The Best Years of Our Lives in 4K

In person: Kenneth Turan

In 1916, Jewish producers Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky merged their studios to form the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, which soon acquired and took the name of its distributor: Paramount Pictures. Zukor was known for challenging runtime restrictions with his long-form narratives drawn from classical sources. Under his watch, Paramount films reflected the sophistication he valued. A groundbreaking romantic war epic, William A. Wellman’s Wings became the first film to win an Oscar, for Outstanding Picture (the category now known as Best Picture), an achievement that helped cement Paramount’s legacy.

Jewish, German-born producer Carl Laemmle merged his East Coast–based studio with five others to form Universal in 1912. As president of Universal, Laemmle soon converted a 230-acre San Fernando Valley farm into Universal City, California, the world’s largest filmmaking facility. Shot at this facility as well as around Southern California, this epic adaptation of the 1929 German novel by Erich Maria Remarque offers a staunch and enduring antiwar message through the eyes of German soldiers during World War I.

Jewish, Hungarian-born William Fox, enchanted by movies, transitioned from the garment industry to nickelodeons in 1904. He combined his various theaters and distribution companies to form the Fox Film Corporation in 1915. Resolving to create better products for his theater chain, Fox moved his focus to production. Director Frank Borzage’s classic romance 7th Heaven, produced by Fox himself and featuring a synched musical score without spoken dialogue, is widely considered one of the greatest love stories of all time. Janet Gaynor took home the first-ever Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a down-on-her-luck woman whose life is saved by an upstanding street cleaner (Charles Farrell). The film also saw wins for Benjamin Glazer for Writing and Borzage for Directing (Dramatic Picture).