I had almost forgotten this! I'll have to start working on my entry tonight.

Here's my entry: http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/wylers-moments-of-silence.html.

Thanks for the opportunity of participating. Looking forward to reading the other blogs.

My article is up!

I happened to just see "The Love Trap" a couple of days ago. I had no idea there was a blog-a-thon until I read about it at Cinebeats.

How ironic that Oscar's most lauded director is on the defensive. Yes, John Ford won 4, but Wyler not only won 3, he had the most nominations with 12, his films were nominated for 13 Best Picture prizes, he directed the most winners and nominees in acting, and the list goes on. Granted, the Oscars are meaningless, especially in recent years, but still an interesting barometer of the Hollywood community's thinking at any given time. Despite his diminishing reputation as a non-auteur, I would contend that most of his films hold up extremely well, and that he arguably created more ***1/2 films than any other director. Wuthering Heights is gorgeous, not just on account of the Toland cinematography and Steiner score, but due to the pacing, the acting, the hyper-romantic world which Wyler created. I think it criminal that it recently feel from the AFI 100, it was rightfully in the AFI's Top 50 back in 1977, and beat Gone with the Wind for Best Picture at the NY Film Crix awards, which may be debatable, but a testament to the film's power at the time. I do not why that has diminished, I find the love story more tortured, compelling and even credible than the one in say, Casablanca. Roman Holiday is another great Wyler love story that contrasts sharply with Wuthering Heights. Such a light touch, would you ever know that the same director made both these films? And there is a lot to be said about a director who elicited the finest performances from the greatest stars. Even Bette Davis, arguably the screen's greatest actress, said that Wyler brought her to another level (though Of Human Bondage remains a pique, the bravest of performances still holds up), especially in The Letter and Little Foxes (as opposed to her overbaked performance in overbaked Jezebel). Dodsworth is another Wyler highpoint, he did so well with adaptations, and underrated These Three was another great film, with a terrifying performance by Bonita Granville. The Best Years of Our Lives may feel a bit slow today, and it's Oscar non-competitors Notorious, Stairway to Heaven, My Darling Clementine and Brief Encounter (incredibly none nominated) feel more cinematic, but Best Years touched a nerve in its day, remains fiercely intelligent, and is still quietly moving, even if it wasn't the year's very best. The list goes on. Ben-Hur joins Spartacus as the smartest and most compelling of the big epics. Friendly Persuasion, The Collector, Detective Story, The Desperate Hours, Dead End, The Heiress, all very solid filmmaking. He opened up Broadway's Funny Girl beautifully, and Mrs. Miniver, these days unfairly dismissed as mere propaganda, captured the spirit of 1940s wartime America and England, at least in the popular imagination. What other director has a list of very fine, diverse films this long? William Wyler deserves to be ranked high among Hollywood's greatest directors, with Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Billy Wilder, Charles Chaplin, Orson Welles, and few others as his peers.

Peter: I'm sorry, I thought I had you in my email list. I'm glad you stumbled upon the notice. Thanks for participating! (If you get a minute, email me [goatdogsmovies at gmail dot com]--I've been meaning to ask you a couple of questions about Chiang Mai.)

Ira: Thanks for your comments. The main reason for this blogathon (aside from the fact that I love him) was to draw attention to Wyler's versatility, which you certainly emphasized.

Mine is up!

http://forwardtoyesterday.com/2007/09/22/the-neocon-country/

I'll e-mail you as well.

Mine is up at Ed Copeland's Blog-a-thon board:

http://eddieonfilmspecial.blogspot.com/2006/09/bitches-belles-and-blackmail.html

My contribution is (finally) up on The Best Years of Our Lives!

Mine's up. I couldn't really write much, but I did something at least!

http://kamikazecamel.blogspot.com/2007/09/funny-songs.html

My entry comparing Roman Holiday and the Heiress is up:
http://philosopherouge.wordpress.com/2007/09/23/the-heiress-meets-roman-holiday-a-study-in-sacrifice/

I've got my (pretty lenghty) post on The Children's Hour up on my blog:

http://thebargainmatinee.blogspot.com/2007/09/second-look-childrens-hour-1961.html

Enjoy!

Oh, and by the way, I found in a copy of The Book of Lists where Wyler was asked his ten favorite films. Here's what he listed:

1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
2. The Battleship Potemkin
3. All Quiet on the Western Front
4. Several Charlie Chaplin films
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai
6. Marcel Pagnol's Fanny (not the musical)
7. La Dolce Vita
8. The Treasure of Sierra Madre
9. Dr. Strangelove
10. and (with apologies) The Best Years of Our Lives

I *love* that Wyler listed Best Years. Real artists deserve to drop the false modesty. (And if we're talking about favorites and not "bests," it's not even so pretentious... I would hope that if I were William Wyler, and made dozens of films that he made, at least one of them would rank among my favorites!)

Better late than never, right? It's technically still Sunday 9/23 in the Pacific time zone, so here's my entry:

http://lylee.blogspot.com/2007/09/william-wyler-blogathon-big-country.html

Looking for my sister's interview, I discover a whole blog-a-thon! Fantastic to come upon all this good thinking about my father's work. I was just at the Toronto Film Festival where Sidney Lumet introduced BEST YEARS and spoke most admiringly about it.
Never have seen WW's list of favorite films before. He always said BEST YEARS needed no research, because he'd lived it; we knew it was his favorite, and it's very like him to include it, but put it last. He was an elegant guy in the best sense.

I'm speechless. Thank you so much, Ms. Wyler, for stopping by. I hope this little event was a good tribute to your father's often brilliant work.

Hi, goatdog, very very late entry here if you're still accepting--Filipno versions of The Heiress and The Collector.

Ho--don't they allow links? Ah well.

Filipino versions of The Heiress and The Collector

http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2007/10/wyler-reloaded.html