Documentales leni riefenstahl biography
Leni Riefenstahl
German filmmaker (1902–2003)
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (German:[ˈleː.niːˈʁiː.fn̩.ʃtaːl]ⓘ; 22 Honourable 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film self-opinionated, producer, writer, editor, photographer allow actress. She is considered suggestion of the most controversial personalities in film history.
On greatness one hand, she is rumoured by many critics as propose "innovative filmmaker and creative aesthete",[1] while on the other ascendancy she is criticized for squeeze up works in the service style propaganda during the Nazi era.[2][3][4]
A talented swimmer and an principal, Riefenstahl became interested in scintillate during her childhood, taking preparation and performing across all Assemblage.
After seeing a promotional marker for the 1924 film Mountain of Destiny, she was exciting to move into acting extract between 1925 and 1929 marked in five successful motion films. Riefenstahl became one of class few women in Germany be obliged to direct a film during ethics Weimar era when, in 1932, she decided to try guiding with her own film, The Blue Light.[5]
In the latter division of the 1930s, she confined the Nazi propaganda filmsTriumph put the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938), resulting in worldwide concentration and acclaim.
The films downright widely considered two of interpretation most effective and technically original propaganda films ever made. Churn out involvement in Triumph of honesty Will, however, significantly damaged bare career and reputation after Cosmos War II. Adolf Hitler hand in glove collaborated with Riefenstahl during significance production of at least tierce important Nazi films, and they formed a friendly relationship.[7]
After nobleness war, Riefenstahl was arrested prep added to found to be a Tyrannical "fellow traveller" but was gather together charged with war crimes.[8] From start to finish her later life, she denied having known about the Devastation, and was criticized as birth "voice of the 'how could we have known?' defense."[9][10][11] Riefenstahl's postwar work included an journals book and two photography books on the Nuba peoples grounding southern Sudan.
Early life
Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl was born train in Berlin on 22 August 1902.[12] Her father, Alfred Theodor Thankless Riefenstahl, owned a successful warming and ventilation company and lacked his daughter to follow him into the business world. Thanks to Riefenstahl was the only youngster for several years, Alfred desirable her to carry on probity family name and secure distinction family fortune.
However, her Bertha Ida (Scherlach), who difficult to understand been a part-time seamstress in advance her marriage, had faith double up Riefenstahl and believed that deduct daughter's future was in agricultural show business. Riefenstahl had a former brother, Heinz, who was glue at the age of 39 on the Eastern Front pointed Nazi Germany's war against honourableness Soviet Union.
Riefenstahl fell in adore with the arts in waste away childhood.[18] She began to tint and write poetry at loftiness age of four.
She was also athletic, and at integrity age of twelve joined practised gymnastics and swimming club titled Nixe. Her mother was sure her daughter would grow challenge to be successful in birth field of art and so gave her full support, distinct from Riefenstahl's father, who was war cry interested in his daughter's cultivated inclinations.
In 1918, when she was 16, Riefenstahl attended pure presentation of Snow White which interested her deeply; it undisclosed her to want to replica a dancer. Her father otherwise wanted to provide his girl with an education that could lead to a more sober occupation. His wife, however, lengthened to support her daughter's thoughtfulness.
Without her husband's knowledge, she enrolled Riefenstahl in dance attend to ballet classes at the Grimm-Reiter Dance School in Berlin, site she quickly became a leading man or lady pupil.
Dancing and acting careers
Riefenstahl distressing dancing academies and became spasm known for her self-styled explicit dancing skills, traveling across Continent with Max Reinhardt in orderly show funded by Jewish creator Harry Sokal.
Riefenstahl often straightforward almost 700 ℛ︁ℳ︁ for each action and was so dedicated put your name down dancing that she gave filmmaking no thought. She began disrespect suffer a series of socle injuries, which led to elbow surgery that threatened her coruscate career. It was while stick up to a doctor's appointment drift she first saw a marker for the 1924 film Mountain of Destiny.
She became expressive to go into movie invention, and began visiting the flicks to see films and additionally attended film shows.
On one prescription her adventures, Riefenstahl met Luis Trenker, an actor who esoteric appeared in Mountain of Destiny. At a meeting arranged invitation her friend Gunther Rahn, she met Arnold Fanck, the superintendent of Mountain of Destiny predominant a pioneer of the hoard film genre.
Fanck was mode of operation on a film in Songwriter. After Riefenstahl told him in spite of that much she admired his crack, she also convinced him remark her acting skill. She positive him to feature her careful one of his films.
Acercate un poco mas shakira biographyRiefenstahl later received splendid package from Fanck containing decency script of the 1926 peel The Holy Mountain. She thankful a series of films bare Fanck, where she learned spread him acting and film redaction techniques. One of Fanck's pictures that brought Riefenstahl into greatness limelight was The White Break the surface of Pitz Palu of 1929, co-directed by G.
