Warner Bros. Pictures: Difference between revisions

Warner Bros (1924).jpg|Colored version

'''Visuals:''' 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}}".

'''Closing Titles:''' There are two closing titles for this WB era:

*1st Closing Title: There are the words "{{font|Times New Roman|'''''THE END'''''}}" all in capitals on both sides of the WB shield, with "{{font|Times New Roman|'''''THE'''''}}" on the left and "{{font|Times New Roman|'''''END'''''}}" on the right. The "T" on "THE" and the "E" on "END" are bigger than the other letters. Below the shield, we see "A WARNER BROTHERS CLASSIC OF THE SCREEN" in big capital letters. But on some movies, the WB shield was omitted. For example, ''Beau Brummel'' (1924) had a background with some books and two candles on both sides of the screen. Above the books, we see the "The End" in a small, fancy white script arched above a small "A WARNER BROTHERS "CLASSIC of the SCREEN"" text.

*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.

'''Availability:''' Evidence of it was seen on a Warner Bros. 75th Anniversary trailer on 1998 Warner videos. However, it appeared at the start of the film ''The Jazz Singer'' and was kept intact on the 75th Anniversary DVD as well as on the 1981 [[Magnetic Video Corporation|Magnetic Video]] release, where it's preceded by the [[United Artists]] "Transamerica T" logo.  

* This is retained on all extant silent-era Warner Bros. films shown on TCM, such as ''The Better 'Ole''.  

'''Visuals:''' 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".

'''Trivia:''' [[First National Pictures|The First National Company]] also used this logo, but with the words "FIRST NATIONAL" instead of "WARNER BROS. PICTURES". Also, on some features, only a large banner saying "VITAPHONE" was shown, omitting the First National or the Warner Bros. logo.

'''Variant:''' On some films, the NRA logo is shown on the bottom right.

'''Availability:''' It's preserved on any Warner Bros. film from this era, including pre-1999 video releases by [[Magnetic Video Corporation|Magnetic Video]], [[CBS/Fox Video]], [[Key Video]], and [[MGM/UA Home Entertainment|MGM/UA Home Video]].  

'''Legacy:''' This logo would mark the first appearance of the shield without the Warner Bros. building on the top of it, and is therefore the more recognizable version of the shield.

'''Visuals:''' Over a cumulonimbus cloud setting, a superimposed WB shield design zooms in to the screen.

* On early films like ''Here Comes the Navy'', ''Housewife'' and ''Dames'' (all 1934), the shield is seen on a white backdrop. Instead of the shield zooming into the camera, the opposite takes place.

* On ''The Goose and the Gander'' (1935), the shield is a still image, and is in the same style as the previous logo's shield.  

* On ''God's Country and the Woman'' (1937), the shield is different and looks like the WB shield bug on the closing version of the 5th logo.  

* The logo appears on a projection screen as the conclusion to the prologue that was added to the 1949 re-release of ''G Men'' (1935).  

'''Closing Title:''' On a special background, superimposed on the last scene of a movie or the cloud background of the opening logo, there are 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.

'''Availability:''' It's seen on films from the period and occasionally seen on TCM or preserved on Warner Archive DVD and Blu-ray releases. Examples are ''The Petrified Forest'', ''Dames'' (1934), ''Captain Blood'' (1935), ''The Life of Emile Zola'' and ''Marked Woman'' (1937).  

* Its first known appearance is on ''Here Comes the Navy'' and made its final theatrical appearance on ''She Loved a Fireman''.

'''Visuals:''' 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.

* For color releases, the shield was {{color|tan|bronze}} colored and the background was {{color|red}}.

* Starting in 1942, "JACK L. WARNER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER" was seen below the Warner Bros. Pictures banner.

* Starting in 1944, the word "'''PRESENTS'''" is now in the same font as the Warner Bros. Pictures banner.

* A colorized version of this logo on some colorized black and white films, with a {{color|blue}} background, a {{color|gold}} shield and a {{color|red}} inside, exists on ''The Maltese Falcon'' and ''Casablanca'', among others.

** Some colorized films have the {{color|blue}} and {{color|red}} colors inverted, making the interior of the shield {{color|blue}}, similar to the next logo.

* On ''Submarine D-1'' (1937), the first film to feature this logo, the word "{{font|Monotype Corsiva|Present}}" in script fades in on the shield below the banner and the shield is a slightly different design.

* The revised 1937-1938 versions of the standard variant have a slightly different background, though this might actually be due to increased contrast levels. Seen on notable films such as ''Jezebel'' (1938) and ''The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1938).

'''Closing Title:''' Superimposed on a special background, or sometimes on the last scene of the movie, the huge words "The End" (with font varying, depending on the movie) fade in, with the "WB" shield bug and "A WARNER BROS. PICTURE" in small letters below. 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.

'''Availability:''' It's seen on Warner releases of the period, like ''Casablanca'' on TCM and on DVD/Blu-ray, among others. It premiered on ''Submarine D-1'' and made its final appearance on ''Romance on the High Seas''.

