirty Harry, and All the President's Men, as well as other VHS and Betamax releases from WCI/Warner Home Video from 1979 to 1981, and 1985-86 MPI Home Video releases. The version with the white background can be found on Mean Streets, Superman II, The Enforcer, and Death Wish II, as well as other 1981-86 WHV releases, a few Embassy Home Entertainment releases (including the 1983 release of Carbon Copy), and RKO Home Video releases.
 * The white background variation can also be seen on some VHS re-releases such as the 1986 release of The Road Warrior and the 1988 release of The Searchers.
 * The rounded right side version was used on certain Orion Home Video releases and several Warner Reprise Video/Warner Music Vision releases, as well as Shapiro Glickenhaus Home Video releases by Southgate Entertainment, EKA Productions tapes, and the 2005 DVD of Live 8.
 * The smoother version that faded in and out was sighted on Hemdale Home Video releases and the 1996 Realtree Outdoors VHS of Monster Bucks IV.
 * The digitally generated variant is extremely rare, as the 2004 warning was introduced concurrently, but can be found on A Cinderella Story, Codename: Kids Next Door Sooper Hugest Missions File One, and disc 6 of The Ultimate Matrix Collection (The Matrix Revolutions Revisited; the other discs use the regular version).
 * The screen freeze version usually appeared at the end of discs, but on the 2001 DVD of JFK, disc 2 moves it (and the fade-in version of the Canadian warning) to the front, while on the 2001 DVD of Any Given Sunday, it appears after the deleted/extended scenes.
 * The blue background version can be found on New Horizons/Concorde, Virgin Vision, MCEG/Virgin, J2 Communications, Madacy Entertainment, Cloud Ten Pictures, Blockbuster, MPI Home Video, MTM Home Video, Oxxo (Mexico), and View Video releases, a few Random House Home Video releases, Embassy Home Entertainment releases like Labyrinth, UAV Corporation tapes of Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment titles, and tapes from other companies.
 * The Shout! Factory version was used on some SF DVDs such as Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series and The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3: The Complete Series.
 * This warning is also seen on VideoTec releases, such as the 1992 screener VHS of Tugs: Munitions & Pirates.
 * This also made surprise appearances on a 1990 MGM/UA Home Video Laserdisc Sampler, the 1982 CBS/FOX Video CED release of Alien, and the 2003 GoodTimes Entertainment VHS release of The Judas Priest.
 * The blue background variant made a surprise appearance on some RCA/Columbia Real Ghostbusters tapes and Vietnamese DVDs.
 * Among the last DVDs to use the screen freeze version were Matchstick Men and Chasing Liberty. The last new movies to feature this warning in general are A Home at the End of the World and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the final overall releases to use it were Gone with the Wind: Four-Disc Collector's Edition and LeapFrog presents: Talking Words Factory II - Code Word Caper and Math Circus. However, it was retained on the 2014 DVD reissue of Enter the Dragon, whose first disc replicates that of its 2004 reissue. In addition, a few WHV/BBC releases continued to use this until 2007, such as Middie March, Dombey and Son, David Copperfield, The Pickwick Papers, and the first three DVD volumes of Charlie and Lola. It was also retained at the beginning and end of the Lionsgate DVD reissues of LeapFrog presents: The Letter Factory and The Talking Words Factory. The last Cartoon Network DVD to use this warning was Codename: Kids Next Door: Sooper Hugest Missions: File One.

1981
 Warning : On a blue background, we see the white word "WARNING". It fades to white rental warning text scrolling upward.

 FX/SFX : The text scrolling.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Pretty tough to come across. This was only used for a year on "For-Rental-Only" prints, such as Superman II, The Enforcer, Excalibur, Dirty Harry, Prince of the City, and Arthur. Tapes released through the rental program in 1982, such as Sharky's Machine, use the previous warning instead.

1981–82
 Warning : On a blue background, white warning text scrolls upward:

ANY DUPLICATION, SALE, RENTAL OR EXHIBITION OR PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC (FOR A FEE OR FREE) IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND VIOLATES THE COPY RIGHT LAWS OF CANADA. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS EXPOSES YOU TO LIABILITY BY WAY OF FINE, DAMAGES, CONFISCATION OF INFRINGING COPIES, AND IN THE CASE OF A REPEATED OFFENSE, IMPRISONMENT.

 FX/SFX : Same as the previous warning.

 Music/Sounds : None usually, though the first half of the "Turning UA" theme can be heard over this warning on the Canadian Warner VHS of Casablanca.

 Availability : Seen on early Canadian cassettes from Warner Home Video, including Casablanca and Hooper.

1982–present (Canada), 1997–present (USA)
 Warning : On a sky blue background, white text, surrounded by a black shadow, scrolls upward. The text is in English and then French.

