Warner Bros. Pictures: Difference between revisions

{{PageButtons|Logo Variations=1|Warner Bros. Pictures|Print Logos=1|Trailers=1}}

{{Infobox company

|name=Warner Bros. Pictures

|{{w|Jack L. Warner}}

}}}}

===Background===

After remaining independent for its first 45 years in operation, Warner Bros. was subject to numerous acquisitions over the decades. First, the studio merged with [[Seven Arts Productions]] to become '''Warner Bros.-Seven Arts''' in 1967. Two years later, the studio was purchased by Kinney National Co., which was later reincorporated as Warner Communications in 1972, when it spun off its non-entertainment assets due to a financial scandal over its parking operations. In 1989, Warner Bros. became a subsidiary of Time Warner, a merger between Warner Communications and [[Time Inc.|Time, Inc.]] In 1992, Time Warner formed Time Warner Entertainment by merging all of its entertainment operations for the first time. In 2001, internet giant AOL merged with Time Warner to become AOL Time Warner, but its name was reverted back to Time Warner two years later due to lawsuits and losing $99 billion from the collapse of the dot-com bubble. AOL officially split from Time Warner in 2009. In 2018, after numerous legal hurdles, telecommunications company AT&T acquired Time Warner, which was later renamed [[WarnerMedia]] in 2018. The status of the acquisition was settled in February 2019, when it was upheld on appeal and the Justice Department declined to pursue their case against the acquisition any further.

|Warner-bros-1971-cowboys.jpg|7th Logo (February 4, 1970-February 25, 1972)

|Warner_Bros._'Man_in_the_Wilderness'_Opening.png|8th Logo (November 24, 1971-February 2, 1972?)

|Warner_Bros._Pictures_(1976)_'A_Star_Is_Born'_(Opening).png|10th Logo (February 7, 1973-1989)

|Warner_Bros._Pictures_(2022,_WBD_Byline,_B).png|14th Logo (January 14, 2021-)

}}

===1st Logo (August 1, 1925-March 24, 1929)===

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{{YouTube|id=W7wgTaHPvI4|id2=oUV65WLVyEA}}

'''Logo:''' On a background that looks like a forest, a large, bizarrely shaped shield is seen with a very wide top. The top part of the shield shows a picture of the original Warner studio in Hollywood, CA (now known as "Sunset Bronson Studios"), the bottom having a squashed, stylized "WB". "{{font|Times New Roman|a WARNER BROTHERS}}" is above the shield (with "{{font|Times New Roman|WARNER BROTHERS}}" in an arc around the shield, a la the first [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] logo), with "{{font|Times New Roman|CLASSIC ''of the'' SCREEN}}" below. Starting in 1926 or so, it changed to "{{font|Times New Roman|PRODUCTION}}".

*2nd Closing Title: The second variant is the one you see in the 3rd photo. On ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927), it was superimposed on a marble-like background.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None or the film's opening theme.

===2nd Logo (November 7, 1929-August 29, 1936)===

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{{YouTube|id=-DUnwR183x8}}

'''Logo:''' The words "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, Inc." appear, and "''& THE '''VITAPHONE''' CORP.''" appears below in a much smaller font, with the "VITAPHONE" in "electric" style letters. Below is a very small WB shield (using the stylized WB seen in the 1st logo), and in script, "{{font|Times New Roman|Present}}". Behind it we see a drawing of a flag "waving" so it looks like it is in three sections: on the first, "WARNER BROS." appears, followed by the electric-letter "VITAPHONE" logo and "PICTURES".

* A colorized version exists in which the logo (the text, the flag, and the shield) are colored {{color|gold|yellow}} and appear on a {{color|blue}} background.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None or the opening theme of the film.

===3rd Logo (July 21, 1934-December 18, 1937)===

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{{YouTube|id=rnBGPSKnllc|id2=wdz3QpyUD-U|id3=d-UTcGOfagY|id4=jpjNSV5gFGc}}

'''Logo:''' Over a cumulonimbus cloud setting, a superimposed WB shield design zooms in to the screen. The words "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, Inc. {{font|Times New Roman|Present}}" appear over the shield.

