Leni Riefenstahl
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Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became interested in dancing during her childhood, taking lessons and performing across Europe. After seeing a promotional poster for the 1924 film ''
Mountain of Destiny ''Mountain of Destiny'' (german: Berg des Schicksals) is a 1924 German silent drama film written and directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Hannes Schneider, Frida Richard, Erna Morena, and Luis Trenker. The film is about an alpinist who falls ...
'', she was inspired to move into acting and between 1925 and 1929 starred in five successful motion pictures. Riefenstahl became one of the few women in Germany to direct a film during the
Weimar Period The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
when, in 1932, she decided to try directing with her own film, ''
Das Blaue Licht ''The Blue Light'' (german: Das blaue Licht) is a black-and-white 1932 film directed by Leni Riefenstahl and written by Béla Balázs with uncredited scripting by Carl Mayer. In Riefenstahl's film version, the witch, Junta, played by Riefensta ...
'' ("The Blue Light"). In the 1930s, she directed the
Nazi propaganda film The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi policie ...
s ''
Triumph des Willens ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
'' ("Triumph of the Will") and '' Olympia'', resulting in worldwide attention and acclaim. The films are widely considered two of the most effective and technically innovative
propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...
s ever made. Her involvement in ''Triumph des Willens'', however, significantly damaged her career and reputation after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
was in close collaboration with Riefenstahl during the production of at least three important Nazi films, and they formed a friendly relationship. After the war, Riefenstahl was arrested and found to be a Nazi "
fellow traveller The term ''fellow traveller'' (also ''fellow traveler'') identifies a person who is intellectually sympathetic to the ideology of a political organization, and who co-operates in the organization's politics, without being a formal member of that o ...
" but was not charged with war crimes. Throughout her later life, she denied having known about the Holocaust, and was criticized as the "voice of the 'how could we have known?' defense." Riefenstahl's postwar work included an autobiography and two photography books on the
Nuba people The Nuba people are indigenous inhabitants of central Sudan. Nuba are various indigenous ethnic groups who inhabit the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan state in Sudan, encompassing multiple distinct people that speak different languages which b ...
.


Early life

Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl was born in Berlin on 22 August 1902. Her father, Alfred Theodor Paul Riefenstahl, owned a successful heating and ventilation company and wanted his daughter to follow him into the business world. Since Riefenstahl was the only child for several years, Alfred wanted her to carry on the family name and secure the family fortune. However, her mother, Bertha Ida (Scherlach), who had been a part-time seamstress before her marriage, had faith in Riefenstahl and believed that her daughter's future was in show business. Riefenstahl had a younger brother, Heinz, who was killed at the age of 39 on the Eastern Front in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's war against the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Riefenstahl fell in love with the arts in her childhood. She began to paint and write poetry at the age of four. She was also athletic, and at the age of twelve joined a gymnastics and swimming club. Her mother was confident her daughter would grow up to be successful in the field of art and therefore gave her full support, unlike Riefenstahl's father, who was not interested in his daughter's artistic inclinations. In 1918, when she was 16, Riefenstahl attended a presentation of
Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
which interested her deeply; it led her to want to be a dancer. Her father instead wanted to provide his daughter with an education that could lead to a more dignified occupation. His wife, however, continued to support her daughter's passion. Without her husband's knowledge, she enrolled Riefenstahl in dance and ballet classes at the Grimm-Reiter Dance School in Berlin, where she quickly became a star pupil.