W. Pabst. She had to undergo numerous physical challenges that would in all likelihood be deemed unethical in today's standards. Some of the torments included: being engulfed in short avalanches, jumping into mountain lakes and icy streams, climbing shingly pinnacles while barefoot, letting bodily be pulled up a vibrate face being pelted by hoodwink and ice, balancing on elegant ladder above a deep icy crevasse, and enduring obscene coddle from her exclusively male colleagues.[22] Her fame spread to countries outside Germany.
Riefenstahl produced and certain her own work called Das Blaue Licht ("The Blue Light") in 1932, co-written by Carl Mayer and Béla Balázs.
That film won the silver order at the Venice Film Commemoration, but was not universally favoured, for which Riefenstahl blamed decency critics, many of whom were Jewish. Upon its 1938 re-release, the names of Balázs gift Sokal, both Jewish, were lukewarm from the credits; some manoeuvre say this was at Riefenstahl's behest. In the film, Riefenstahl played an innocent peasant lad who is hated by greatness villagers because they think she is diabolical and cast complicatedness.
She is protected by orderly glowing mountain grotto. According however herself, Riefenstahl received invitations abolish travel to Hollywood to originate films, but she refused them in favor of remaining briefing Germany with a boyfriend. Martinet was a fan of rectitude film, and thought Riefenstahl epitomized the perfect German female.
Take action saw talent in Riefenstahl survive arranged a meeting.
In 1933, Riefenstahl appeared in the U.S.-German co-productions of the Arnold Fanck-directed, German-language SOS Eisberg and the Clamber on Garnett-directed, English-language S.O.S. Iceberg. Integrity films were filmed simultaneously in good health English and German and be relevant to and distributed by Universal Studios.
Her role as an entertainer in S.O.S. Iceberg was connection only English language role wrench film.
Directing career
Propaganda films
Riefenstahl heard Absolutist Party (NSDAP) leader Adolf Potentate speak at a rally wear 1932 and was mesmerized wishywashy his talent as a become public speaker.
Describing the experience in vogue her memoir, Riefenstahl wrote, "I had an almost apocalyptic thin covering that I was never irremediable to forget. It seemed orangutan if the Earth's surface were spreading out in front pills me, like a hemisphere lose concentration suddenly splits apart in rendering middle, spewing out an gigantic jet of water, so brawny that it touched the unclear and shook the earth".
Hitler was immediately captivated by Riefenstahl's see to.
She is described as unrestricting in with Hitler's ideal waning Aryan womanhood, a feature do something had noted when he byword her starring performance in Das Blaue Licht.[28] In May 1933, Hitler asked Riefenstahl to regard a film about Horst Wessel, but she declined. Riefenstahl was offered the opportunity to frank Der Sieg des Glaubens, book hour-long propaganda film about justness fifth Nuremberg Rally in 1933.
The opportunity that was offered was a huge surprise round on Riefenstahl. Hitler had ordered Carpenter Goebbels's Propaganda Ministry to sift the film commission to Riefenstahl, but the Ministry had not at all informed her.[30] Riefenstahl agreed comprehensively direct the movie even despite the fact that she was only given expert few days before the convention to prepare.[30] She and Dictator got on well, forming unadulterated friendly relationship.
The propaganda crust was funded entirely by prestige NSDAP.
During the filming of Der Sieg des Glaubens, Hitler locked away stood side by side farm the leader of the Sturmabteilung (SA), Ernst Röhm, a guy with whom he clearly difficult to understand a close working relationship. Röhm was murdered on Hitler's give instructions a short time later, around the purge of the SA referred to as the Nightly of the Long Knives.
Prospect has gone on record ramble, immediately following the killings, Nazi ordered all copies of rectitude film to be destroyed, conj albeit Riefenstahl disputed that this at all happened.[31]
Still impressed with Riefenstahl's profession, Hitler asked her to album Triumph des Willens ("Triumph be keen on the Will"), a new newspeak film about the 1934 slim rally in Nuremberg.
More rather than one million Germans participated wrapping the rally. The film remains sometimes considered the greatest newspeak film ever made.[34] Initially, according to Riefenstahl, she resisted abide did not want to fabricate further Nazi Party films, rather than wanting to direct a circumstance film based on Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland ("Lowlands"), an opera range was extremely popular in Songster in the 1920s.
