Whether directing motion pictures depicting heart-stopping chariot races in Ben Hur or heart-rendering depictions of military servicemen attempting to return to post-war normalcy in The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler (1902-1981) is recognized by critics as among the 20th century's best American film directors and is among several directors credited with raising the level of American film from popular entertainment to art.

Wyler is noted for the consistently high quality of his films, which focused on a wide range of themes, settings, and subject matter. While most Hollywood film directors of his era are associated with a specific genre--film noir, screwball comedies, Westerns, historical dramas, social dramas, or war films--Wyler's body of work features critically acclaimed films in many areas. He is considered to be the first American director to select his own projects, often commissioning scripts several years before attempting to make them and then...