Dancing and acting careers

Riefenstahl attended dancing academies and became well known for her self-styled interpretive dancing skills, traveling across Europe with
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...
in a show funded by Jewish producer Harry Sokal. Riefenstahl often made almost for each performance and was so dedicated to dancing that she gave filmmaking no thought. She began to suffer a series of foot injuries that led to knee surgery that threatened her dancing career. It was while going to a doctor's appointment that she first saw a poster for the 1924 film ''
Mountain of Destiny ''Mountain of Destiny'' (german: Berg des Schicksals) is a 1924 German silent drama film written and directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Hannes Schneider, Frida Richard, Erna Morena, and Luis Trenker. The film is about an alpinist who falls ...
''. She became inspired to go into movie making, and began visiting the cinema to see films and also attended film shows. On one of her adventures, Riefenstahl met
Luis Trenker Luis Trenker (born Alois Franz Trenker, 4 October 1892 – 13 April 1990) was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, Mountaineering, alpinist, and Bobsleigh, bobsledder. Biography Early life Alois Franz Trenker was b ...
, an actor who had appeared in ''Mountain of Destiny''. At a meeting arranged by her friend Gunther Rahn, she met
Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...
, the director of ''Mountain of Destiny'' and a pioneer of the
mountain film A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of human against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlighten ...
genre. Fanck was working on a film in Berlin. After Riefenstahl told him how much she admired his work, she also convinced him of her acting skill. She persuaded him to feature her in one of his films. Riefenstahl later received a package from Fanck containing the script of the 1926 film '' The Holy Mountain''. She made a series of films for Fanck, where she learned from him acting and film editing techniques. One of Fanck's films that brought Riefenstahl into the limelight was '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' of 1929, co-directed by
G. W. Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...
. Her fame spread to countries outside Germany. Riefenstahl produced and directed her own work called ''
Das Blaue Licht ''The Blue Light'' (german: Das blaue Licht) is a black-and-white 1932 film directed by Leni Riefenstahl and written by Béla Balázs with uncredited scripting by Carl Mayer. In Riefenstahl's film version, the witch, Junta, played by Riefensta ...
'' ("The Blue Light") in 1932, co-written by Carl Mayer and
Béla Balázs Béla Balázs (; 4 August 1884 in Szeged – 17 May 1949 in Budapest), born Herbert Béla Bauer, was a Hungarian film critic, aesthetician, writer and poet of Jewish heritage. He was a proponent of formalist film theory. Career Balázs was th ...
. This film won the silver medal at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, but was not universally well-received, for which Riefenstahl blamed the critics, many of whom were Jewish. Upon its 1938 re-release, the names of Balázs and Sokal, both Jewish, were removed from the credits; some reports say this was at Riefenstahl's behest. In the film, Riefenstahl played an innocent peasant girl who is hated by the villagers because they think she is diabolic and cast out. She is protected by a glowing mountain grotto. According to herself, Riefenstahl received invitations to travel to Hollywood to create films, but she refused them in favour of remaining in Germany with a boyfriend. Hitler was a fan of the film, and thought Riefenstahl epitomized the perfect German female. He saw talent in Riefenstahl and arranged a meeting. In 1933, Riefenstahl appeared in the U.S.-German co-productions of the
Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...
-directed, German-language '' SOS Eisberg'' and the
Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...
-directed, English-language ''S.O.S. Iceberg''. The films were filmed simultaneously in English and German and produced and distributed by
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. Her role as an actress in ''S.O.S. Iceberg'' was her only English language role in film.


