William Wyler on Blu-ray

[Professor Echo]

Fantastic idea for a thread and a long time in coming. Having been a part of the film industry, both as an outsider and insider, since I was a teenager, I've seen a lot of things come and go. One of the saddest is witnessing the gradual decline in recognition of certain figures of film history who at one time seemed immortal. Such is William Wyler, who in the 70's was rightly revered as one of the all time great directors and practically critic proof, even amongst the elitist, fickle critics who prevailed in those days.

But since then, for whatever reason, his standing began to fade and sadly nowadays many new cinephiles don't hold him in much regard, if any at all. My film teacher friend in London says his students have no idea who he was. Really, it's comparing apples and oranges, but a director like Richard Fleischer seems to have much more familiarity and cache these days than Wyler. For a long time this fate also befell John Huston, yet another genius in film history, but lately he seems to finally be coming into his own. While the snob critics of the 70's worshiped Wyler, most couldn't care less about Huston. As I said, things come and go. But truly, Wyler needs to be exhibited more and taught more and his legacy preserved as strongly as it once seemed destined to be.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Fantastic idea for a thread and a long time in coming. Having been a part of the film industry, both as an outsider and insider, since I was a teenager, I've seen a lot of things come and go. One of the saddest is witnessing the gradual decline in recognition of certain figures of film history who at one time seemed immortal. Such is William Wyler, who in the 70's was rightly revered as one of the all time great directors and practically critic proof, even amongst the elitist, fickle critics who prevailed in those days.

But since then, for whatever reason, his standing began to fade and sadly nowadays many new cinephiles don't hold him in much regard, if any at all. My film teacher friend in London says his students have no idea who he was. Really, it's comparing apples and oranges, but a director like Richard Fleischer seems to have much more familiarity and cache these days than Wyler. For a long time this fate also befell John Huston, yet another genius in film history, but lately he seems to finally be coming into his own. While the snob critics of the 70's worshiped Wyler, most couldn't care less about Huston. As I said, things come and go. But truly, Wyler needs to be exhibited more and taught more and his legacy preserved as strongly as it once seemed destined to be.

I agree. When I was in college studying cinema, the students who know anything about classic or foreign cinema would be familiar with such figures as Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Almodovar, Lang, Murnau, Ozu, and such, whereas the classical Hollywood directors, Wyler at the top for me, would be unknown to them.

William Wellman, King Vidor, Frank Borzage, and Fred Zinnemann, among some others, seems to have fallen by the wayside as far as their acclaim and importance in cinema history being remembered today. And I'm sure you know, these guys were big names back in their day.

It seems Frank Capra, John Ford, Howard Hawks and Elia Kazan have faired better with time, and are more recognizable names nowadays.

[Dailyan]

"How to Steal a Million" was my first introduction to Wyler (I can't remember if I ever caught "Ben-Hur" on TV) and I felt a bit indifferent towards it. Eventually, I picked up Kino's release of "The Big Country" and enjoyed it quite a lot. I dug into the extras and watched the "Directed by William Wyler" doc. What sold me on getting more into Wyler's filmography was the scene from "The Best Years of Our Lives" when Homer comes home from war; I rarely cry during films but that scene hit a real emotional chord for me.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

"How to Steal a Million" was my first introduction to Wyler (I can't remember if I ever caught "Ben-Hur" on TV) and I felt a bit indifferent towards it. Eventually, I picked up Kino's release of "The Big Country" and enjoyed it quite a lot. I dug into the extras and watched the "Directed by William Wyler" doc. What sold me on getting more into Wyler's filmography was the scene from "The Best Years of Our Lives" when Homer comes home from war; I rarely cry during films but that scene hit a real emotional chord for me.

That is an unfortunate starting point. It's one of the few of his films I'm not crazy about. I think it's decent, but I'd never recommend it to someone new to his work.

The Big Country and all his films with Samuel Goldwyn would be my recommendations. However, that's not to say that his films Universal, Warner or Paramount aren't great, because they are.

[harpolini]

It was not directed by Wyler, but it needs mention. The documentary, The Cold Blue took all the footage Wyler shot aboard B17's during WWII.

It was one of the best documentaries of last year (HBO). Kino Lorber released it on blu-ray last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmwm4VPW7RY&t=2s

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by harpolini

It was not directed by Wyler, but it needs mention. The documentary, The Cold Blue took all the footage Wyler shot aboard B17's during WWII.

It was one of the best documentaries of last year (HBO). Kino Lorber released it on blu-ray last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmwm4VPW7RY&t=2s

Forgot to add this one. Now I did... thanks to you!