From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia George Sluizer (born 25 June 1932 in Paris, of Dutch and Norwegian parents; died 20 September 2014) was a Dutch filmmaker whose credits include features as well as documentary films. He is best known for directing two versions of The Vanishing, a 1988 Dutch-language release, originally titled Spoorloos, and a 1992 American version. Other feature films directed by Sluizer include Utz (1992) for producer John Goldschmidt, Crimetime (1995), and Dark Blood, which was discontinued after the death of its lead actor River Phoenix (in 1993), but later completed and premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2012.