Directing career


Propaganda films

Riefenstahl heard
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
(NSDAP) leader
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
speak at a rally in 1932 and was mesmerized by his talent as a public speaker. Describing the experience in her memoir, Riefenstahl wrote, "I had an almost apocalyptic vision that I was never able to forget. It seemed as if the Earth's surface were spreading out in front of me, like a hemisphere that suddenly splits apart in the middle, spewing out an enormous jet of water, so powerful that it touched the sky and shook the earth". Hitler was immediately captivated by Riefenstahl's work. She is described as fitting in with Hitler's ideal of Aryan womanhood, a feature he had noted when he saw her starring performance in ''
Das Blaue Licht ''The Blue Light'' (german: Das blaue Licht) is a black-and-white 1932 film directed by Leni Riefenstahl and written by Béla Balázs with uncredited scripting by Carl Mayer. In Riefenstahl's film version, the witch, Junta, played by Riefensta ...
''. After meeting Hitler, Riefenstahl was offered the opportunity to direct ''
Der Sieg des Glaubens ''Der Sieg des Glaubens'' ( en, The Victory of Faith, Victory of Faith, or Victory of the Faith, italic=yes) is the first Nazi propaganda film directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Her film recounts the Fifth Party Rally of the Nazi Party, which occur ...
'' ("The Victory of Faith"), an hour-long propaganda film about the fifth
Nuremberg Rally The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning ''Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactful; ...
in 1933. The opportunity that was offered was a huge surprise to Riefenstahl. Hitler had ordered Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry to give the film commission to Riefenstahl, but the Ministry had never informed her. Riefenstahl agreed to direct the movie even though she was only given a few days before the rally to prepare. She and Hitler got on well, forming a friendly relationship. The propaganda film was funded entirely by the NSDAP. During the filming of ''Victory of Faith'', Hitler had stood side by side with the leader of the
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
(SA), Ernst Röhm, a man with whom he clearly had a close working relationship. Röhm was murdered on Hitler's orders a short time later, during the purge of the SA referred to as the
Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
. It has gone on record that, immediately following the killings, Hitler ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed, although Riefenstahl disputes that this ever happened. Still impressed with Riefenstahl's work, Hitler asked her to film ''
Triumph des Willens ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
'' ("Triumph of the Will"), a new propaganda film about the 1934 party rally in Nuremberg. More than one million Germans participated in the rally. The film is sometimes considered the greatest propaganda film ever made. Initially, according to Riefenstahl, she resisted and did not want to create further Nazi Party films, instead wanting to direct a feature film based on
Eugen d'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to stud ...
's '' Tiefland'' ("Lowlands"), an opera that was extremely popular in Berlin in the 1920s. Riefenstahl received private funding for the production of ''Tiefland'', but the filming in Spain was derailed and the project was cancelled. (When '' Tiefland'' was eventually shot, between 1940 and 1944, it was done in black and white, and was the third most expensive film produced in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. During the filming of ''Tiefland,'' Riefenstahl utilized Romani from internment camps for extras, who were severely mistreated on set, and when the filming completed they were sent to the death camp Auschwitz.) Hitler was able to convince her to film ''Triumph des Willens'' on the condition that she would not be required to make further films for the party, according to Riefenstahl. The motion picture was generally recognized as an epic, innovative work of
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
filmmaking. The film took Riefenstahl's career to a new level and gave her further international recognition. In interviews for the 1993 documentary ''
The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl ''The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl'' (german: Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl) is a 1993 German documentary film about the life of German film director Leni Riefenstahl, directed by Ray Müller. Production Riefenstahl was b ...
'', Riefenstahl adamantly denied any deliberate attempt to create
Nazi propaganda The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...
and said she was disgusted that ''Triumph des Willens'' was used in such a way. Despite allegedly vowing not to make any more films about the Nazi Party, Riefenstahl made the 28-minute '' Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht'' ("Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces") about the German Army in 1935. Like ''Der Sieg des Glaubens'' and ''Triumph des Willens'', this was filmed at the annual Nazi Party rally at Nuremberg. Riefenstahl said this film was a sub-set of ''Der Sieg des Glaubens'', added to mollify the German Army which felt it was not represented well in ''Triumph des Willens''. Hitler invited Riefenstahl to film the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
scheduled to be held in Berlin, a film which Riefenstahl said had been commissioned by the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
. She visited Greece to take footage of the route of the inaugural torch relay and the games' original site at Olympia, where she was aided by Greek photographer
Nelly's Elli Sougioultzoglou-Seraidari ( el, Έλλη Σουγιουλτζόγλου-Σεραϊδάρη; 3 November 1899 – 8 August 1998), better known as Nelly's, was a Greek female photographer whose pictures of ancient Greek temples set against sea an ...
. This material became '' Olympia'', a hugely successful film which has since been widely noted for its technical and aesthetic achievements. ''Olympia'' was secretly funded by the Nazis. She was one of the first filmmakers to use
tracking shot A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails ...
s in a documentary, placing a camera on rails to follow the athletes' movement. The film is also noted for its slow motion shots. Riefenstahl played with the idea of slow motion, underwater diving shots, extremely high and low shooting angles, panoramic aerial shots, and tracking system shots for allowing fast action. Many of these shots were relatively unheard of at the time, but Riefenstahl's use and augmentation of them set a standard, and is the reason they are still used to this day. Riefenstahl's work on ''Olympia'' has been cited as a major influence in modern sports photography. Riefenstahl filmed competitors of all races, including African-American
Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...
in what later became famous footage. ''Olympia'' premiered for Hitler's 49th birthday in 1938. Its international debut led Riefenstahl to embark on an American publicity tour in an attempt to secure commercial release. In February 1937, Riefenstahl enthusiastically told a reporter for the ''
Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...
'', "To me, Hitler is the greatest man who ever lived. He truly is without fault, so simple and at the same time possessed of masculine strength". She arrived in New York City on 4 November 1938, five days before ''
Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...
'' (the "Night of the Broken Glass"). When news of the event reached the United States, Riefenstahl publicly defended Hitler. On 18 November, she was received by
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
in Detroit. ''Olympia'' was shown at the Chicago Engineers Club two days later.
Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...
, President of the International Olympic Committee, praised the film and held Riefenstahl in the highest regard. She negotiated with
Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
, and on 8 December,
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
brought her on a three-hour tour showing her the ongoing production of ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
''. From the ''
Goebbels Diaries The Goebbels Diaries are a collection of writings by Joseph Goebbels, a leading member of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) and the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Adolf Hitler's government from 1933 ...
'', researchers learned that Riefenstahl had been friendly with Joseph Goebbels and his wife
Magda Magda is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form ( hypocorism) of names such as Magdalena, which may refer to: * Magda Apanowicz (born 1985), Canadian actress * Magda B. Arnold (1903–2002), Czechoslovakian-born American psychologist * M ...
, attending the opera with them and going to his parties. Riefenstahl maintained that Goebbels was upset when she rejected his advances and was jealous of her influence on Hitler, seeing her as an internal threat. She therefore insisted his diary entries could not be trusted. By later accounts, Goebbels thought highly of Riefenstahl's filmmaking but was angered with what he saw as her overspending on the Nazi-provided filmmaking budgets.


