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| {{Infobox actor | |||
| | bgcolour = silver | |||
| | name = Leni Riefenstahl | |||
| | image = Leni-Riefenstahl - Profile.jpg | |||
| | imagesize = | |||
| | caption = Riefenstahl, 1931 | |||
| | birthname = Helene Berta Amalie Riefenstahl | |||
| | birthdate = ], ] | |||
| | location = ], ] | |||
| | deathdate = ], ], | |||
| (age 101) | |||
| | deathplace = ], ] | |||
| | othername = | |||
| | yearsactive = | |||
| | spouse = | |||
| | homepage = | |||
| | notable role = | |||
| | academyawards = | |||
| | emmyawards = | |||
| | tonyawards = | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl''' (] ] – ] ]) was a ] ], dancer and ], and widely noted for her ] and advances in film technique. Her most famous film was '']'', a ] of the 1934 ] congress of the ], which was used by the ] as a powerful ]. Because of Riefenstahl's social prominence in the Third Reich, including a personal acquaintance with ] and ], Leni Riefenstahl's film career ended after Germany's defeat in ], when she was arrested but not found guilty of war crimes.<ref>{{cite video | |||
| | people = Leni Riefenstahl | |||
| | year = 1993 | |||
| | date = | |||
| | title = Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl | |||
| | url = | |||
| | format = | |||
| | medium = motion picture | |||
| | publisher = Ray Müller | |||
| | location = Germany, Africa | |||
| | accessdate = | |||
| | accessmonth= | |||
| | accessyear = | |||
| | time = | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| Riefenstahl is renowned in ] for developing new aesthetics in film, especially in relation to nude bodies. While the propaganda value of her early films repels many, their aesthetics are cited by many filmmakers as outstanding. | |||
| Rejected by the film industry after ], she later published her still ] of ] tribes in ] and continued to make films of marine life. | |||
| ==Biography== | |||
| ===Dancer and actress=== | |||
| Riefenstahl was born an hermafrodite in the working class suburb of ] in ]. Riefenstahl began her career as a self-styled and well-known ]r. (In a 2002 interview, she said dancing made her truly happy.) After injuring her knee while performing in ], she attended a viewing of a nature film about mountains, and became fascinated with the possibilities of the medium. She went to the ] to find the film's director, ], intending to become the leading lady in his his next project. Riefenstahl found the star of Fanck's films, who wrote to the director and informed him of Riefenstahl's intentions. Riefenstahl went on to star in a number of Fanck's ], presenting herself as an athletic and adventurous young woman with suggestive appeal. Riefenstahl's career as an actor in ]s was prolific, and she became highly regarded by directors and publicly popular with German film-goers. Her last acting role before moving to directing was in the 1933 film '']'' (U.S. title ''SOS Iceberg''). | |||
| Riefenstahl brought a perfectionism to filmmaking that enabled her to produce exceptionally polished movies, culminating in her final works in NationalSocialist Germany. Her main interest at first was in fictional films. When presented with her first opportunity to write and direct '']'' in 1932, she took it. Breaking from her mentor's style of setting realistic stories in "fairytale" mountain settings, Riefenstahl wrote Das Blaue Licht as a romantic, mystical tale which she viewed as more fitting to the terrain.{{cite video | |||
| | people = Leni Riefenstahl | |||
| | year = 1993 | |||
| | date = | |||
| | title = Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl | |||
| | url = | |||
| | format = | |||
| | medium = motion picture | |||
| | publisher = Ray Müller | |||
| | location = Germany, Africa | |||
| | accessdate = | |||
| | accessmonth= | |||
| | accessyear = | |||
| | time = | |||
| }} | |||
| ===Propaganda film=== | |||
| ]'')]] | |||
| Riefenstahl heard ] speak at a rally in 1932 and was mesmerized by his powers as a public speaker. Upon meeting Riefenstahl, Hitler, himself a frustrated artist, saw the chance to hire a visionary who could create the image of a strong, proud ] Germany radiating beauty, power, strength, and defiance, an image he could sell to the world. During a personal meeting he asked Riefenstahl to make a documentary and, in 1933, she directed the ] '']'' (''Victory of Faith''), an hour-long feature about the NationalSocialist party rally at Nuremberg in 1933 (released on DVD in 2003). Riefenstahl decried the technique in this piece and didn't consider it to be adequately produced to be called a feature. | |||
| Reports vary as to whether Riefenstahl ever had a close relationship with Hitler<ref> See Infield, Glenn B. ''Eva and Adolf'' New York:1974--Grosset and Dunlap (Interviews with former ] officers who had been close to Hitler and ]) Page 128--It was reportedly revealed by ] that Riefenstahl got the contract to film ''Triumph of the Will'' by dancing in the nude for Hitler in his bedroom (it was well known that Hitler liked use opera glasses to watch ] dancers strip). </ref> but, impressed with her work, he then asked her to film the upcoming 1934 Party rally in Nuremberg. | |||
