ReFocus: The Films of William Wyler

John M. Price has a PhD in Film and Literature and previously taught English at Northern Illinois University and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He has over twenty years of experience as a producer, director, scriptwriter, and lighting director, working on award-winning film and television productions. He has also contributed to several journals and edited collections including: The Performativity of Villainy and Evil in Anglophone Literature and Media (2021), Critical Insights: Alfred Hitchcock (2017), Jonathan Swift and Philosophy (2017), Poli-Femo: Letteratura e Arti (2016), and Literature/Film Quarterly (2019).

• Wyler FilmographyAcademy Awards for Acting under WylerNotes on ContributorsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: William Wyler – Chariot Races and Flower Shows - John PricePart 1 Style1. Wyler’s Early Films: Evolution of the "Styleless Style" - John Price2. More than Meets the Eye: Perspectives on William Wyler and the Auteur Theory - Kyle Barrowman3. Traumatic History and the Prosthesis of Myth in Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives - Carol Donelan4. Persistent Presence: Space and Time in the Films of William Wyler - Francis MickusPart 2 Collaboration, Genre & Adaptation5. Clash of the Titans: The Hidden Collaboration of William Wyler and David O. Selznick on Carrie (1952) - Milan Hain6. Narratives of Failure: Dead End (1937), The Desperate Hours (1955), and Gangsters in Distress - Terrance McDonald7. Wyler’s Wuthering Heights: Genre, Transnationalism, and the Adaptation of the Victorian Novel - Gabrielle StecherPart 3 Gender & Sexuality8. William Wyler’s The Heiress (1949) and the Unknown Woman - Agustin Zarzosa9. These Three: Wyler and His Two Adaptations of The Children’s Hour - Matthias SmithPart 4 War & Peace10. A War of the People: Destruction, Community, and Hope in William Wyler’s Wartime Films - Robert Ribera11. Turning the Other Cheek: Wyler’s Pacifism Trilogy – Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Big Country (1958) and Ben-Hur (1959) - John PricePart 5 Global Wyler12. William Wyler’s Voyage to Italy: Roman Holiday, Progressive Hollywood, and the Cold War - Anthony Smith13. "Down Eros, Up Mars!": Post-Colonialism, Imperial Violence, and the Corrupting Influence of Hate in William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) - Kaitlin Pontzer14. Life Isn’t Always What One Likes: The Unbearable Lightness of Royalty, and Other Stereotypes in Roman Holiday (1953) - Etienne Boumans

With twelve Oscar nominations for Best Director—a record that still stands—and three combined wins for Best Director and Best Picture, William Wyler is a giant of American film history. But compared to the shelves of books discussing the films of John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, and other luminaries, his work has only rarely received its due. John M. Price’s Refocus volume aims to remedy that omission and succeeds handsomely.