'''Closing Title:''' On a special background, superimposed on the last scene of a movie or the cloud background of the opening logo, we see the words "The End" in a fancy script font, with either the WB or the FN logos and "Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.", or rarely "Warner Bros. Productions Corporation", or "First National Pictures, Inc." below. Later, the disclaimer changed to either "A First National Picture" or "A Warner Bros. Picture" and the font for "The End" would change different times.

'''Music/Sounds:''' The opening theme of the movie.

===4th Logo (November 27, 1937-July 3, 1948)===

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Warner Bros. Pictures (french, 1941).jpg|French version

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{{YouTube|id=s_SBCt14XC8|id2=bBbn7ZgDbVc|id3=PcUMWcTaDZA|id4=gzfsJsF6KO0|id5=FGEh3DRjB88}}

'''Logo:''' Inside a shield, a more realistic version of the stylized "WB" from the previous logo appears. Over the shield is a banner that reads "'''WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC.'''" Below the logo is the word "{{font|Times New Roman|''Presents''}}" in script.

'''Closing Title:''' Superimposed on a special background or sometimes on the last scene of the movie, the huge words "The End" (with font varying on a movie) fade in, with the "WB" shield bug and "A WARNER BROS. PICTURE" in small letters below, but sometimes, due to the deal between WB and First National Pictures, the disclaimer was "A WARNER BROS.-FIRST NATIONAL PICTURE", or it was sometimes shortened to "A FIRST NATIONAL PICTURE" with the WB shield bug intact.

'''Music/Sounds:''' Usually the beginning of the movie's theme, or a majestic horn sounder composed by Max Steiner. On at least three films (''To Have and Have Not'', ''Confidential Agent'' and ''Dark Passage''), a different fanfare composed by Franz Waxman plays.

===5th Logo (July 31, 1948-November 1, 1967, February 7, 1974-August 31, 1979)===

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{{YouTube|id=vLHPuI0Ato8|id2=8xpTzkQvHdQ|id3=p1eDGITOz6M|id4=dgDdH_VKlEE}}

'''Variants:'''

* There were many different cloud background variants throughout the years.

* A {{color|tan|sepia}}-toned variant of this logo can be found on ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' and ''Bonnie and Clyde''.

These texts are seen sandwiched below "The End" and above the WB shield bug.

'''Music/Sounds:''' The Max Steiner majestic horn fanfare from the previous logo was used initially, and it was gradually phased out in favor of the movie's opening theme.

===6th Logo (January 20, 1968-November 12, 1970)===

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Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (french).jpg|French version

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{{YouTube|id=CM3ME-Ofb3g|id2=Y-89xH2rjcA|id3=us5YjlP9ews|id4=2njf1CeMDp8}}

'''Logo:''' Just a superimposed, stylized shield which can be white, {{color|gold|yellow}} or {{color|red}}. The shield features a combination of a "'''W'''" and a "'''7'''", representing Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. The "'''W7'''" is often drawn on-screen, a la the NBC Snake, although it's a still logo on a few films. Below the shield, "{{font|Impact|WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS}}" is seen. The word "Presents" usually appears under the shield.

'''Closing title:''' After the words "The End" and the credits, the words "Distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts" are seen superimposed in the last scene of the movie or on a special BG with the W7 shield bug below.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None or the film's opening theme.

===7th Logo (February 4, 1970-February 25, 1972)===

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{{YouTube|id=sdwxzyiFzPE|id2=SnQj-N8bcfA|id3=btXNS2B9HqA|id4=tMS2F9kJnQU|id5=pdb197-fVzA|id6=p0bgPOwpO30}}

'''Logo:''' On a {{color|blue}} background, we see an abstract shield (akin to those seen on posters for 1960s Warner Bros. films) in a {{color|gold|golden}} color with a {{color|brown|dark brownish}} color inside. The word "WB" (this time not stylized) is at the upper part, and a rectangle in the same colors is at the lower part of the shield with the Kinney byline inside. The word "{{color|orange|PRESENTS}}" appears underneath the logo.

