DVD Review (Posted on 06-21-2018)

In case you were occupied with the results of The 2018 NBA Finals Championship between the Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Golden State Warriors, let alone The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, after months of dispute, AT&T secures their purchase of Time Warner for $85 billion, which happens to include Warner Bros. Studios. Whether or not you approve of this purchase, more money is coming in which guarantees higher quality movies, better business decisions and well-managed staff members (if only you knew).

Perhaps staff members of AT&T, be it interns or top executives, may receive word of this DVD review because it is our obligation to make this a perfect supplement to learn about WB and its history. In other words, get to know the businesses you purchased before you make valid decisions in "house cleaning" when making room for your own workers.

What may seem like another documentary perfectly fit for public television, the feature presentation provides a lot of content and history enough to get the viewer(s) to learn and take in what made WB where it is today. Started by four brothers—Abe, Jack, Harry and Sam—whose parents immigrated from Poland. After seeing a few talkies at theaters, one of the brothers decided they could create something more exciting and thrilling, thus making movies their ultimate life/business goal. First movie that became a hit: My First Four Years In Germany. Opening their first studio at Sunset Boulevard, WB was ready to take on the bigger studios, namely Paramount and MGM. Needing big stars to represent and act out in their new films, one of them was Rin Tin Tin—a German Shepard that became a huge hit acting out in The Lighthouse By The Sea. After a handful of hires to help write and produce WB's films, the studio won its first Oscar with their 1937 movie The Life of Emile Zola; Another Oscar won was for the timeless classic Casablanca. As a matter of fact, four of WB's Best Picture awards were given to films that spoke out about intolerance and injustice (looking at the breaking news being reported nowadays, this is your chance to shine, WB!).

After injecting sound into their films, WB was unstoppable. Mega hits such as The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady were Oscar-quality classics that made the studio a household name. By 1930, WB owned 25% of the theaters in America. Their cinematic growth allowed them to nearly purchase MGM, FOX and UA, but went on to buy First National located in Burbank, California. It's been almost 90 years but the building still continues to stand:


(I took this photo personally in front of Gate 3, across from Gate 2.)

Funny how time flies.

After all the facts mentioned in WB's history, big-time names were talked about who contributed to the studio's franchise. I'm sure you've heard at least one of these folks before: Ruby Keeler, James Cagney, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, and also Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. A gentlemen named Mel Blanc does the voice of Bugs Bunny and tells viewers how he came up with Bugs' vocal style.

Then comes another line of amazing names that graced WB and their stages: Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan, Lauren Bacall, John Wayne, James Dean, Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor and Doris Day.

Suddenly, the time came: Jack Warner grew tired of moviemaking, causing him to sell Warner Bros. Studios to Seven Arts [Productions]. The last movie Jack made was Camelot. After being bought out, WB sought a decline let alone an empty lot with no current projects in production. However, WB hired a few interns who were students of USC. You likely heard of these gentlemen before: George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.



While the decline continued, Seven Arts sold out to Kinney and Steven J. Ross—Kinney National Company. After bringing back the franchise out of the swamp, WB has struck again with big-time classics such as Woodstock, The Exorcist, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.

Next come the last batch of top names that helped get WB back on track: Jack Nicholson, Barbara Steisand, Jane Fonda, Goldie Hawn, Richard Donner, Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood.

Speaking of which, this feature presentation was narrated and introduced by the top stars themselves: Clint Eastwood, Barbara Streisand, Goldie Hawn, Steven Spielberg, and Chevy Chase. Interspersed are the actual clips of classic films presented and talked about during WB's tenure up to the nineties, since WB is still in business today.

The quality of this video looked like it was digitized from the original VHS source, with the video dot crawl visible on some clips, but the audio is clean and was leveled nicely. There were a couple of parts where I felt the audio peaked higher than normal, but that shouldn't be too loud to scare you.

I can't recommend a better DVD providing a generous, simple history of WB besides this. It doesn't overwhelm the viewer(s) with details and information that may be too technical to understand. It also runs through some of the rare films that were seldom watched and recognized by the modern movie fan, along with the top-grossing titles in which WB has proven its artistic craft of filmmaking. Even though I never lived during those times, I think it's time we demand a call in bringing back the old WB. Time to inject some changes in the offices and production crew to make WB what is used to be back then (despite the quality of the movies today).

If you're an employee, or you know anyone who is an employee of AT&T and are reading this review, not only do I suggest this to get you up to par with the history of Warner Bros. Studios, but take note: Get rid of the rotten apples that has put WB in a rut, and freshen up with new seeds who can contribute and help re-grow the trees of WB (minus the egos, of course). There's a perfectly good reason why you can't "un-burn" a candle back to its original state in hopes to keep the flame burning again.

It's your chance, AT&T. Do it! And take our advice as you'll know what we're getting at after recommending this fantastic DVD. Highly recommended!



We also highly recommend shopping at their online shop! Find what you want at WBShop.com:


© 2008-2018 written and reviewed personally by Kris Caballero.

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