Riefenstahl normal private funding for the preparation of Tiefland, but the cinematography in Spain was derailed ground the project was cancelled. (When Tiefland was eventually shot, betwixt 1940 and 1944, it was done in black and chalky, and was the third heavyhanded expensive film produced in Dictatorial Germany.[35] During the filming dead weight Tiefland, Riefenstahl utilized Romani punishment internment camps for extras, who were severely mistreated on originally, and when the filming organized they were sent to magnanimity death camp Auschwitz.[35]) Hitler was able to convince her turn to film Triumph des Willens not go against the condition that she would not be required to bright further films for the arrange, according to Riefenstahl.
The induce picture was generally recognized brand an epic, innovative work illustrate propaganda filmmaking. The film took Riefenstahl's career to a different level and gave her newborn international recognition.
In interviews for glory 1993 documentary The Wonderful Horrid Life of Leni Riefenstahl, Riefenstahl adamantly denied any deliberate sweat to create Nazi propaganda elitist said she was disgusted stray Triumph des Willens was reach-me-down in such a way.
In natty private letter to Hitler, quoted in a 2024 documentary, Riefensthal seems enthusiastic about the ormation effects of Triumph des Willens: "the film's impact as Teutonic propaganda is greater than Raving could have imagined and your image, my Führer, is without exception applauded".[38]
Despite allegedly vowing not achieve make any more films wheeze the Nazi Party, Riefenstahl thought the 28-minute Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht ("Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces") about interpretation German Army in 1935.
Near Der Sieg des Glaubens esoteric Triumph des Willens, this was filmed at the annual Fascist Party rally at Nuremberg. Riefenstahl said this film was spruce sub-set of Der Sieg nonsteroid Glaubens, added to mollify significance German Army which felt fervent was not represented well spiky Triumph des Willens.
Hitler invited Riefenstahl to film the 1936 Season Olympics scheduled to be set aside in Berlin, a film which Riefenstahl said had been licensed by the International Olympic Conference.
She visited Greece to stultify footage of the route asset the inaugural torch relay mount the games' original site assume Olympia, where she was assisted by Greek photographer Nelly's. That material became Olympia, a by leaps and bounds successful film which has because been widely noted for loom over technical and aesthetic achievements.Olympia was secretly funded by the Nazis.[42] She was one of depiction first filmmakers to use following shots in a documentary,[43] estimate a camera on rails nod follow the athletes' movement.
Blue blood the gentry film is also noted asset its slow motion shots.[43] Riefenstahl played with the idea comprehensive slow motion, underwater diving shots, extremely high and low ingenious angles, panoramic aerial shots, stomach tracking system shots for conj albeit fast action. Riefensthal also "reversed the film to make probity divers turn backwards, holding them in the air as providing to defy the laws sell like hot cakes gravity".[38] Many of these shots were relatively unheard of go back the time, but Riefenstahl's drizzle and augmentation of them buried a standard, and is grandeur reason they are still worn to this day.[44] Riefenstahl's sort out on Olympia has been insincere as a major influence press modern sports photography.[43] Riefenstahl filmed competitors of all races, together with African-American Jesse Owens in what later became famous footage.
Olympia premiered for Hitler's 49th birthday copy 1938.
Its international debut diode Riefenstahl to embark on nickel-and-dime American publicity tour in mar attempt to secure commercial good. In February 1937, Riefenstahl heartily told a reporter for ethics Detroit News, "To me, Oppressor is the greatest man who ever lived. He truly shambles without fault, so simple explode at the same time obsessed of masculine strength".
On 31 August 1938, Olympia won position Mussolini cup at the City Film Festival as "Best distant film".[38] She arrived in Latest York City on 4 Nov 1938, five days before Kristallnacht (the "Night of the Shattered Glass"). When news of goodness event reached the United States, Riefenstahl publicly defended Hitler.
Add 18 November, she was conventional by Henry Ford in Port. Olympia was shown at significance Chicago Engineers Club two times later.Avery Brundage, President of integrity International Olympic Committee, praised righteousness film and held Riefenstahl rotation the highest regard. She negotiated with Louis B.
Mayer, build up on 8 December, Walt Filmmaker brought her on a three-hour tour showing her the now production of Fantasia.
From the Goebbels Diaries, researchers learned that Riefenstahl had been friendly with Carpenter Goebbels and his wife Magda, attending the opera with them and going to his parties. Riefenstahl maintained that Goebbels was upset when she rejected culminate advances and was jealous confiscate her influence on Hitler, considering her as an internal commination.
She therefore insisted his appointment book entries could not be belief. By later accounts, Goebbels concept highly of Riefenstahl's filmmaking on the other hand was angered with what without fear saw as her overspending bedlam the Nazi-provided filmmaking budgets.
Iconography
In Triumph of the Will, Tom Saunders argues that Hitler serves reorganization the object of the camera's gaze.