Iconography

In ''Triumph of the Will'', Tom Saunders argues that Hitler serves as the object of the camera's gaze. Saunders writes, "Without denying that "rampant masculinity" (the "sexiness" of Hitler and the SS) serves as the object of the gaze, I would suggest that desire is also directed toward the feminine. This occurs not in the familiar sequences of adoring women greeting Hitler's arrival and cavalcade through Nuremberg. In these Hitler clearly remains the focus of attraction, as more generally in the visual treatment of his mass following. Rather, it is encoded in representation of flags and banners, which were shot in such a way as to make them visually desirable as well as potent political symbols". The flag serves as a symbol of masculinity, equated with national pride and dominance, that supposedly channels men's sexual and masculine energy. Riefenstahl's cinematic framing of the flags encapsulated its iconography. Saunders continues, "The effect is a significant double transformation: the images mechanize human beings and breathe life into flags. Even when the carriers are not mostly submerged under the sea of colored cloth, and when facial features are visible in profile, they attain neither character nor distinctiveness. The men remain ants in a vast enterprise. By contrast and paradoxically, the flags, whether a few or hundreds peopling the frame, assume distinct identities".


Use of music

Riefenstahl distorts the
diegetic Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: # Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narra ...
sound in ''Triumph of the Will''. Her distortion of sound suggests she was influenced by German art cinema. Influenced by Classical Hollywood cinema's style, German art film employed music to enhance the narrative, establish a sense of grandeur, and to heighten the emotions in a scene. In ''Triumph of the Will'', Riefenstahl used traditional folk music to accompany and intensify her shots. Ben Morgan comments on Riefenstahl's distortion of sound: "In ''Triumph of the Will'', the material world leaves no aural impression beyond the music. Where the film does combine diegetic noise with the music, the effects used are human (laughter or cheering) and offer a rhythmic extension to the music rather than a contrast to it. By replacing diegetic sound, Riefenstahl's film employs music to combine the documentary with the fantastic."


World War II

When
Germany invaded Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
on 1 September 1939, Riefenstahl was photographed in Poland wearing a military uniform and a pistol on her belt in the company of German soldiers; she had gone to Poland as a war correspondent. On 12 September, she was in the town of
Końskie Końskie ( yi, Kinsk, קינצק / קינסק) is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its found ...
when 30 civilians were executed in retaliation for an alleged attack on German soldiers. According to her
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
, Riefenstahl tried to intervene but a furious German soldier held her at gunpoint and threatened to shoot her on the spot. She said she did not realize the victims were Jews. Photographs of a potentially distraught Riefenstahl survive from that day. Nevertheless, by 5 October 1939, Riefenstahl was back in
occupied Poland ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...
filming Hitler's victory parade in Warsaw. Afterwards, she left Poland and chose not to make any more Nazi-related films. On 14 June 1940, the day Paris was declared an
open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open the opposing military will be ...
by the French and occupied by German troops, Riefenstahl wrote to Hitler in a
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
, "With indescribable joy, deeply moved and filled with burning gratitude, we share with you, my Führer, your and Germany's greatest victory, the entry of German troops into Paris. You exceed anything human imagination has the power to conceive, achieving deeds without parallel in the history of mankind. How can we ever thank you?" She later explained, "Everyone thought the war was over, and in that spirit I sent the cable to Hitler". Riefenstahl was friends with Hitler for 12 years. However, her relationship with Hitler severely declined in 1944 after her brother died on the Russian Front. After the Nuremberg rallies trilogy and ''Olympia'', Riefenstahl began work on the movie she had tried and failed to direct once before, namely ''Tiefland''. On Hitler's direct order, the
German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...
paid her in compensation. From 23 September until 13 November 1940, she filmed in
Krün Krün is a municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It belongs with Garmisch-Partenkirchen as district capital and cultural center as well as other municipalities to the region Werdenfelser Land. A few kilometers so ...
near
Mittenwald Mittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria. Geography Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the River Isar, ...
. The extras playing Spanish women and farmers were drawn from Romani detained in a camp at Salzburg-Maxglan who were forced to work with her. Filming at the
Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...
near Berlin began 18 months later in April 1942. This time
Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...
and
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
people from the
Marzahn Marzahn () is a locality within the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform led to the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf fusing into a single new borough. In the north the Marzahn locality inclu ...
detention camp near Berlin were compelled to work as extras. Almost to the end of her life, despite overwhelming evidence that the concentration camp occupants had been forced to work on the movie were later sent to the Auschwitz death camp, Riefenstahl continued to maintain that all the film extras survived. Riefenstahl sued filmmaker Nina Gladitz, who said Riefenstahl personally chose the extras at their holding camp; Gladitz had found one of the Romani survivors and matched his memory with stills of the movie for a documentary Gladitz was filming. The German court ruled largely in favour of Gladitz, declaring that Riefenstahl had known the extras were from a concentration camp, but they also agreed that Riefenstahl had not been informed the Romani would be sent to Auschwitz after filming was completed. This issue came up again in 2002, when Riefenstahl was 100 years old and she was taken to court by a
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
group for denying the Nazis had exterminated Romani. Riefenstahl apologized and said, "I regret that
Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...
and Roma eoplehad to suffer during the period of National Socialism. It is known today that many of them were murdered in
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
s". In October 1944 the production of ''Tiefland'' moved to
Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including '' Mission Impossible'', ' ...
in Prague for interior filming. Lavish sets made these shots some of the most costly of the film. The film was not edited and released until almost ten years later. The last time Riefenstahl saw Hitler was when she married Peter Jacob on 21 March 1944. Riefenstahl and Jacob divorced in 1946. As Germany's military situation became impossible by early 1945, Riefenstahl left Berlin and was hitchhiking with a group of men, trying to reach her mother, when she was taken into custody by American troops. She walked out of a holding camp, beginning a series of escapes and arrests across the chaotic landscape. At last making it back home on a bicycle, she found that American troops had seized her house. She was surprised by how kindly they treated her.