 Trivia :
 * This appears on the Canadian VHS of Teletubbies: Naughty Noo-Noo, in a similar situation to the 20th Century Fox modified screen being used by Paramount and Buena Vista and the 1997 MGM/UA modified screen being used by 20th Century Fox.
 * On DVDs with special features, after the text finished scrolling, it would take you there. However, DVDs without such things returned you to the main menu after the warning ended.

 Variants :
 * On 1997-2004 DVDs such as Deathtrap, The First Deadly Sin, Hooper, The Pelican Brief, Made in America, Ocean's 11 (1960), and Wildcats, it fades in on the word "WARNING" scrolling up and fades out on the last line of the French text.
 * Non-anamorphic widescreen versions of both variants exist. The early DVD variant can be seen on early widescreen DVDs and the widescreen sides of double-sided DVDs (with the entire film on both sides, in different formats) such as Singles, The Clan of the Cave Bear, and Sommersby, while the regular variant first appeared on Kangaroo Jack: G'Day, U.S.A.! and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light and has been used on numerous releases ever since.
 * In some cases, the text appears to scroll at a faster rate.
 * On the 2000 Canadian VHS of Pokémon: The First Movie, only the English portion of the scroll is shown, since no French Canadian variant was ever released. The U.S. warning follows it.
 * On French Canadian tapes of the era, the background is lilac blue, and the text is centered, outlined, and scrolls at a slower rate.

 FX/SFX : Same as the previous two warnings.

 Music/Sounds : None usually, but at the end of LeapFrog presents: Talking Words Factory II: Code Word Caper, the echo of the closing theme ends when the screen fades in.

 Availability : Very common. At the end of all DVD releases from Warner Home Video (with the exception of the 2005 reissue of Heat and some of the Morgan Creek DVDs), starting with the 1997 DVD of Twister (the very first DVD release in the United States). Initially, this was on Canadian VHS releases from WHV, including the 1983 release of THX-1138. However, this can also be seen on the 2000 US VHS of CNN: Millennium 2000, just before the Warner Home Video logo, and the 2004 North American VHS of LeapFrog presents: Talking Words Factory II: Code Word Caper (twice for the Canadian printing). It was also seen on some early 1990s demo tapes. Interestingly, two different versions of GoodFellas were among the first and last releases to use the 1997 fade-in variant (it was one of Warner's first DVD releases, and its 2004 Special Edition reissue is among the last releases that uses the DVD variant). It was also seen at the end of LeapFrog presents: Talking Words Factory II: Code Word Caper, right after the end credits, due to a editing mistake on Warner's part.

 Editor's Note : Considering that HD DVDs and Blu-rays end on an entirely new warning screen, it's quite weird how this forty-year-old warning is still used on DVDs even into the 2020s.

1997–2004


 Warning : Same as the PBS DVD warning screen.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Used on all PBS DVD releases distributed by Warner Home Video.

March 21, 2000–June 10, 2003
 Warning : Same as either the MGM or Trimark warning screens.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Only seen on Morgan Creek DVDs distributed by Warner Home Video.

November 11, 2003; December 6, 2011–July 20, 2012
 Warning : Same as the DVD versions of the Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment warning screens.

 FX/SFX : The fades.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Extremely rare. Seen only at the end of the DVD of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The Canadian warning screens also appeared at the end of the Cartoon Network DVD releases of Adventure Time: The Complete First Season and the final two volumes of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien.

 Editor's Note : A fairly common assumption as to why these appeared was because of Sony handling the international distribution of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, though the reason for its appearances on the aforementioned Cartoon Network DVDs remains a mystery.

October 12, 2004–December 15, 2009; March 9, 2010; January 11, 2011-April 17, 2012
 Warning : It's almost the same as the 2004-2013 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment warning, except it's on a black-blue gradient background, and the text is in a different font and in one paragraph.

 Variants :
 * On Appleseed Ex Machina, the text is aligned to the left.
 * A widescreen variant exists.
 * On the first three volumes of Animaniacs, the warning screen cuts to black on every disc except for discs 1 and 3 of Volume 1. However, when rewinding to the exact point before the warning ends, or when the discs are played on a computer, it fades out as normal.
 * On the 2006 release of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, the warning cuts in and out.