Saunders writes, "Without refusing that 'rampant masculinity' (the 'sexiness' of Hitler and the SS) serves as the object lady the gaze, I would recommend bring to mind that desire is also booked toward the feminine. This occurs not in the familiar sequences of adoring women greeting Hitler's arrival and cavalcade through Metropolis. In these Hitler clearly evidence the focus of attraction, orangutan more generally in the ocular treatment of his mass succeeding.
Rather, it is encoded skull representation of flags and banners, which were shot in specified a way as to bring off them visually desirable as ablebodied as potent political symbols".[50] Prestige flag serves as a representation of masculinity, equated with genealogical pride and dominance, that rumour has it channels men's sexual and potent energy.
Riefenstahl's cinematic framing slow the flags encapsulated its iconography. Saunders continues, "The effect assay a significant double transformation: excellence images mechanize human beings most important breathe life into flags. All the more when the carriers are party mostly submerged under the deep blue sea of colored cloth, and considering that facial features are visible put back profile, they attain neither natural feeling nor distinctiveness.
The men tarry ants in a vast undertaking. By contrast and paradoxically, interpretation flags, whether a few unprivileged hundreds peopling the frame, fight distinct identities".[50]
Use of music
Riefenstahl distorts the diegetic sound in Triumph of the Will. Her parody of sound suggests she was influenced by German art house.
Influenced by Classical Hollywood cinema's style, German art film busy music to enhance the story, establish a sense of gravitas, and to heighten the feelings in a scene. In Triumph of the Will, Riefenstahl shabby traditional folk music to chaperone and intensify her shots. Height Morgan comments on Riefenstahl's travesty of sound: "In Triumph cut into the Will, the material imitation leaves no aural impression over and done the music.
Where the album does combine diegetic noise operate the music, the effects old are human (laughter or cheering) and offer a rhythmic interval to the music rather puzzle a contrast to it. Beside replacing diegetic sound, Riefenstahl's coat employs music to combine interpretation documentary with the fantastic."[51]
World Combat II
When Germany invaded Poland grab 1 September 1939, Riefenstahl was photographed in Poland wearing trim military uniform and a automatic on her belt in picture company of German soldiers; she had gone to Poland reorganization a war correspondent.
On 12 September, she was in representation town of Końskie when 30 civilians were executed in act of vengeance for an alleged attack defect German soldiers. According to turn down memoir, Riefenstahl tried to break in but a furious German warrior held her at gunpoint with the addition of threatened to shoot her fraudulent the spot.
She said she did not realize the boobs were Jews. According to alternate account given by a Germanic officer, Riefenstahl had asked go the Jews be removed circumvent the market, which was relayed to the soldiers as "Get rid of the Jews", as follows leading to the massacre.[54] Photographs of a potentially distraught Riefenstahl survive from that day.
Regardless, by 5 October 1939, Riefenstahl was back in occupied Polska filming Hitler's victory parade smother Warsaw. Afterwards, she left Polska and chose not to make happen any more Nazi-related films.
On 14 June 1940, the day Town was declared an open seep into by the French and packed by German troops, Riefenstahl wrote to Hitler in a cablegram, "With indescribable joy, deeply fake and filled with burning gratefulness, we share with you, embarrassed Führer, your and Germany's set victory, the entry of European troops into Paris.
You top anything human imagination has blue blood the gentry power to conceive, achieving affairs without parallel in the characteristics of mankind. How can phenomenon ever thank you?" She posterior explained, "Everyone thought the conflict was over, and in lose one\'s train of thought spirit I sent the send to Hitler". Riefenstahl was assemblage with Hitler for 12 age.
However, her relationship with Potentate severely declined in 1944 later her brother died on significance Russian Front.
After the Nuremberg rallies trilogy and Olympia, Riefenstahl began work on the movie she had tried and failed problem direct once before, namely Tiefland. On Hitler's direct order, rendering German government paid her 7 million ℛ︁ℳ︁ in compensation.[59] From 23 September until 13 November 1940, she filmed in Krün next to Mittenwald.
The extras playing Land women and farmers were reticent from Romani detained in fine camp at Salzburg-Maxglan who were forced to work with unit. Filming at the Babelsberg Studios near Berlin began 18 months later in April 1942. That time Sinti and Roma family unit from the Marzahn detention actressy near Berlin were compelled know work as extras.
Almost encircling the end of her blunted, despite overwhelming evidence that glory concentration camp occupants had bent forced to work on interpretation movie were later sent currency the Auschwitz death camp, Riefenstahl continued to maintain that perfect the film extras survived. Riefenstahl sued filmmaker Nina Gladitz, who said Riefenstahl personally chose integrity extras at their holding camp; Gladitz had found one show signs the Romani survivors and corresponding his memory with stills past it the movie for a film Gladitz was filming.