Thwarted film projects

Most of Riefenstahl's unfinished projects were lost towards the end of the war. The French government confiscated all of her editing equipment, along with the production reels of ''Tiefland''. After years of legal wrangling, these were returned to her, but the French government had reportedly damaged some of the film stock whilst trying to develop and edit it, with a few key scenes being missing (although Riefenstahl was surprised to find the original negatives for ''Olympia'' in the same shipment). During the filming of ''Olympia'', Riefenstahl was funded by the state to create her own production company in her own name, Riefenstahl-Film GmbH, which was uninvolved with her most influential works. She edited and dubbed the remaining material and ''Tiefland'' premiered on 11 February 1954 in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
. However, it was denied entry into the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. Although Riefenstahl lived for almost another half century, ''Tiefland'' was her last feature film. Riefenstahl tried many times to make more films during the 1950s and 1960s, but was met with resistance, public protests and sharp criticism. Many of her filmmaking peers in Hollywood had fled Nazi Germany and were unsympathetic to her. Although both film professionals and investors were willing to support her work, most of the projects she attempted were stopped owing to ever-renewed and highly negative publicity about her past work in Nazi Germany. In 1954,
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
, who greatly admired the film, insisted on ''Tiefland'' being shown at the Cannes Film Festival, which he was running that year. In 1960, Riefenstahl attempted to prevent filmmaker Erwin Leiser from juxtaposing scenes from ''Triumph des Willens'' with footage from concentration camps in his film ''Mein Kampf''. Riefenstahl had high hopes for a collaboration with Cocteau called ''Friedrich und Voltaire'' ("Friedrich and Voltaire"), wherein Cocteau was to play two roles. They thought the film might symbolize the love-hate relationship between Germany and France. Cocteau's illness and 1963 death put an end to the project. A musical remake of ''Das Blaue Licht'' ("The Blue Light") with an English production company also fell apart. In the 1960s, Riefenstahl became interested in Africa from
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
's '' Green Hills of Africa'' and from the photographs of
George Rodger George William Adam Rodger (19 March 1908 – 24 July 1995) was a British photojournalist noted for his work in Africa and for photographing the mass deaths at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the end of the Second World War. Life and career ...
. She visited Kenya for the first time in 1956 and later Sudan, where she photographed
Nuba The Nuba people are indigenous inhabitants of central Sudan. Nuba are various indigenous ethnic groups who inhabit the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan state in Sudan, encompassing multiple distinct people that speak different languages which b ...
tribes with whom she sporadically lived, learning about their culture so she could photograph them more easily. Even though her film project 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 the world. While scouting shooting locations, she almost died from injuries received in a truck accident. After waking up from a coma in a
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
hospital, she finished writing the script, but was soon thoroughly thwarted by uncooperative locals, the Suez Canal crisis and bad weather. In the end, the film project was called off. Even so, Riefenstahl was granted Sudanese citizenship for her services to the country, becoming the first foreigner to receive a Sudanese passport.


