The Brothers Warner (2008)

When you hear Warner Bros, you’ll probably think about movies or the Looney Tunes. You will not immediately think about a couple of brothers who together started the company that became the name it is now. This documentary, made by a family member, tells the story of how they started and what they did to make the company as well known as it is.

The move shows a lot of interesting facts:
– The last name is not really the real name of the brothers (the real name is revealed in the movie). After travelling from Russia (now Poland) to America the father of the brothers chose a new last name.
– The brothers started with a Nickelodeon, which was a small theatre where visitors, who payed a nickel, could watch short movies, most often with accompanying music played on organ or piano
– The jazz zinger was the first succesfull movie with sound and meant a breakthrough for the Warner brothers. This inspired Walt Disney to make Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon with Mickey Mouse
– Warner Bros was the only studio that started working very early on an anti nazi movie and wouldn’t budge for any pressure on them from other studios or Germany
– How one of the brothers changed their relationship forever

Many other facts are shown in the documentary, based on stories by family members, actors and other people that worked with the brothers. Of course there will be some facts that are not complete (as the movie has been made by a family member), but this doesn’t change the power of this documentary about one of the big names in the movie industry. As a movie you should really grab your chance to watch behind the scenes and see how this company came to be.
Over the years Warner Bros released a lot of classic movies (for example Casablanca, Treasure from the Sierra madre and the Wizard of Oz). So don’t miss this chance if you are interested in the subject.

Score: 8