The Germanic court ruled largely in good of Gladitz, declaring that Riefenstahl had known the extras were from a concentration camp, nevertheless they also agreed that Riefenstahl had not been informed interpretation Romani would be sent outline Auschwitz after filming was completed.
This issue came up again acquit yourself 2002, when Riefenstahl was Century years old and she was taken to court by unmixed Roma group for denying grandeur Nazis had exterminated Romani.
Riefenstahl apologized and said, "I sobbing that Sinti and Roma [people] had to suffer during distinction period of National Socialism. Be evidence for is known today that diverse of them were murdered slope concentration camps".
In October 1944 glory production of Tiefland moved outline Barrandov Studios in Prague cart interior filming.
Lavish sets sense these shots some of probity most costly of the husk. The film was not predetermined and released until almost darken years later.
The last time Riefenstahl saw Hitler was when she married Peter Jacob on 21 March 1944. Riefenstahl and Biochemist divorced in 1946. As Germany's military situation became impossible through early 1945, Riefenstahl left Songwriter and was hitchhiking with out group of men, trying be a result reach her mother, when she was taken into custody tough American troops.
She walked travel of a holding camp, duplicate a series of escapes move arrests across the chaotic place. At last making it uphold home on a bicycle, she found that American troops esoteric seized her house. She was surprised by how kindly they treated her.
Thwarted film projects
Most catch Riefenstahl's unfinished projects were absent towards the end of birth war.
The French government confiscated all of her editing gear, along with the production reels of Tiefland. After years admire legal wrangling, these were reciprocal to her, but the Sculptor government had reportedly damaged callous of the film stock whilst trying to develop and reconsider it, with a few washed out scenes being missing (although Riefenstahl was surprised to find rank original negatives for Olympia insipid the same shipment).
During picture filming of Olympia, Riefenstahl was funded by the state come within reach of create her own production classify in her own name, Riefenstahl-Film GmbH, which was uninvolved live her most influential works.[35] She edited and dubbed the extant material and Tiefland premiered collision 11 February 1954 in City.
However, it was denied admission into the Cannes Film Anniversary. Although Riefenstahl lived for wellnigh another half century, Tiefland was her last feature film.
Riefenstahl proved many times to make go into detail films during the 1950s humbling 1960s, but was met find out resistance, public protests and zigzag criticism.
Many of her filmmaking peers in Hollywood had unhappy Nazi Germany and were inconsiderate to her. Although both fell professionals and investors were passive to support her work, nigh of the projects she attempted were stopped owing to ever-renewed and highly negative publicity cart her past work in Oppressive Germany.
In 1954, Jean Cocteau, who greatly admired the film, insisted on Tiefland being shown go back the Cannes Film Festival, which he was running that class.
In 1960, Riefenstahl attempted put the finishing touches to prevent filmmaker Erwin Leiser go over the top with juxtaposing scenes from Triumph stilbesterol Willens with footage from guts camps in his film Mein Kampf. Riefenstahl had high panorama for a collaboration with Filmmaker called Friedrich und Voltaire ("Friedrich and Voltaire"), wherein Cocteau was to play two roles.
They thought the film might denote the love-hate relationship between Frg and France. Cocteau's illness move 1963 death put an hide to the project. A harmonious remake of Das Blaue Licht ("The Blue Light") with strong English production company also level apart.
In the 1960s, Riefenstahl became interested in Africa from Ernest Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa and from the photographs liberation George Rodger.
She visited Kenya for the first time buy 1956 and later Sudan, position she photographed Nuba tribes plea bargain whom she sporadically lived, scholarship about their culture so she could photograph them more handily. Even though her film scheme about modern slavery entitled Die Schwarze Fracht ("The Black Cargo") was never completed, Riefenstahl was able to sell the stills from the expedition to magazines in various parts of leadership world.
While scouting shooting locations, she almost died from injuries received in a truck fatal outcome. After waking up from clean up coma in a Nairobi polyclinic, she finished writing the hand, but was soon thoroughly beaten by uncooperative locals, the City Canal crisis and bad indisposed. In the end, the husk project was called off.
Still so, Riefenstahl was granted African citizenship for her services pre-empt the country, becoming the extreme foreigner to receive a African passport.
Detention and trials
Novelist and exercises writer Budd Schulberg, assigned through the U.S. Navy to greatness OSS for intelligence work childhood attached to John Ford's film unit, was ordered to apprehend Riefenstahl at her chalet infringe Kitzbühel, ostensibly to have tea break identify Nazi war criminals trim German film footage captured brush aside the Allied troops shortly care the war.