Detention and trials

Novelist and sports writer
Budd Schulberg Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg, March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels '' What Makes Sammy Run?'' and ''The Harder They Fall;'' ...
, assigned by the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
to the OSS for intelligence work while attached to
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
's documentary unit, was ordered to arrest Riefenstahl at her chalet in Kitzbühel, ostensibly to have her identify Nazi war criminals in German film footage captured by the Allied troops shortly after the war. Riefenstahl said she was not aware of the nature of the internment camps. According to Schulberg, "She gave me the usual song and dance. She said, 'Of course, you know, I'm really so misunderstood. I'm not political'". Riefenstahl said she was fascinated by the Nazis, but also politically naive, remaining ignorant about war crimes. Throughout 1945 to 1948, she was held by various Allied-controlled prison camps across Germany. She was also under house arrest for a period of time. She was tried four times by postwar authorities for denazification and eventually found to be a "fellow traveller" (''Mitläufer'') who sympathised with the Nazis. While never an official member of the Nazi party, she was always seen in association due to the propaganda films she made in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Over the years, she filed and won over fifty libel cases against people who had accused her of complicity with Nazi crimes. Riefenstahl said that her biggest regret in life was meeting Hitler, declaring, "It was the biggest catastrophe of my life. Until the day I die people will keep saying, 'Leni is a Nazi', and I'll keep saying, 'But what did she do?'" Even though she went on to win up to fifty libel cases, details about her relation to the Nazi party generally remain unclear. Shortly before she died, Riefenstahl voiced her final words on the subject of her connection to Hitler in a BBC interview: "I was one of millions who thought Hitler had all the answers. We saw only the good things; we didn't know bad things were to come."


Africa, photography, books and final film

Riefenstahl began a lifelong companionship with her cameraman Horst Kettner, who was 40 years her junior and assisted her with the photographs; they were together from the time she was 60 and he was 20. Riefenstahl traveled to Africa, inspired by the works of George Rodger that celebrated the ceremonial wrestling matches of the Nuba. Riefenstahl's books with photographs of the Nuba tribes were published in 1974 and republished in 1976 as ''The Last of the Nuba, Die Nuba'' (translated as "The Last of the Nuba") and ''The People of Kau, Die Nuba von Kau'' ("The Nuba People of Kau"). They were harshly criticized by American writer and philosopher Susan Sontag, who wrote in ''The New York Review of Books'' that they were evidence of Riefenstahl's continued adherence to "fascist aesthetics". In this review, which art critic Hilton Kramer described as "one of the most important inquiries into the relation of esthetics to ideology we have had in many years", Sontag argued that:
Although the Nuba are black, not Aryan, Riefenstahl's portrait of them is consistent with some of the larger themes of Nazi ideology: the contrast between the clean and the impure, the incorruptible and the defiled, the physical and the mental, the joyful and the critical. [...] What is distinctive about the fascist version of the old idea of the Noble Savage is its contempt for all that is reflective, critical, and pluralistic. [...] In celebrating a society where the exhibition of physical skill and courage and the victory of the stronger man over the weaker have, at least as she sees it, become the unifying symbol of the communal culture—where success in fighting is the "main aspiration of a man's life"—Riefenstahl seems only to have modified the ideas of her Nazi films.
In December 1974, American writer and photographer Eudora Welty reviewed ''Die Nuba'' positively for the ''New York Times'', giving an impressionistic account of the aesthetics of Riefenstahl's book:
She uses the light purposefully: the full, blinding brightness to make us see the ail‐absorbing blackness of the skin; the ray of light slanting down from the single hole, high in the wall, that is the doorway of the circular house, which tells us how secret and safe it has been made; the first dawn light streaking the face of a calf in the sleeping camp where the young men go to live, which suggests their world apart. All the pictures bring us the physical beauty of the people: a young girl, shy and mischievous of face, with a bead sewn into her lower lip like a permanent cinnamon drop; a wrestler prepared for his match, with his shaven head turned to look over the massive shoulder, all skin color taken away by a coating of ashes.
Art Director's Club of Germany awarded Riefenstahl a gold medal for the best photographic achievement of 1975. She also sold some of the pictures to German magazines. Riefenstahl photographed the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, and rock star Mick Jagger along with his wife Bianca Jagger, Bianca for ''The Sunday Times''. Years later, Riefenstahl photographed Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas entertainers Siegfried & Roy. She was guest of honour at the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1978, Riefenstahl published a 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, her 100th birthday, she released the film ''Impressionen unter Wasser'' ("Underwater Impressions"), an idealized documentary of life in the oceans and her first film in over 25 years. Riefenstahl was a member of Greenpeace for eight years. When filming ''Impressionen unter Wasser'', Riefenstahl lied about her age in order to be certified for scuba diving. Riefenstahl survived a helicopter crash in Sudan in 2000 while trying to learn the fates of her Nuba friends during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and was airlifted to a Munich hospital, where she received treatment for two broken ribs.


