The representation and evaluation of Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Big Country (1858), and Ben-Hur (1959) as William Wyler's pacifist trilogy should in no way be taken to suggest a premeditated plan, on the part of Wyler, to create a three-pronged project unified by a common issue. The connecting of these three films as a trilogy is, of course, a subsequent projection by film analysts and is not a uniform analysis. In 1979, Michael Anderegg lumped all three films into one chapter of his book and entitled it “Pacifism and Violence,” but although Anderegg does discuss pacifism in connection with the first two films, he never once mentions pacifism in connection with Ben-Hur. Jan Herman's 1995 A Talent for Trouble has a chapter entitled “Pacifist's Dilemma” that deals only with Friendly Persuasion. The other two films each have their own chapters. Needless to say, Herman never uses the term “trilogy.” Similarly, in 2013, Gabriel Miller also uses the title “Pacifist's Dilemma” for a chapter in his book. Although this one chapter is dedicated to all three films, he does not refer to them as a pacifist trilogy either. Despite the lack of authors employing the term trilogy, the thematic link between these three entries into the Wyler canon is clear. Less clear is deciphering Wyler's view towards pacifism, a difficulty particularly on view in Miller's analysis.

Wyler once opined that a motion picture should say something, and while this seems slightly disingenuous when one thinks of Wyler's more frivolous fare, there is no mistaking that there is more gravitas in Wyler's postwar films. Even Roman Holiday (1953) is not the lighthearted escapism one would expect of a romantic comedy. It is understandable that Wyler's military experience in the Second World War would lead him to create films that were weightier than much of his earlier work, and that, as a disabled veteran, he would want to tackle a story like The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), which deals intensely with the struggles of returning serviceman to assimilate back into society. However, in Friendly Persuasion, The Big Country, and Ben-Hur, Wyler examines the more universal topic of war in general, and even more broadly, the very nature of violence.