 FX/SFX : A mere fade-in and fade-out.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Very common.
 * Seen on all WHV releases from late 2004 to 2009. It premiered on the 2004 reissue of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and some other early releases that used this were Before Sunset, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, Kangaroo Jack: G'Day, U.S.A.!, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (VHS only; the DVD releases use the first warning instead).
 * Also seen on releases by a few other companies (often unrelated), including later releases by Bandai Entertainment, Time Warner-owned New Line Home Entertainment, Olive Films and 2 Entertain, as well as the 2006 CBS Home Entertainment DVD of Criminal Minds: The First Season.
 * This also appears on the earliest Blu-ray releases from WHV like The Departed, The Wicker Man, Under Siege, and A Christmas Story. Among the last DVDs to use this warning were Observe and Report and Trick 'r Treat.
 * Oddly, this makes surprise appearances on the 2007 DVD of VeggieTales: The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's, all four seasons of Ben 10, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: The Complete First and Second Season releases, and Blue the Boy Dog, the 2009 Blu-rays of 17 Again and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Ultimate Edition, the 2009 DVD of Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales, the 2010 DVD of NFL New Orleans Saints: Road to Super Bowl XLIV, the 2009 DVD and Blu-ray releases of The Hangover, Four Christmases, Terminator Salvation, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the 2012 DVDs of Adventure Time: It Came from the Nightosphere and Regular Show: Slack Pack, all five volumes of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and awards consideration DVDs.
 * Strangely, the fullscreen variant appears on the 2006 double feature DVD of The Cheyenne Social Club and Firecreek, despite the movies being presented in widescreen.
 * It was also seen on the 2013 Un'Corked Entertainment DVD of The Returned.
 * It (along with the Spanish warnings) was also seen at the end of LeapFrog presents: Learn to Read at the Storybook Factory, due to a editing mistake on Warner's part.

December 20, 2005–August 21, 2012; December 23, 2014, February 20, 2018
 Warning : On a black background is a blue/black gradient box with rounded edges, which has whitish-blue lines inside it. In the box is the following: on top is the no symbol (a red circle with a diagonal line) which has "SUPPORT ANTI-PIRACY" in very small white letters on the circle. Inside it is "PIRACY" in white. Below that is "5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON", in gold with a line below, and at the bottom, also in gold, is "FINES OF $250,000" with a line above it. Each is sandwiching a big red "WARNING". On the "WARNING" is the text in white.

 Variants :
 * A widescreen variant exists.
 * On later releases starting with Sherlock Holmes, there is more text in a different paragraph on the red "WARNING" and the words "5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON" and "FINES OF $250,000" are removed.
 * On the 2007 Blu-rays of Blade Runner (discs 1, 3, and 5 only) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the warning cuts in and out.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Common.
 * It first appeared on UMDs, such as Constantine and Batman. Its first non-UMD appearance was on the HD DVD and Blu-ray releases of 300, and was exclusively used on subsequent WHV HD releases from 2007-09. However, it wasn't used on DVD releases until Orphan.
 * The later variant is also seen on some 2011 UK DVDs from WHV, while the earlier variant appears on WHV releases of old New Line Cinema films, such as The Mask and The Wedding Singer.
 * Although it no longer appears on movie releases (except for the second disc of the 2014 DVD reissue of Enter the Dragon), it continued to be used on releases of television shows such as Adventure Time, Ben 10: Omniverse, Growing Pains, and Supernatural.
 * The first version was still used on Warner Archive Collection DVDs well into the 2010s, such as A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later and The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.
 * It also made a strange appearance at the beginning of the 2018 DVD of Blue's Clues & You! Blue's Big Baking Show instead of the 2012 warning screen.

 Editor's Note : While it might surprise people on their first viewing, it's actually a cool-looking screen.

April 18, 2006–present (HD DVD/BD/4K UHD Only)
 Warning : On a red background, white warning text fades in and out.

 Variant : On earlier 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays from WBHE, the warning cuts in and out from black with the warning text already there.

 FX/SFX : Just a typical fade in and fade out.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Seen at the end of all WHV/WBHE HD DVDs and most of their Blu-rays, such as The Last Samurai, North by Northwest, A Christmas Story (1983), and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Strangely, no warning of any kind appears at the end of the Blu-rays of Inception, Due Date, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, New Year's Eve, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. On DVD, it was seen on awards consideration discs of Argo and Her.

August 28, 2012–March 26, 2019; May 21, 2019; March 10–September 8, 2020
 Warning : Same as the 2012-present Sony Pictures Home Entertainment warning.

 Variants :
 * On the 2015 Warner Archive Blu-ray of The World According to Garp and a 2018 DVD reissue of Secondhand Lions, both screens fade in and out.
 * On the DVD and Blu-ray releases of Just Mercy, the Universal warning is used along with the Spanish translation.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Seen on all Warner releases from The Lucky One in 2012 until Aquaman in 2019, although it made surprise appearances on Blue's Accident, Isn't it Romantic, Just Mercy, and We Bare Bears: The Movie. It also appears on most 2012-2019 UK DVDs released by WHV/WBHE.