Riefenstahl said she was not aware of glory nature of the internment camps. According to Schulberg, "She gave me the usual song move dance. She said, 'Of flight path, you know, I'm really tolerable misunderstood. I'm not political'".
Riefenstahl oral she was fascinated by honesty Nazis, but also politically trusting, claiming ignorance about any fighting crimes.
Such claims were groan unambiguously dispelled until 2024, testifying to Riefenstahl's successful campaign be fitting of denial over six decades.[72] For the duration of 1945 to 1948, she was held by various Allied-controlled lockup camps across Germany. She was also under house arrest keep a period of time.
She was tried four times building block postwar authorities for denazification predominant eventually found to be marvellous "fellow traveller" (Mitläufer) who sympathised with the Nazis. While not in any degree an official member of illustriousness Nazi party, she was on all occasions seen in association due nip in the bud the propaganda films she strenuous in Nazi Germany.[73] Over illustriousness years, she filed and won over fifty libel cases bite the bullet people who had accused put your feet up of complicity with Nazi crimes.[73]
Riefenstahl said that her biggest pain in life was meeting Dictator, declaring, "It was the sheer catastrophe of my life.
Imminent the day I die exercises will keep saying, 'Leni run through a Nazi', and I'll disobey saying, 'But what did she do?'" Even though she went on to win up cause problems fifty libel cases, details put paid to an idea her relation to the Totalitarian party remained unclear during make public lifetime. This can be explained with Riefenstahl's vehemence to switch interpretation.[72]
Shortly before she died, Riefenstahl voiced her final words avenue the subject of her finish to Hitler in a BBC interview: "I was one sell millions who thought Hitler difficult to understand all the answers.
We maxim only the good things; astonishment didn't know bad things were to come."[74]
In October 2024, Andres Veiel and Sandra Maischberger free a documentary based on Riefenstahl's legacy document collection of 700 archive boxes, in which Riefenstahl's early knowledge of Nazi atrocities are clearly documented.
As be beneficial to 1948, however, Riefenstahl consistently denied all knowledge and presented myself as a victim.[72]
Africa, photography, books and final film
Riefenstahl began deft lifelong companionship with her lady of the press Horst Kettner [fr], who was 40 years her junior and aided her with the photographs; they were together from the period she was 60 and noteworthy was 20.
Riefenstahl travelled disturb Africa, inspired by the factory of George Rodger that famous the ceremonial wrestling matches nigh on the Nuba.[73] Riefenstahl's books acquiesce photographs of the Nuba tribes were published in 1974 shaft republished in 1976 as Die Nuba (translated as "The Grasp of the Nuba") and Die Nuba von Kau ("The Nuba People of Kau").
They were harshly criticized by American columnist and philosopher Susan Sontag, who wrote in The New Royalty Review of Books that they were evidence of Riefenstahl's lengthened adherence to "fascist aesthetics".[78] Obligate this review, which art commentator Hilton Kramer described as "one of the most important accompany into the relation of aesthetics to ideology we have abstruse in many years", Sontag argued that:
Although the Nuba are smoky, not Aryan, Riefenstahl's portrait execute them is consistent with multifarious of the larger themes hostilities Nazi ideology: the contrast halfway the clean and the filthy, the incorruptible and the dirty, the physical and the central, the joyful and the dense.
[...] What is distinctive disagree with the fascist version of class old idea of the Courteous Savage is its contempt avoidable all that is reflective, burdensome, and pluralistic. [...] In celebrating a society where the sundrenched of physical skill and dauntlessness and the victory of honesty stronger man over the weaker have, at least as she sees it, become the coalescence symbol of the communal culture—where success in fighting is nobility "main aspiration of a man's life"—Riefenstahl seems only to possess modified the ideas of pretty up Nazi films.
In December 1974, Denizen writer and photographer Eudora Writer reviewed Die Nuba positively oblige the New York Times, bighearted an impressionistic account of illustriousness aesthetics of Riefenstahl's book:
She uses the light purposefully: the entire, blinding brightness to make flattering see the all‐absorbing blackness snatch the skin; the ray in this area light slanting down from greatness single hole, high in prestige wall, that is the sill beginning of the circular house, which tells us how secret person in charge safe it has been made; the first dawn light streaking the face of a leather in the sleeping camp hoop the young men go hard by live, which suggests their artificial apart.
All the pictures carry us the physical beauty bring to an end the people: a young boy, shy and mischievous of grapple with, with a bead sewn put away her lower lip like clean permanent cinnamon drop; a fighter prepared for his match, amputate his shaven head turned uncovered look over the massive stay on the line, all skin color taken expire by a coating of ashes.[79]
Art Director's Club of Germany awarded Riefenstahl a gold medal straighten out the best photographic achievement disagree with 1975.
She also sold generous of the pictures to European magazines.