'''Variants:'''

* German prints of ''There Was a Crooked Man...'' have a rare closing variant with the text in German and a cheaper version of the shield.

* Some films (including ''There Was a Crooked Man...'' and ''THX-1138'') had the logo on a black background.

* On the 1970 print of the 1956 film ''Giant'', the Kinney Shield appears over the classic WB clouds. It is unknown if this variant is preserved on any home video release.

'''Music/Sounds:''' Again, the opening/closing theme of the movie's theme or silence.

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{{YouTube|id=1Y4SRvYTSTM}}

'''Logo:''' On a background similar to the last logo, a bannerless WB shield is seen, with the design closer resembling the classic WB shield. "{{color|orange|'''A KINNEY LEISURE SERVICE'''}}" is seen below.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None, or in the case of ''The Man in the Wilderness'', the opening audio.

* Not helping matters is how even the aforementioned ''Man in the Wilderness'' used the Kinney Shield as its closing logo.

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{{YouTube|id=vCvOGMyV7Xk|id2=XrlQSbfHPd4|id3=z87YQzsPK1E}}

'''Logo:''' The standard WB shield logo, without the banner, appears on a {{color|blue}} background with "{{color|orange|A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY}}" underneath. "{{color|orange|''Presents''}}" in script may appear below.

* On the 2007 DVD and Blu-ray of ''Deliverance'', "''Presents''" underneath the byline is not present. This is likely due to said release using the original negative as the basis for its restoration as opposed to a 35mm inter-positive.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None or the opening theme of the film, although ''Get to Know Your Rabbit'' uses a horn-driven theme with a flute mixed in towards the end.

===10th Logo (February 7, 1973-1989)===

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{{YouTube|id=4r4_anvFZ3M|id2=N8mclLKzX-s|id3=yWoci4V3kFw|id4=XwOhdbGWhus}}

'''Logo:''' On a black background, an abstract "{{color|red|'''W'''}}", consisting of two slanted elongated circles and a shorter elongated circle, zooms towards us. Around halfway through, the words "'''WARNER BROS'''" (in the Warner Communications custom typeface, which resembles Saul Bass' earlier typeface, "Handel Gothic") appear below it. The {{color|red}} logo overtakes the screen as a smaller white "W" zooms in. It stops at the middle of the screen and a black square field, whose corners have been rounded and softened, fades in around the logo. "A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY", in the same font as "WARNER BROS", fades in below. Most of the time, "PRESENTS" also fades in below (in Helvetica).

'''Variants:'''

* Some early [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment|WCI Home Video]] releases have this closing variant sloppily tacked on at the end of some features, and replacing the Warner Bros. distribution logo at the end of early video prints of ''Mister Roberts'' (1955) and replacing the [[National General Corporation|National Pictures]] distribution logo at the end of the WCI print of ''Executive Action'' (1972).

'''Music/Sounds:''' Usually silent, but sometimes the film's opening theme plays over it.

'''Music/Sounds Variant:''' Oddly, on Warner Archive's Blu-ray release of ''The Drowning Pool'', it has the second half of the 1999 fanfare playing due to a plastering error, using the 2001 prints.

'''Availability:''' Used to be common, but due to it being plastered by the 11th and 12th logo (presumably the 14th one as well), it's now rare.

* It premiered on ''The Train Robbers'' and made its final regular appearance on ''Lassiter'', subsequently appearing on ''Finders Keepers'' and ''Irreconcilable Differences'' (as seen on the [[Vestron Video]] release and the 2009 [[Lionsgate Home Entertainment|Lionsgate]] DVD, as it uses the same VHS master).

* The "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS" variant with the different font has been found in a film print and a 1986 broadcast of ''Superman III''.