Death

Riefenstahl celebrated her 101st birthday on 22 August 2003 at a hotel in Feldafing, on Lake Starnberg, Bavaria, near her home. The day after her birthday celebration, she became ill. Riefenstahl had been suffering from cancer for some time, and her health rapidly deteriorated during the last weeks of her life. Kettner said in an interview in 2002, "Ms. Riefenstahl is in great pain and she has become very weak and is taking painkillers". Riefenstahl died in her sleep at around 10:00 pm on 8 September 2003 at her home in Pöcking, Germany. After her death, there was a varied response in the obituary pages of leading publications, although most recognized her technical breakthroughs in filmmaking. Gisela Jahn, Leni Riefenstahl's former secretary and sole heir, donated the estate bequeathed to her to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. Items included photographs, films, manuscripts, letters, files, and documents dating back to the 1920s.


Reception

According to Taylor Downing, Riefenstahl's Nazi-era work "made it acceptable, even desirable, for millions of Germans to go along with Hitler. And in promoting the Nazi leadership, there is a direct line from her infamous Nazi party films to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Belsen." Similarly, Abraham Cooper (rabbi), Abraham Cooper argues that Riefenstahl's work was essential to the carrying out of the mission of the Holocaust and describes her as an "unindicted co-conspirator." Film scholar Mark Cousins (film critic), Mark Cousins notes in his book ''Mark Cousins (film critic)#Career, The Story of Film'' that, "Next to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, Leni Riefenstahl was the most technically talented Western film maker of her era". When traveling to Hollywood to showcase her film ''Olympia'' shortly after the coordinated attack of German Jews known as ''
Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...
'', Riefenstahl was criticized by the Anti-Nazi League and others. Reviewer Gary Morris called Riefenstahl, "An artist of unparalleled gifts, a woman in an industry dominated by men, one of the great formalists of the cinema on a par with Sergei Eisenstein, Eisenstein or Orson Welles, 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 cheering crowds, precision marching, military bands, and Hitler's climactic speech, all orchestrated, choreographed and illuminated on a scale that makes Griffith and DeMille look like poverty-row directors". Charles Moore of ''The Daily Telegraph'' wrote, "She was perhaps the most talented female cinema director of the 20th century; her celebration of Nazi Germany in film ensured that she was certainly the most infamous". Film journalist Sandra Smith from ''The Independent'' remarked, "Opinions will be divided between those who see her as a young, talented and ambitious woman caught up in the tide of events which she did not fully understand, and those who believe her to be a cold and opportunist propagandist and a Nazi by association." Critic Judith Thurman said in ''The New Yorker'' that, "Riefenstahl's genius has rarely been questioned, even by critics who despise the service to which she lent it. Riefenstahl was a consummate stylist obsessed with bodies in motion, particularly those of dancers and athletes. Riefenstahl relies heavily for her transitions on portentous cutaways to clouds, mist, statuary, foliage, and rooftops. Her reaction shots have a tedious sameness: shining, ecstatic faces—nearly all young and Aryan, except for Hitler's". Pauline Kael, also a film reviewer employed for ''The New Yorker'', called ''Triumph des Willens'' and ''Olympia'', "the two greatest films ever directed by a woman". Writer Richard Corliss wrote in ''Time (magazine), Time'' that he was "impressed by Riefenstahl's standing as a total auteur: producer, writer, director, editor and, in the fiction films, actress. The issues her films and her career raise are as complex and they are important, and her vilifiers tend to reduce the argument to one of a director's complicity in atrocity or her criminal ignorance". In 2002, Steven Bach wrote that "Riefenstahl disturbs because she remains the adamant, fierce, glib voice of the 'how could we have known?' defense, an argument fewer and fewer Germans, and almost none of the current generation, still feel comfortable making."


