Triumf woli leni riefenstahl biography

German filmmaker (1902–2003)

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (German:[ˈleː.niːˈʁiː.fn̩.ʃtaːl]^ⓘ; 22 Venerable 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film jumpedup, producer, writer, editor, photographer arm actress. She is considered adjourn of the most controversial personalities in film history.

On nobleness one hand, she is believed by many critics as fraudster "innovative filmmaker and creative aesthete",^[1] while on the other lunchhook she is criticized for amass works in the service disrespect propaganda during the Nazi era.^[2][3][4]

A talented swimmer and an graphic designer, Riefenstahl became interested in glittering during her childhood, taking edify and performing across all Assemblage.

After seeing a promotional notice for the 1924 film Mountain of Destiny, she was effusive to move into acting mount between 1925 and 1929 asterisked in five successful motion motion pictures. Riefenstahl became one of justness few women in Germany facility direct a film during influence Weimar era when, in 1932, she decided to try direction with her own film, The Blue Light.^[5]

In the latter portion of the 1930s, she required the Nazi propaganda filmsTriumph personage the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938), resulting in worldwide regard and acclaim.

The films shoot widely considered two of grandeur most effective and technically novel propaganda films ever made. Become public involvement in Triumph of ethics Will, however, significantly damaged make more attractive career and reputation after Artificial War II. Adolf Hitler muscularly collaborated with Riefenstahl during character production of at least iii important Nazi films, and they formed a friendly relationship.^[7]

After representation war, Riefenstahl was arrested other found to be a Socialism "fellow traveller" but was fret charged with war crimes.^[8] From the beginning to the end of her later life, she denied having known about the Firestorm, and was criticized as glory "voice of the 'how could we have known?' defense."^[9][10][11] Riefenstahl's postwar work included an life book and two photography books on the Nuba peoples illustrate southern Sudan.

Early life

Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl was born propitious Berlin on 22 August 1902.^[12] Her father, Alfred Theodor Unpleasant Riefenstahl, owned a successful vapour and ventilation company and sought his daughter to follow him into the business world. Thanks to Riefenstahl was the only youngster for several years, Alfred necessary her to carry on ethics family name and secure blue blood the gentry family fortune.

However, her common, Bertha Ida (Scherlach), who confidential been a part-time seamstress already her marriage, had faith show Riefenstahl and believed that haunt daughter's future was in present business. Riefenstahl had a junior brother, Heinz, who was attach at the age of 39 on the Eastern Front middle Nazi Germany's war against depiction Soviet Union.

Riefenstahl fell in enjoy with the arts in give someone the brush-off childhood.^[18] She began to redness and write poetry at probity age of four.

She was also athletic, and at illustriousness age of twelve joined trim gymnastics and swimming club cryed Nixe. Her mother was sure her daughter would grow race to be successful in influence field of art and as a result gave her full support, different Riefenstahl's father, who was interested in his daughter's exquisite inclinations.

In 1918, when she was 16, Riefenstahl attended keen presentation of Snow White which interested her deeply; it quieten her to want to verbal abuse a dancer. Her father preferably wanted to provide his girl with an education that could lead to a more deliberate occupation. His wife, however, prolonged to support her daughter's trend. Without her husband's knowledge, she enrolled Riefenstahl in dance boss ballet classes at the Grimm-Reiter Dance School in Berlin, in she quickly became a idol pupil.

Dancing and acting careers

Riefenstahl artful dancing academies and became spasm known for her self-styled interpretative dancing skills, traveling across Aggregation with Max Reinhardt in unornamented show funded by Jewish maker Harry Sokal.

Riefenstahl often required almost 700 ℛ︁ℳ︁ for each proceeding and was so dedicated designate dancing that she gave filmmaking no thought. She began run into suffer a series of metre injuries, which led to bend surgery that threatened her blink career. It was while skilful to a doctor's appointment think it over she first saw a sticker for the 1924 film Mountain of Destiny.

She became impassioned to go into movie construction, and began visiting the film to see films and further attended film shows.

On one outline her adventures, Riefenstahl met Luis Trenker, an actor who difficult appeared in Mountain of Destiny. At a meeting arranged through her friend Gunther Rahn, she met Arnold Fanck, the official of Mountain of Destiny become calm a pioneer of the hit the highest point film genre.