===11th Logo (April 13, 1984-February 2, 2001)===

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{{YouTube|id=2K4HgwUGRNA|id2=6ssRZKK48iM|id3=tYIIe8eCHz8|id4=njnV6szsPyU}}

'''Logo:''' Over a set of clouds (the same set used in the 1953 variant of the 5th logo), the WB shield appears (including the banner reading "{{font|Times New Roman|'''WARNER BROS. PICTURES'''}}"), with the byline of the owner at the bottom.

'''Bylines:'''

* June 8, 1984-September 14, 1990: "{{font|Times New Roman|'''A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY'''}}"

* March 9, 1990-February 26, 1993: "{{font|Times New Roman|'''A TIME WARNER COMPANY'''}}"

* August 14, 1992-February 2, 2001: "{{font|Times New Roman|'''A TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY'''}}"

'''Variants:'''

* May 12, 2000-February 2, 2001: Only the words "{{font|Times New Roman|'''DISTRIBUTED BY'''}}" appear above the shield, and the text on the banner is redone. Some films like ''The In Crowd'', ''Get Carter'' and ''Miss Congeniality'' have the banner simply reading "{{font|Times New Roman|'''WARNER BROS.'''}}". A URL is also added below the byline. There is also a print closing logo, but it's very rare and was seen on ''Invictus''.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None or the opening theme or audio of the film.

* The TWE byline variant is not preserved on the [[20th Century Fox Home Entertainment|20th Century Studios Home Entertainment]] 4K release of the Regency film ''Heat''; it only shows the Regency logo.

===12th Logo (January 16, 1998-November 26, 2020, February 20-March 31, 2021,  March 18, 2022)===

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'''Bylines:'''  

'''Variants:'''

** There is a flat/open-matte and scope version of the logo. The flat and 1.37:1 "academy" versions vertically stretches the tinted picture of the Warner Bros. studio, while the cloud background is normal. The scope and open matte versions have the tinted photo as normal and the cloud background horizontally stretches as the shield zooms out further.

** On the 75 Years montage intro, a version exists where a copyright stamp "©Warner Bros. 1998" (uppercased in the Warner Bros. banner with a space between the copyright stamp "© WARNER BROS., 1998" and the company name) fades in with the Time Warner Entertainment byline (a la the 1997 [[Universal Pictures]] logo). This appears in both 4:3 and scope.

* A somewhat enhanced WB shield can be seen on ''NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience'', ''Clash of the Titans'', ''Hubble 3D'', ''Born to Be Wild 3D'', and 3D international releases of ''Beowulf''. The animation revealing the shield is quicker, the flash reflection on the banner when the shield is revealed is not as bright, the inside of the shield is a {{color|dodgerblue|brighter blue}}, the banner around the shield is shinier, the cloud background is further back, and the shield zooms out further more.

* A version of the logo exists in which Bugs Bunny walks from the shield, does a Vanna pose, and eats a carrot. This version was used for Warner Bros. Family Entertainment for a short time.

* On a TV airing of ''Miss Congeniality'', the byline underneath the 2001 version of the logo is blurred and reads "'''A TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY'''" in the Arial font. It is unknown whether or not this variant was remade by technicians.  

* On FX, FXX and FXM airings of ''The Negotiator'', the 2003 version of the logo with the TimeWarner byline is still.

* A scope version of the closing logo has a much zoomed out shield, much like the IMAX variant. This was spotted on ''We Are Marshall''.

'''Music/Sounds:'''

* In other cases, it uses the opening theme of the movie or silence.

* Several classic films, including the first two ''Lethal Weapon'' films (current prints of ''Lethal Weapon 3'' still retain the 1990 logo), ''Superman II'', ''III'' and ''IV: The Quest for Peace'', ''The Exorcist'', ''Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior'' (though the "Big W" has been retained on the original 1997 DVD release), ''The Lost Boys'', ''Blazing Saddles'', ''All the President's Men'', ''Falling Down'', ''Return of the Living Dead Part II'', recent [[HBO Family Original Programming|HBO Family]] airings of ''Casablanca'' (plastering the black-and-white 4th logo) and current prints of the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' series (with the exception of ''European Vacation'') have had their old logos plastered with this one in lieu of the "Shield of Staleness", though this one is mainly found on the most recent releases.