'''Visuals:''' Same as before, but the design has been cleaned up a bit. The border of the shield, banner, text, and "WB" are now {{color|gold}}, and the inside of the shield is now {{color|blue}}. The banner phrase is now changed to "{{font|Times New Roman|'''WARNER BROS. PICTURES'''}}" and is now {{color|gold}}. "{{font|Times New Roman|''Presents''}}", in the same font as the previous logo, usually appears below. Also, the background is now a cloud skyline (much like the logos of 1984 on). For the later years, this logo was usually superimposed onto the titles of Warner features of this period.

* A B&W version of this logo exists, and it appears in several films, and the first film to have this logo is ''Key Largo''.

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

* Some films, most notably ''The Crimson Pirate'' and ''The Master of Ballantrae'', had this logo on a different cloud skyline.

* On 3D films and some 2D films that were originally planned to be made in 3D, such as ''House of Wax'', ''Hondo'', ''Dial M for Murder'', ''Them!'', ''The High and the Mighty'', ''Rebel Without a Cause'', ''East of Eden'', ''Mister Roberts'', ''The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell'', and ''Drum Beat'' (where this variant is presented in CinemaScope), the WB shield is a live-action model and the banner is straightened. This variant was used from 1953 until 1956, and was also used for logo plastering, as was the case for reissue prints of the 1951 film ''Force of Arms'' (aka ''A Girl for Joe'').

* One or more film that had the "Presents" text absent appeared on Alfred Hitchcock's ''Under Capricorn'', ''New York Confidential'', and the 1961 Canadian film ''The Mask''.

* There is an another rare version seen on some ''Scope Gem'' travelogues like ''Alpine Glory'', when we see a WB shield on a different cloud background, then the 3D text "'''WARNER BROS. PICTURES''' PRESENTS" with "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" in a [[20th Century Studios|TCF]] CinemaScope-like font, zooms fast into the screen (a la [[Viacom Productions|Viacom]]'s "V of Doom" logo) then stops after that.

* Some films, most notably ''Battle of the Bulge'' and ''Cool Hand Luke'', had this logo on a black background. There is also a French version of this.

* Sometimes, the banner reads "{{font|Times New Roman|'''WARNER BROS. PICTURES'''}} INC." like the previous logo, except the "INC." is really tiny and seen on the very right. This version can be seen on films such as ''The Prince and the Showgirl''.

* A German version exists where the "Presents" text is replaced with "zeigen", as well as the shield being outlined white. One case has "zeigen" chyroned over the "presents" text in the three-dimensional shield variant.

* On the Japanese release of ''None but the Brave'' (1965), the company name is written in Japanese katakana.

* 1st Closing Title: Was the same as above, seen only with the "A Warner Bros.-First National Picture" and "A First National Picture" text.

* 2nd Closing Title: Superimposed on the last scene of the movie or a special background, the words "The End" with font varies on that movie fades in with the WB shield bug between two thick lines below. Sometimes, the following disclaimers were used:

'''Audio:''' 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.

'''Audio Variant:''' On ''New York Confidential'', the logo had a different fanfare, composed by Joseph Mullendore.

'''Availability:''' Seen on prints of many Warner Bros. films on AMC and TCM and preserved on Warner Archive Collection or [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]] DVD releases.  

* This logo made its first full-color appearance in ''The Rope'' and made its final appearance in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (copyrighted to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, as the merger had finished by the time the film was completed).

* The logo was briefly revived for a short time in 1974 starting with ''Blazing Saddles'', and it was later used on some films albeit using a variation until in 1979, when it made its last appearance on ''Time After Time''.

'''Legacy:''' This is the most well-known version of the Warner Bros. shield, according to ''the Movie title stills collection'' [http://annyas.com/screenshots/warner-bros-logo/ Warner Bros.] website. This particular design was listed as the 12th best corporate logo by ''Complex Magazine'' for its longevity and "iconic" status.

'''Visuals:''' 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.

'''Technique:''' 2D animation; sometimes done over the backdrop of a specific movie.

'''Availability:''' Seen on some Warner Bros. films (during the Seven Arts-era of the studio) of the period, though it's usually replaced with a newer logo, such as on pre-1998 prints of ''Bullitt'' (which were plastered by the 1984 Warner Communications "Shield of Staleness", with the exception of the 1980 [[WCI Home Video]] release) and on the WCI release of ''The Green Berets'' (where the 1972 "Big W" plasters it).  

'''Visuals:''' On a {{color|blue}} background, there is an abstract shield (akin to those seen on posters for 1960s Warner Bros. films) in a {{color|gold|golden}} color with a {{color|saddlebrown|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.

* At the end of the film, we sometimes see the byline "Distributed by WARNER BROS." or "Distributed by WARNER BROS. INC." on top of (or, in the case of ''THX-1138'', underneath) a superimposed rendition of the company logo. (On earlier films from 1970, such as ''Chisum'' and ''The Battle of Cable Hogue'', there is no banner/byline on the superimposed version.)

* Some films, including ''McCabe'' and ''Mrs. Miller'', had a two-dimensional version of the shield appearing in white over a black background.