History Creator / KingVidor

King Wallis Vidor (February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, who did many things to merit his [[MeaningfulName lofty name]]. He was [[OurFounder the founder]] of the Director's Guild of America (it started in his house) and was ThePioneer in editing, composition, and large-scale films. ''Film/TheBigParade'' was the BreakthroughHit for Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer studios and one of the greatest UsefulNotes/WorldWarI films ever made. ''Film/TheCrowd'' would be regarded as one of the masterpieces of silent cinema while ''Film/ShowPeople'' stands as one of the great comedies of the era, showcasing Creator/MarionDavies' talents, which led even Creator/OrsonWelles to lament the negative reputation that ''Film/CitizenKane'' attached to her by association with Hearst. He also took over directing duties for ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' from Victor Fleming, who went on to direct ''Film/GoneWithTheWind.'' Notably, Vidor directed the sepia tone Kansas scenes, and Dorothy's first encounter with the Scarecrow (at least the version that appears in the finished film). Vidor would not publicly reveal his involvement with the film until after Fleming's death in 1949.

Vidor, however, regarded technical limitations as [[DareToBeBadass challenges]]. When sound arrived, when most studios were making stage-bound flat films with no cinematic invention, Vidor went ahead and made ''Hallelujah'' an all-black musical shot on location in the DeepSouth with sound recorded on location. It was FairForItsDay and an incredible technical achievement. Vidor's films after that tended to [[OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt alternate personal films]] with [[MoneyDearBoy commercial work]] and many of his personal films are still rare and underseen which means that by and large, despite being regarded as, perhaps, the world's greatest director in the '20s or mid-'30s, subsequent generations has seen him decline in favor of Creator/JohnFord, Creator/HowardHawks, Orson Welles (who admired his films) and Creator/AlfredHitchcock. His film adaptation of Creator/AynRand's ''Film/TheFountainhead'' did little to win him favors either, though Vidor himself had reservations about Rand and the film is visually sophisticated. Nor did a film like ''Beyond the Forest'', which its star Creator/BetteDavis regarded as an OldShame and which darkened his reputation.

Vidor, however, was keen on DoingItForTheArt and for regarding technical limitations as [[DareToBeBadass challenges]]. When sound arrived, when most studios were making stage-bound flat films with no cinematic invention, Vidor went ahead and made ''Hallelujah'' an all-black musical shot on location in the DeepSouth with sound recorded on location. It was FairForItsDay and an incredible technical achievement. Vidor's films after that tended to [[OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt alternate personal films]] with [[MoneyDearBoy commercial work]] and many of his personal films are still rare and underseen which means that by and large, despite being regarded as, perhaps, the world's greatest director in the '20s or mid-'30s, subsequent generations has seen him decline in favor of Creator/JohnFord, Creator/HowardHawks, Orson Welles (who admired his films) and Creator/AlfredHitchcock. His film adaptation of Creator/AynRand's ''Film/TheFountainhead'' did little to win him favors either, though Vidor himself had reservations about Rand and the film is visually sophisticated. Nor did a film like ''Beyond the Forest'', which its star Creator/BetteDavis regarded as an OldShame and which darkened his reputation.

King Wallis Vidor (February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, who did many things to merit his [[MeaningfulName lofty name]]. He was [[OurFounder the founder]] of the Director's Guild of America (it started in his house) and was ThePioneer in editing, composition, and large-scale films. ''Film/TheBigParade'' was the BreakthroughHit for Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer studios and one of the greatest UsefulNotes/WorldWarI films ever made. ''Film/TheCrowd'' would be regarded as one of the masterpieces of silent cinema while ''Film/ShowPeople'' stands as one of the great comedies of the era, showcasing Creator/MarionDavies' talents, which led even Creator/OrsonWelles to lament the negative reputation that ''Film/CitizenKane'' attached to her by association with Hearst. He also took over directing duties for ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' from Victor Fleming, who went on to direct ''Film/GoneWithTheWind.'' Notably, Vidor directed the sepia tone Kansas scenes, and Dorothy's first encounter with the Scarecrow (at least the version that appears in the finished film).

Vidor ventured into the EpicMovie with an adaptation of ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' with Creator/AudreyHepburn and ''Solomon and Sheba'' with Creator/YulBrynner but he then retired from Hollywood. Though even in retirement, he made experimental films, one of them ''Metaphor'' documented his interview with painter Andrew Wyeth who told the director that his film, ''Film/TheBigParade'' was the single greatest influence on his work. He published his autobiography, ''A Tree is A Tree''.

* ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' (1956)

* ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' (1926)

* ''Film/StellaDallas'' (1937)

King Wallis Vidor (February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, who did many things to merit his [[MeaningfulName lofty name]]. He was [[OurFounder the founder]] of the Director's Guild of America (it started in his house) and was ThePioneer in editing, composition and large scale films. ''Film/TheBigParade'' was the BreakthroughHit for Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer studios and one of the greatest UsefulNotes/WorldWarI films ever made. ''Film/TheCrowd'' would be regarded as one of the masterpieces of silent cinema while ''Film/ShowPeople'' stands as one of the great comedies of the era, showcasing Creator/MarionDavies' talents, which led even Creator/OrsonWelles to lament the negative reputation that ''Film/CitizenKane'' attached to her by association with Hearst. He also took over directing duties for ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' from Victor Fleming, who went on to direct ''Film/GoneWithTheWind.'' Notably, Vidor directed the sepia tone Kansas scenes, and Dorothy's first encounter with the Scarecrow (at least the version that appears in the finished film).

Vidor, however, was keen on DoingItForTheArt and for regarding technical limitations as [[DareToBeBadass challenges]]. When sound arrived, when most studios were making stage bound flat films with no cinematic invention, Vidor went ahead and made ''Hallelujah'' an all-black musical shot on location in the DeepSouth with sound recorded on location. It was FairForItsDay and an incredible technical achievement. Vidor's films after that tended to [[OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt alternate personal films]] with [[MoneyDearBoy commercial work]] and many of his personal films are still rare and underseen which means that by and large, despite being regarded as, perhaps, the world's greatest director in the 20s or mid-30s, subsequent generations has seen him decline in favor of Creator/JohnFord, Creator/HowardHawks, Orson Welles (who admired his films) and Creator/AlfredHitchcock. His film adaptation of Creator/AynRand's ''Film/TheFountainhead'' did little to win him favors either, though Vidor himself had reservations about Rand and the film is visually sophisticated. Nor did a film like ''Beyond the Forest'', which its star Creator/BetteDavis regarded as an OldShame and which darkened his reputation.

Vidor ventured into the EpicMovie with an adaptation of ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' with Creator/AudreyHepburn and ''Solomon and Sheba'' with Creator/YulBrynner but he then retired from Hollywood. Though even in retirement, he made experimental films, one of them ''Metaphor'' documented his interview with painter [[BigNameFan Andrew Wyeth]] who told the director that his film, ''Film/TheBigParade'' was the single greatest influence on his work. He published his autobiography, ''A Tree is A Tree''.