* The WarnerMedia byline version made its first official appearance on ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies''.

* The Japanese anime movie, ''Gintama: The Movie'' (subtitled ''A New Retelling Benizakura Arc'' in Japan), had the logo shown 3 times, while the Japanese live action movie, ''Gintama 2'', had the logo shown 2 times.

* The AOL Time Warner byline variant makes surprise appearances at the end of Amazon Prime Video's print of ''Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie'' and a TCM France airing of ''Ransom''.

* Surprisingly, the 2011 enhanced TimeWarner version is retained on 2010s-present prints of ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' where it is preceded by the [[Universal Pictures|2013 Universal Pictures logo]].

* Used in tandem with the next logo until November 26, 2020.

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{{YouTube|id=z7qSCT4gTBw}}

'''Logo:''' It starts the same way as the previous logo, then we see the new 2019 Warner Bros. shield without a banner swing in fully upright from the left of screen against the same cloudy sky background as the previous logo. The "WB" text reflects various other clouds. As the shield zooms out into position, the sky background fades to black and the 2019 WarnerMedia byline now reading "a '''Warner'''Media company" in a modified AT&T Aleck Sans font fades in below. The shield shines throughout.  

'''Trivia:'''

* The new WB shield was introduced on November 13, 2019, and was created by Pentagram.  

'''Closing Variant:''' Just the finished logo, with "Distributed by" above and the URL below. This would be the final closing variant to feature these.

'''Music/Sounds:''' The opening theme of the movie or none.

'''Availability:''' Rare, due to this logo being a placeholder.

* It debuted on ''Tenet'' and later appeared on ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (as a variant).

* A still of this logo can be seen on the opening of ''Judas and the Black Messiah''.

===14th Logo (January 14, 2021-)===

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File:Warner Bros. Pictures (2021) - Studio Lot.png|The studio lot

File:Warner Bros Pictures (2022, cropped).png|Official Warner Bros. Discovery byline variant (16:9, cropped to scope)

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{{YouTube|id=rf4R14biBTE|id2=YaIsgPic7ks|id3=WldhV4o085Y}}

{{Vimeo|id=558874935|title1=WB Logo 2021}}

'''Trivia:'''

* The logo depicts the sun rising over the Cahuenga Pass to the south. In real life, the sun rises in the east, over the Forest Lawn cemetery and the [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Studios]].

'''Closing Variant:''' The tail end of the opening logo with no extra text. Here, the logo stays on-screen for at least 4 extra seconds before fading out. This is the first time that the "Distributed by" text above is not used, and the first time since 2000 that the URL below is absent.

'''Music/Sounds:''' A re-orchestrated version of the 12th logo's theme, now played in a different key (this time in E♭ major). It has a more powerful, more orchestra-sounding build-up and the opening notes are now played on a guitar and flute as opposed to a piano. This was composed by Ludwig Göransson. It is unknown what samples are used (probably Spitfire Audio or Cinesamples).

'''Music/Sounds Variants:'''

* Some films, most notably the first few films to use this logo, have either the opening theme of the movie or silence.

* On the intro video for Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, the 1998 arrangement of the fanfare is used, transitioning from "As Time Goes By" from ''Casablanca'' (archival audio), as soon as Sam (played by Dooley Wilson) sings the phrase "The fundamental things apply...".

* The logo first debuted on the [[HBO Max Originals|HBO Max]] original movie ''Locked Down'' and appeared on later films from the company since then.

* The logo with the fanfare debuted on ''Non Mi Uccidere'' and ''Rurouni Kenshin: Final Act - Part 1: The Final'', released on April 21 and 23, 2021 in Italy and Japan respectively; and later made its North American debut on ''King Richard'', released on November 19, 2021.

*'''2003-:''' Copyright © by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

*[[w:Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures]] on Wikipedia

*[https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0002663&sort=release_date,asc Warner Bros. Pictures filmography] on IMDb

[[Category:Warner Bros.]]

[[Category:Warner Bros. Discovery]]