William Wyler
William Wyler was a master of the classic Hollywood style, crafting emotionally resonant dramas and sweeping epics with a visual elegance and technical precision that few directors could match. He holds a record of twelve nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director, and he won the Best Director award three times for Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959). Born in France in 1902, Wyler emigrated to the United States in 1921 and eventually found his way to Hollywood, where he became the youngest director working for Universal Studios. After directing many silent Westerns, he easily transitioned into sound films, directing classics in the 1930s such as Dodsworth (1936), Jezebel (1938), and Wuthering Heights (1939). In the postwar era, Wyler truly hit his stride, directing a series of films that cemented his reputation as a master craftsman and capturing powerful performances from Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, and many other notable movie stars. His films were usually commercial and critical successes, and we're happy to feature some of them here that are available for free online.
