American film director, producer, and screenwriter King Vidor (1894-1982) holds a central place in the history of US cinema. His cinematic oeuvre consists of more than fifty films. They range from silent film classics and works on socio-political topics, such as ‘The Crowd’ (1928), to films depicting social upheaval, as in ‘Our Daily Bread’ (1934), as well as the Western ‘Duel in the Sun’ (1947) and the epic literary adaption for the screen ‘War and Peace’ (1956). Vidor developed his art across many genres and was at all times interested in technical innovations – not to mention, his devotion in working with the most important actors of his time.
Contributors: Kevin Brownlow, Carlo Chatrian, Heinz Emigholz, Lisa Gotto, Hans Helmut Prinzler, Bert Rebhandl, Rainer Rother, Martin Scorsese and Françoise Zamour