King Vidor

57 films · 1918 to 1980

Born 8 February 1894, Galveston, Texas, USA · Died 1 November 1982

King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His 67-year career spanned the silent and sound eras, with works distinguished by a sympathetic depiction of contemporary social issues. Considered an auteur director, Vidor approached multiple genres and allowed the subject matter to determine the style, often pressing the limits of film-making conventions. His most acclaimed and successful film in the silent era was The Big Parade (1925). Vidor's sound films of the 1940s and early 1950s, such as Northwest Passage (1940), Comrade X (1940), An American Romance (1944), and The Fountainhead (1949), have been characterized as some of his best. His dramatic depictions of the American western landscape endow nature with a sinister force where his characters struggle for survival and redemption.

Biography adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.

Critical context from Senses of Cinema