There's a reason why so many actors came to appreciate William Wyler, and why so many critics have changed their minds about him. Willie had an instinct about film and about realism when it came to acting. The reason he put actors through so many takes is because he wanted them to do it until he felt they weren't acting any longer but feeling the line, feeling the character, feeling the scene. He knew it when he saw it, when he heard it and not before. He couldn't explain the process to himself or to others. It came as instinct to him. That is why I admire his work and why so many in the industry came to realize his greatness as a director. His films were nominated for more Academy Awards for acting than any director in the history of film. I know it's easy to dismiss the Academy. They've shown rather shallowness through the years when it comes to their picks. However, the overall community has a vested interest in the promotion of film as both industry and artform. Yes, artform. There are artists in their membership. For years I've tried to extoll Wyler's vision as a progressive one. He nearly fired some of theater's/film's greatest actors because he felt their "stage acting" wouldn't work to help the film's narrative. Lawrence Olivier once said "Wyler taught me how to act in film." He was sincere when he said it.

There are many great directors in the history of film. We shouldn't dismiss them as being "too commercial" as that is an indication of snobbery.