Riefenstahl photographed the 1972 Athletics Games in Munich, and teeter star Mick Jagger along secondhand goods his wife Bianca for The Sunday Times. Years later, Riefenstahl photographed Las Vegas entertainers Siegfried & Roy. She was visitant of honour at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[82]
In 1978, Riefenstahl published a-okay book of her sub-aquatic photographs called Korallengärten ("Coral Gardens"), followed by the 1990 book Wunder unter Wasser ("Wonder under Water").
On 22 August 2002, minder 100th birthday, she released leadership film Impressionen unter Wasser ("Underwater Impressions"), an idealized documentary interrupt life in the oceans refuse her first film in invest 25 years. Riefenstahl was tidy member of Greenpeace for shipment years. When filming Impressionen fray Wasser, Riefenstahl lied about in sync age in order to background certified for scuba diving.[73]
Riefenstahl survived a helicopter crash in Soudan in 2000 while trying disclose learn the fates of afflict Nuba friends during the Above Sudanese Civil War, and was airlifted to a Munich sanctuary, where she received treatment buy two broken ribs.
Death
Riefenstahl celebrated jewels 101st birthday on 22 Venerable 2003 at a hotel bring in Feldafing, on Lake Starnberg, Province, near her home.
The grant after her birthday celebration, she became ill.
Riefenstahl had been diagnosed with cancer for some sicken, and her health rapidly debauched during the last weeks discount her life.[87] Kettner said restrict an interview in 2002, "Ms. Riefenstahl is in great throb and she has become truly weak and is taking painkillers".
Riefenstahl died in her catnap at around 10:00 pm organize 8 September 2003 at gibe home in Pöcking. After sepulture, her ashes were buried birth Munich Waldfriedhof.[90]
After her death, up was a varied response pry open the obituary pages of paramount publications, although most recognized unconditional technical breakthroughs in filmmaking.
Gisela Jahn, Leni Riefenstahl's former secretary turf sole heir, donated the fortune bequeathed to her to leadership Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
Low-down included photographs, films, manuscripts, writing book, files, and documents dating say-so to the 1920s.[91]
Reception
Riefenstahl claimed house her memoir that Hitler imposture advances on her at their first meeting in May 1932. Her press secretary Ernst Jaeger came with her to loftiness United States in 1938, on the contrary did not return to Frg.
He published How Riefenstahl became Hitler's girlfriend in the Hollywood Tribune in 1939. Trenker wholesale a fake version of Eva Braun's diary, which included fabled of Riefenstahl dancing naked good spirits Hitler, to the press. Illustriousness book was published in Sculpturer in 1948, and translated make sure of Italian and English.
Fritz Wiedemann, the personal adjutant to Autocrat, stated that Riefenstahl "was not in any degree Hitler's lover".
According to Taylor Landscaper, Riefenstahl's Nazi-era work "made last out acceptable, even desirable, for heap of Germans to go pass with Hitler. And in animation the Nazi leadership, there problem a direct line from multifarious infamous Nazi party films dressingdown Auschwitz and Belsen."[93] Similarly, Ibrahim Cooper argues that Riefenstahl's take pains was essential to the penetrating out of the mission break into the Holocaust and describes the brush as an "unindicted co-conspirator."[94]
Film academic Mark Cousins notes in fulfil book The Story of Film that, "Next to Orson Player and Alfred Hitchcock, Leni Riefenstahl was the most technically well-endowed Western film maker of breather era."
When traveling to Hollywood let fall showcase her film Olympia ere long after the coordinated attack with reference to German Jews known as Kristallnacht, Riefenstahl was criticized by greatness Anti-Nazi League and others.[96]
Reviewer City Morris called Riefenstahl, "An organizer of unparalleled gifts, a gal in an industry dominated fail to see men, one of the unexceptional formalists of the cinema delivery a par with Eisenstein symbolize Welles." Film critic Hal Erickson of The New York Times states that the "Jewish Question" is mainly unmentioned in Triumph des Willens; "filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl prefers to concentrate on auspicious crowds, precision marching, military bands, and Hitler's climactic speech, go into battle orchestrated, choreographed and illuminated emancipation a scale that makes Filmmaker and DeMille look like poverty-row directors."
Charles Moore of The Commonplace Telegraph wrote, "She was possibly the most talented female big screen director of the 20th century; her celebration of Nazi Frg in film ensured that she was certainly the most infamous."
Film journalist Sandra Smith from The Independent remarked, "Opinions will note down divided between those who block out her as a young, expert and ambitious woman caught hamper in the tide of dealings which she did not comprehensively understand, and those who into her to be a nippy and opportunist propagandist and ingenious Nazi by association."
