**King Vidor** (1894-1982) was an influential American director, screenwriter, and producer whose decades-long career spanned the silent and sound eras, distinguished by exceptional stylistic and thematic versatility.

Among his most celebrated works from the silent period are *The Big Parade* (1925), an epic reflection on World War I, and *The Crowd* (1928), a raw and innovative portrayal of the life of the common man in urban America.

Vidor was a sound pioneer with *Hallelujah!* (1929), one of the first Hollywood films with an entirely African American cast, addressing themes of faith and redemption. Subsequently, he directed epics such as *Duel in the Sun* (1946) and *War and Peace* (1956). His style is characterized by deep humanism, attention to characters, and the ability to combine social realism with a grandiose and often epic vision.