Steven Bach

Steven Bach (April 29, 1938 – March 25, 2009) was a writer and lecturer on film and a former senior vice-president and head of worldwide productions for United Artists studios.

While at United Artists, he was closely involved in the troublesome production and release of Heaven's Gate (1980). He wrote a book about the ordeal, called Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven's Gate, the Film That Sank United Artists.

In 1990, he was a member of the jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.

Bach is the author of The Life and Legend of Marlene Dietrich and Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart. His biography of the Nazi-associated filmmaker Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl (2007) overturns many of the claims Riefenstahl put forward in her self-defence regarding her contact with Hitler's regime, and was named by the New York Times as one of the best books of 2007. He taught film studies at Columbia University and Bennington College.

Bach died of cancer in March 2009. He is survived by his companion, Werner Röhr.

Bibliography

• Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of Heaven's Gate, 1985, New York: William Morrow, ISBN 978-0-688-04382-7
• Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend, 1992, New York: William Morrow, ISBN 978-0-688-07119-6
• Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart, 2001, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 978-0-679-44154-0
• Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl, 2007, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 978-0-375-40400-9).