The Brothers Warner (2008)

Written directed produced and narrated by Cass Warner Sperling this is an exceptional documentary about the men that created the movie empire that bore their name: the Warner Brothers studio (et al). The film begins at the beginning from their humble start as poor Jewish immigrants to the United States rejected by the wealthier established German Jewish bankers documenting the brothers’ early insight into Hitler’s evil and the (sometimes subtle) ways that they campaigned against fascism in their movies their penchant for socially relevant content willingness to take technological risks – including bringing about the first talkie (The Jazz Singer (1927)) and the birth of the sound era to what was a silent film industry – and their patriotism during World War II and participation in the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings afterwards. Ms. Sperling gives us an in-depth view of the brothers’ differing personalities – a diversity that led to their greatness fortifying them at the beginning through tough economic times and for many profitable decades but also later contributed to personal downfall and a stunning ego-born betrayal. The story is a compelling drama told through interviews with family and many of the studio’s actors actresses and other connected personalities (Dennis Hopper Sherry Lansing Debbie Reynolds Norman Lear George Segal Angie Dickinson Tab Hunter Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Roy Disney among others) and contains lots of priceless archive footage of the brothers’ lives.

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