William Sachs

William Sachs was an American film director/producer and writer. Besides his work as a writer and director, since working on Joe, Sachs has been particularly noted for successfully doctoring others' films prior to release in order to conform them to the producers' wishes for broader commercial appeal. His films have screened and received more than 25 awards at various festivals.

Life and career Originally, Sachs studied business and accounting, but disliked it. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force and serving in England during the Vietnam War, he went to college again, majoring in sociology. After talking a film course, he found his passion and decided to study film at London Film School where he directed three short films that won awards during his studies. Following his studies, he started working in the US, first re-working films deemed problematic by producers, including Joe, for which Sachs declined a co-director credit and picked a credit as "Post Production Supervisor" because he felt it reflected his involvement in post production best. Currently, Sachs has multiple films in development, including one about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Film style William Sachs himself mentions that his style is primarily influenced by surrealists like Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel and others.

In Van Nuys Blvd., a number of comedic scenes of a police officer on a beach, being handcuffed to his car, show a gradually more and more surrealist tone as the film progresses. In the course of the film, he gets approached by a mysterious biker stealing his possessions, a dog and ultimately, towards the end of the film, his own mother who is worried about her boy while police searches for his location.

Filmography As director Dear Mrs. Smith (1968, short) This is Ford (1968, short) Breakfast (1968) There Is No 13 (1974) Secrets of the Gods (also known as The Force Beyond) (1976, documentary) The Incredible Melting Man (1977) Van Nuys Blvd. (1979) Galaxina (1980) Exterminator 2 (1984) (additional scenes directed by) Hot Chili (1985) The Last Hour (1991) Judgement (also known as Hitz) (1992) Spooky House (2002)

As "film doctor" (excerpt) Beside Sachs' work as a director, he has "doctored" many American and foreign language films prior to their release. This includes re-editing, re-shooting and adding/changing elements in post-production, often changing tone and focus of the film considerably. He is sometimes uncredited, and often credited in various different ways for his work. In the process, he has so far "doctored" more than 20 films.