| After initially turning down the project because she did not want to make "a prescribed film", Riefenstahl began making another film titled '']''. She hired ] to direct it in her place. When she fell ill, ''Tiefland'' was cancelled. Upon her recovery, she reviewed Ruttmann's initial footage and found it to be terrible. She eventually relented to Hitler's pressure, and resumed her role as director of the film. She was given unlimited resources, camera crews, budget, complete artistic control and final cut of the film. | |||
| '']'' was a documentary generally recognized as a masterful, epic, innovative work of documentary filmmaking. Because it was commissioned by the National Socialist party and used as ], however, critics have said it is nearly impossible to separate the subject from the artist behind it. ''Triumph of the Will'' was a rousing success in ], but widely banned in America. The film is widely regarded as one of the most effective pieces of propaganda ever produced. However, in interviews for the 1993 film ''The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl'', Reifenstahl herself adamantly denied a deliberate attempt to create pro-Nazi propaganda and stated that she was disgusted that ''Triumph of the Will'' was used in such a way.<ref name=int01>Interview with Leni Reifenstahl for ''Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl, Die/The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl'', 1993</ref> | |||
| ''Triumph of the Will'' won many international awards as a ground-breaking example of filmmaking. Leni Riefenstahl also made a lesser-known film about the German ], released in 1935 as '']'' (''Day of Freedom''). | |||
| In 1936 Riefenstahl qualified as an athlete to represent Germany in ] for the ] but decided to film the event instead. She also went to ] (aided by fellow Greek photographer ]) to film on the Games' original location. This material became '']'', a film widely noted for its technical and aesthetic achievements. She adopted a technique commonly known as a ] and applied it to the documentary form, placing the camera on rails to follow the movement of the athletes. Riefenstahl's achievements in the making of Olympia have proved to be a major influence in modern sports photography. | |||
| == World War II == | |||
| During the ] Leni Riefenstahl was photographed wearing a ] uniform and a pistol on her belt,<ref>, ], 2003-10-05</ref> while accompanying German soldiers in Poland. On ] 1939 she was present in the town of ] during an execution of 30 civilians carried out in retaliation of an unspecified attack on German soldiers. According to her ] she tried to intervene but a furious German soldier held her at gun point and threatened to shoot her on the spot. Closeup photographs from that day survive, showing a distraught Leni. As a result of the events, Riefenstahl immediately went to meet Hitler who at that time was in ] (now Sopot, Poland) on the ] watching ]. | |||
| In Zoppot, Riefenstahl used her personal influences to demand an audience with Adolf Hitler. However, by ] 1939 Leni Riefenstahl was already back in ] and filming Hitler's ]. | |||
| The ], on its sister channel, History International, released a documentary entitled, ''Hitler's Women: Leni Riefenstahl''. In it, the accusation is made that Riefenstahl was acutely aware that her films were propaganda. They point to evidence such as the fact that Hitler had a sit-down discussion between Riefenstahl and Hitler's propaganda minister, ] at her personal German villa, as seen in this (Registration Required), to resolve differences the two were having which were causing strife in Hitler's early regime. More interesting are the film clips of Riefenstahl dining with Goebbels and Himmler, and other top men of both the ] and ] branches of ], intercut with interviews with German historians and WWII scholars questioning how any one could appear at state dinners with top National Socialist officials (eating at the high table with them) and be completely unaware of what politics they were supporting. Furthering the connection, they cite the fact that Riefenstahl sent a celebratory telegram to Hitler after the successful military campaign in France, "Your deeds exceed the power of human imagination. They are without equal in the history of mankind. How can we ever thank you?".<ref> See also and other </ref> | |||
| Lastly, they detail interviews with actual ] survivors of the Holocaust, who refute Riefenstahl's claims that the concentration camp inmates she used for filming were not killed.<ref> See also , '']'', August 17, 2002. </ref> Reifenstahl herself, in interviews, claimed she wasn't aware of the nature of the internment camps.<ref name=int01> </ref> | |||
| ==Postwar accusations, professional disgrace== | |||
| After ], she spent four years in a ] ]. She was investigated by postwar authorities several times, but never convicted, either for her alleged role as a propagandist or her use of ] inmates in her films. See . In later interviews Riefenstahl maintained that she was "fascinated" by the National Socialists but politically naïve and ignorant about the ]s of which they were subsequently found guilty. | |||
| ===Postwar career, legacy and personal life=== | |||
| Riefenstahl attempted to make films after the war but each attempt was met with resistance, protests, sharp criticisms and an inability to secure funding. In 1944, she married Peter Jacob, whom she later divorced, and in the 1960s began a lifelong companionship with Horst Kettner, who was forty years her junior. He remained with her until the end of her life. | |||