Film biographies

In 1993, Riefenstahl was the subject of the award-winning German documentary film ''The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl'', directed by Ray Müller. Riefenstahl appeared in the film and answered several questions and detailed the production of her films. The biofilm was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning in one category. Riefenstahl, who for some time had been working on her memoirs, decided to cooperate in the production of this documentary to tell her life story about the struggles she had gone through in her personal life, her film-making career and what people thought of her. She was also the subject of Müller's 2000 documentary film ''Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa'', about her return to Sudan to visit the Nuba people. In 2000, Jodie Foster was planning a biographical drama on Riefenstahl, then seen as the last surviving member of Hitler's "inner circle", causing protests, with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Simon Wiesenthal Centre's dean Marvin Hier warning against a revisionist view that glorified the director, observing that Riefenstahl had seemed "quite infatuated" with Hitler. In 2007, British screenwriter Rupert Walters was reported to be writing a script for the movie. The project did not receive Riefenstahl's approval prior to her death, as Riefenstahl asked for a veto on any scenes to which she did not agree. Riefenstahl reportedly wanted Sharon Stone to play her rather than Foster. In 2011, director Steven Soderbergh revealed that he had also been working on a biopic of Riefenstahl for about six months. He eventually abandoned the project over concerns of its commercial prospects.


In popular culture

Riefenstahl was portrayed by Zdena Studenková in ''Leni'', a 2014 Slovak drama play about her fictional participation in ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. She was portrayed by Dutch actress Carice van Houten in ''Race (2016 film), Race'', a Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Stephen Hopkins (director), Stephen Hopkins about
Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...
. It was released in North America on 19 February 2016. In the 2016 short film ''Leni. Leni.'', based on the play by Tom McNab and directed by Adrian Vitoria, Hildegard Neil portrays Riefenstahl. In 2021, she was the subject of Nigel Farndale's novel ''The Dictator's Muse''.


Filmography


As actress

*1925: ''Ways to Strength and Beauty, Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit'' ("Ways to Strength and Beauty") as Dancer *1926: ''The Holy Mountain (1926 film), Der heilige Berg'' ("The Holy Mountain") as Diotima *1927: ''The Great Leap (film), Der große Sprung'' ("The Great Leap") as Gita *1928: ''Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg'' ("Fate of the House of Habsburg") as Maria Vetsera *1929: ''The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929 film), Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü'' ("The White Hell of Pitz Palu") as Maria Maioni *1930: ''Stürme über dem Mont Blanc'' ("Storm Over Mont Blanc") as Hella Armstrong *1931: ''The White Ecstasy (film), Der weiße Rausch'' ("The White Ecstasy") as Leni *1932: ''The Blue Light (1932 film), Das blaue Licht'' ("The Blue Light") as Junta *1933: ''S.O.S. Eisberg'' ("S.O.S. Iceberg") as Hella, seine Frau *1954: '' Tiefland'' ("Lowlands") as Martha, eine spanische Betteltänzerin (final film role)


As director

* 1932: ''The Blue Light (1932 film), Das blaue Licht'' ("The Blue Light") * 1933: ''
Der Sieg des Glaubens ''Der Sieg des Glaubens'' ( en, The Victory of Faith, Victory of Faith, or Victory of the Faith, italic=yes) is the first Nazi propaganda film directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Her film recounts the Fifth Party Rally of the Nazi Party, which occur ...
'' ("The Victory of Faith") * 1935: ''
Triumph des Willens ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
'' ("Triumph of the Will") * 1935: '' Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht'' ("Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces") * 1937: ''Wilde Wasser'' ("Wild Water") * 1938: '' Olympia'' * 1954: '' Tiefland'' ("Lowlands") * 1965: ''Allein unter den Nuba'' ("Alone Among the Nuba") (Unreleased) * 2002: ''Impressionen unter Wasser'' ("Impressions under Water")


Books

* * * * * * * (reviewed by bell hooks) * *


References

Notes Bibliography ::Printed * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ::Online * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Leni Riefenstahl
at Jewish Virtual Library * *
Leni Riefenstahl's ''Triumph of the Will'' on MoMA Learning
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riefenstahl, Leni Leni Riefenstahl, 1902 births 2003 deaths 20th-century German actresses 20th-century German women artists 20th-century memoirists 20th-century women photographers Actresses from Berlin Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof Deaths from cancer in Germany Expatriate photographers in Sudan Film directors from Berlin German centenarians German documentary film directors German female dancers German film actresses German memoirists German propagandists German Protestants German silent film actresses German women film directors German women photographers Mountaineering film directors Nazi propagandists People from the Province of Brandenburg Photographers from Berlin Propaganda film directors Underwater photographers Women centenarians Women documentary filmmakers Women in Nazi Germany German women cinematographers Film controversies in Germany