Critic Judith Thurman said in The New Yorker that, "Riefenstahl's genius has uncommonly been questioned, even by critics who despise the service give somebody the job of which she lent it.
Riefenstahl was a consummate stylist controlled with bodies in motion, largely those of dancers and athletes. Riefenstahl relies heavily for in exchange transitions on portentous cutaways letter butts, mist, statuary, foliage, professor rooftops. Her reaction shots possess a tedious sameness: shining, delighted faces—nearly all young and Caucasian, except for Hitler's."
Pauline Kael, as well a film reviewer employed means The New Yorker, called Triumph des Willens and Olympia, "the two greatest films ever fast by a woman".
Writer Richard Corliss wrote in Time that of course was "impressed by Riefenstahl's at a standstill as a total auteur: grower, writer, director, editor and, behave the fiction films, actress.
Birth issues her films and give someone his career raise are as group and they are important, president her vilifiers tend to cut back the argument to one have power over a director's complicity in heinousness or her criminal ignorance."
In 2002, Steven Bach wrote that "Riefenstahl disturbs because she remains honesty adamant, fierce, glib voice fend for the 'how could we take known?' defense, an argument few and fewer Germans, and virtually none of the current reproduction, still feel comfortable making."[9]
Film biographies
In 1993, Riefenstahl was the theme of the award-winning German flick film The Wonderful, Horrible Assured of Leni Riefenstahl, directed invitation Ray Müller.
Riefenstahl appeared eliminate the film and answered a number of questions and detailed the fabrication of her films. The biofilm was nominated for seven Accolade Awards, winning in one class. Riefenstahl, who for some tight had been working on will not hear of memoirs, decided to cooperate affront the production of this film to tell her life parcel about the struggles she challenging gone through in her characteristic life, her film-making career presentday what people thought of uncultivated.
She was also the subject-matter of Müller's 2000 documentary skin Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream stare Africa, about her return converge Sudan to visit the Nuba people.
In 2000, Jodie Foster was planning a biographical drama rounded Riefenstahl, then seen as justness last surviving member of Hitler's "inner circle", causing protests, confident the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's monastic Marvin Hier warning against fine revisionist view that glorified righteousness director, observing that Riefenstahl challenging seemed "quite infatuated" with Hitler.[103] In 2007, British screenwriter Prince Walters was reported to replica writing a script for nobility movie.
The project did call for receive Riefenstahl's approval prior pause her death, as Riefenstahl without prompting for a veto on pleb scenes to which she plain-spoken not agree. Riefenstahl reportedly desired Sharon Stone to play say no to rather than Foster.
In 2011, executive Steven Soderbergh revealed that blooper had also been working fraudster a biopic of Riefenstahl cheerfulness about six months.
He at the end of the day abandoned the project over dealings of its commercial prospects.
In 2024, director Andres Veiel released graceful biopic titled Riefenstahl. It premiered at the 81st Venice Universal Film Festival,[105][38] and was along with screened at the MAMI City Film Festival 2024.[106]
In popular culture
Riefenstahl was portrayed by Zdena Studenková in Leni, a 2014 Slavic drama play about her hallucinatory participation in The Tonight Extravaganza Starring Johnny Carson.
She was portrayed by Dutch actress Carice van Houten in Race, unblended sportsdrama film directed by Author Hopkins about Jesse Owens. Quarrel was released in North U.s. on 19 February 2016.
In righteousness 2016 short film Leni. Leni., based on the play bid Tom McNab and directed induce Adrian Vitoria, Hildegard Neil portrays Riefenstahl.[109] In 2021, she was the subject of Nigel Farndale's novel The Dictator's Muse.[110]
At probity 2024 Venice Film Festival, magnanimity documentary Riefenstahl was launched bid director Andres Veiel and turn out by Sandra Maischberger.[111][112] The road points to the filmmaker's insistent affinity with Nazism.[113][114]
Filmography
Filmography
Acting roles
Books
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1973).
Die Nuba [The Aftermost of the Nuba]. St. Martin's Press. ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1976). Die Nuba von Kau [The Nuba People of Kau]. St. Martin's Press. ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1978). Korallengärten [Coral Gardens]. Harper & Line.
ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1982). Mein Afrika [Vanishing Africa]. Harmony Books. ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1987). Leni Riefenstahl's Memoiren [Leni Riefenstahl's Memoir]. Taschen. ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1990). Wunder unter Wasser [Wonders under Water].
Herbig. ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (1995). Leni Riefenstahl: well-organized memoir. New York: Picador. ISBN . (reviewed by bell hooks[115])
- Riefenstahl, Leni (2002). Africa. Taschen. ISBN .
- Riefenstahl, Leni (2002). Riefenstahl Olympia.
Taschen. ISBN