| She became a ] and was later the first to photograph rock star ] and his wife ] as a couple holding hands after they were married, as they were both admirers. Jagger told Riefenstahl he had seen ''Triumph of the Will'' at least 15 times {{Fact|date=April 2007}}. | |||
| Riefenstahl developed an interest in the ] tribe in ] and lived among the Nuba for various periods. Her books with photographs of the tribe were published in 1974 and 1976. She survived a ] crash in the Sudan in 2000. | |||
| At age 72, Riefenstahl lied about her age (she claimed she was 52) to get certified for ] and began to pursue underwater photography. She released a new film titled '']'' (''Underwater Impressions''), an idealized documentary on life in the oceans, on her 100th birthday - ], ]. | |||
| ==Death== | |||
| Leni Riefenstahl died in her sleep in the late evening of ] ], at her home in ], Germany a few weeks after her 101st birthday. She had been suffering from cancer. She was buried in the ] in Munich. | |||
| ==Works== | |||
| ]'', 1931]] | |||
| ===Actor=== | |||
| * ''] - Ein Film über moderne Körperkultur'' ('']'', 1926) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1926) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1927) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1928) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1929) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1930) | |||
| * ''] – neue Wunder des Schneeschuhs'' ('']'', 1931) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1932) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1933) | |||
| * '']'' (Part 1 ''Festival of the Nations'', 1938) (uncredited, as nude model in opening sequence) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1954) | |||
| ===Director=== | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1932) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1933) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1934) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1935) | |||
| * '']'' (''Festive Nuremberg'', 1937) | |||
| * '']'' (Part 1 known as ''Fest der Völker''/''Festival of the Nations'', Part 2 as ''Fest der Schönheit''/''Festival of Beauty'', 1938) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 1954) | |||
| * '']'' ('']'', 2002) | |||
| ===Photographer=== | |||
| * '']'' (Harper, 1974; ], 1995, ISBN 0-312-13642-0) | |||
| * '']'' (Harper, 1976; St. Martin's Press reprint edition, 1997, ISBN 0-312-16963-9) | |||
| *'']'' (Harmony 1st American edition, 1988, ISBN 0-517-54914-X) | |||
| *'']'' (Taschen, 2002, ISBN 3-8228-1616-7) | |||
| *'']'' (], 2002, ISBN 3-8228-1945-X) | |||
| ===Author=== | |||
| *'']'' by Leni Riefenstahl, ] (] Reprint edition, 1995, ISBN 0-312-11926-7) | |||
| *'']'' by Leni Riefenstahl (] 1st U.S. edition, 1978, ISBN 0-06-013591-3) | |||
| '''First editions (in German):''' | |||
| *Kampf in Schnee und Eis (], 1933) | |||
| *Hinter den Kulissen des Reichsparteitags-Films (], 1935) | |||
| *Schönheit im olympischen Kampf (], 1937) | |||
| *Die Nuba (München, 1973) | |||
| *Die Nuba von Kau (München, 1976) | |||
| *Korallengärten (München, 1978) | |||
| *Mein Afrika (München, 1982) | |||
| *Memoiren (München, 1987) | |||
| *Wunder unter Wasser (München, 1990) | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| <div class="small"> | |||
| <references/> | |||
| </div> | |||
| ==Bibliographies== | |||
| * | |||
| *http://users.skynet.be/deneulin/books.html (see also articles section on that page) over 1400 references in English, German and French | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *''Leni Riefenstahl - A Memoir'', St. Martin's Press, 1993, ISBN 0-312-09843-X | |||
| *''A Portrait of Leni Riefenstahl'' by ], 1996, ISBN 0-7126-7338-5 | |||
| *'']'', documentary film directed by ] (1994) | |||
| *'']'' by ] (], 1976, ISBN 0-690-01167-9) | |||
| *'']'' by ], translated by ] (Continuum International Publishing Group reprint edition, 2003, ISBN 0-8264-7023-8) | |||
| *'']'' by ] (] 3rd edition, 2000, ISBN 1-57886-009-1) | |||
| *'']'' by ] (], 2000, ISBN 3-8228-6216-9) | |||
| *{{cite book | |||
| | last = Bach | |||
| | first = Steven | |||
| | authorlink = Steven Bach | |||
| | coauthors = | |||
| | year = 2007 | |||
| | title = Leni - The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl | |||
| | publisher = Knopf | |||
| | location = | |||
| | id = | |||
| }} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{wikiquote}} | |||
| * Unofficial biographical website endorsed by the Riefenstahl Estate | |||
| * , An analysis of Victory of Faith and Triumph of the Will. | |||
| * | |||
| * , claims the "most accurate and detailed Leni Riefenstahl filmography ... available anywhere." | |||
| * {{imdb name|id=0726166|name=Leni Riefenstahl}} | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * by ], on ] published by the ] ] | |||
| * by ] (out of '']'') | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * National Centre for History Education - Australia] | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| {{Riefenstahl}} | |||
| <!-- Metadata: see ] --> | |||
| {{Persondata | |||
| |NAME= Riefenstahl, Leni | |||
| |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Riefenstahl, Helene Berta Amalie | |||
| |SHORT DESCRIPTION=] ], dancer and ] | |||
| |DATE OF BIRTH= ], ] | |||
| |PLACE OF BIRTH= ], ] | |||
| |DATE OF DEATH= ], ] | |||
| |PLACE OF DEATH= ], ] | |||
| }} | |||
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Revision as of 23:44, 11 June 2007
Bajs