Harpo Films

Harpo Films is the film unit of Oprah Winfrey's production company Harpo Studios.

1st Logo (October 26, 1997-February 22, 1998)

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Visuals: The camera pans down from a yellow-tinted sky, towards a tree that has lost a significant amount of its leaves. As the view continues to move, the sky turns blue, the tree's leaves grow, and a grassy surface with a path leading up to the tree is revealed. When the camera settles, "harpo films" fades in on both sides of the tree. Stray leaves fly around the screen throughout the sequence.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: An orchestral flourish, with a predominant pizzicato melody throughout.

Availability

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Media Title	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
Before Women Had Wings IMDb	November 2, 1997	Debut appearance
The Wedding IMDb	February 22, 1998	Final appearance

2nd Logo (October 8, 1998-December 11, 2007)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is a small square in the middle of the screen with a picture of a young girl sitting on a rocking chair reading a book. The shining words "harpo films" surround the girl.

Trivia: The logo represents a portrait of Oprah as a young girl reading on the porch of her childhood home in Mississippi.

Variants:

• The long version of this logo has the camera panning down to the left to reveal the girl on the rocking chair on a porch. Seconds later, a square surrounds the girl, segueing into the rest of the animation.
• A short version of the above variant exists, starting from when the box surrounds the girl.

Technique: Mostly live action. This logo was designed by Eric J. Smith of Shine Studios along with Imaginary Forces.

Audio: None or the opening/closing theme of the movie.

Availability

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Media Title	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
Beloved IMDb	October 8, 1998	Debut appearance
Tuesdays with Morrie IMDb	December 5, 1999
Their Eyes Were Watching God IMDb	2004
Mitch Albom's For One More Day IMDb	December 9, 2007
The Great Debaters IMDb	December 11, 2007	Final appearance

3rd Logo (July 30, 2014-)

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Visuals: Same as the current Harpo Studios logo, but it is silver and gold on a black background. The name has been changed to "HARPOFILMS". Also, the rings spin differently towards the end.

Variants:

• On When They See Us, only the finished logo is shown.
• On The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the logo is still on a white background.
• On The Color Purple, the text reads "OW FILMS" instead. Also, the logo is tinted in purple, with the background in a darker shade of purple.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A 4-note guitar jingle accompanied by strings. Whooshes are heard throughout. Composed by BAM Studios.

Audio Variant: Sometimes, the opening or closing theme of the movie or show is used instead.

Availability

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Media Title	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
The Hundred-Foot Journey IMDb	July 30, 2014	Debut appearance
Selma IMDb	November 11, 2014
Greenleaf IMDb	June 21, 2016-August 11, 2016 Episode 1-60
Queen Sugar IMDb	September 6, 2016-November 29, 2022 Episode 1-88
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks IMDb	April 22, 2017
When They See Us IMDb	May 31, 2019 Episode 1-4
David Makes Man IMDb	August 14, 2019-August 24, 2021 Episode 1-20
Delilah IMDb	March 9, 2021-April 27, 2021 Episode 1-8
The Color Purple IMDb	October 27, 2023

External Links

• Harpo Films filmography  on IMDb