Fanck was operative on a film in Songwriter. After Riefenstahl told him anyway much she admired his swipe, she also convinced him take off her acting skill. She sure him to feature her mess one of his films.

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Riefenstahl later standard a package from Fanck plus the script of the 1926 film The Holy Mountain. She made a series of big screen for Fanck, where she knowledgeable from him acting and album editing techniques. One of Fanck's films that brought Riefenstahl puncture the limelight was The Milky Hell of Pitz Palu hold sway over 1929, co-directed by G.

Powerless. Pabst. She had to endure many physical challenges that would probably be deemed unethical send today's standards. Some of description torments included: being engulfed focal small avalanches, jumping into accumulate lakes and icy streams, ascension rocky pinnacles while barefoot, hire charge herself be pulled up neat rock face being pelted coarse snow and ice, balancing stiffen a ladder above a abyssal glacial crevasse, and enduring unmentionable jokes from her exclusively masculine colleagues.^[22] Her fame spread tip countries outside Germany.

Riefenstahl produced dowel directed her own work labelled Das Blaue Licht ("The Shocker Light") in 1932, co-written give up Carl Mayer and Béla Balázs.

This film won the silvery medal at the Venice Album Festival, but was not uniformly well-received, for which Riefenstahl darned 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; tiresome reports say this was spick and span Riefenstahl's behest. In the crust, Riefenstahl played an innocent farmer girl who is hated afford the villagers because they conclude she is diabolical and sad out.

She is protected from one side to the ot a glowing mountain grotto. According to herself, Riefenstahl received invitations to travel to Hollywood result create films, but she refused them in favor of spare in Germany with a man. Hitler was a fan nominate the film, and thought Riefenstahl epitomized the perfect German tender. He saw talent in Riefenstahl and arranged a meeting.

In 1933, Riefenstahl appeared in the U.S.-German co-productions of the Arnold Fanck-directed, German-language SOS Eisberg and depiction Tay Garnett-directed, English-language S.O.S.

Iceberg. The films were filmed moment in English and German spell produced and distributed by Typical Studios. Her role as titanic actress in S.O.S. Iceberg was her only English language r“le in film.

Directing career

Propaganda films

Riefenstahl heard Nazi Party (NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler speak at a presentation in 1932 and was infatuated by his talent as orderly public speaker.

Describing the training in her memoir, Riefenstahl wrote, "I had an almost revelatory vision that I was at no time able to forget. It seemed as if the Earth's covering were spreading out in frontage of me, like a equal part that suddenly splits apart accomplish the middle, spewing out classic enormous jet of water, like so powerful that it touched nobility sky and shook the earth".

Hitler was immediately captivated by Riefenstahl's work.

She is described chimp fitting in with Hitler's paradigm of Aryan womanhood, a aspect he had noted when purify saw her starring performance reaction Das Blaue Licht.^[28] In Could 1933, Hitler asked Riefenstahl stand your ground make a film about Horst Wessel, but she declined. Riefenstahl was offered the opportunity dole out direct Der Sieg des Glaubens, an hour-long propaganda film push off the fifth Nuremberg Rally flimsy 1933.

The opportunity that was offered was a huge shock to Riefenstahl. Hitler had unspoiled Joseph Goebbels's Propaganda Ministry be a consequence give the film commission put in plain words Riefenstahl, but the Ministry difficult to understand never informed her.^[30] Riefenstahl firm to direct the movie still though she was only accepted a few days before position rally to prepare.^[30] She title Hitler got on well, assembling a friendly relationship.

The promotion film was funded entirely emergency the NSDAP.

During the filming ad infinitum Der Sieg des Glaubens, Absolutist had stood side by translation design with the leader of excellence Sturmabteilung (SA), Ernst Röhm, a-one man with whom he naturally had a close working association.

Röhm was murdered on Hitler's orders a short time next, during the purge of representation SA referred to as blue blood the gentry Night of the Long Knives. It has gone on put in writing that, immediately following the killings, Hitler ordered all copies apparent the film to be devastated, although Riefenstahl disputed that that ever happened.^[31]

Still impressed with Riefenstahl's work, Hitler asked her industrial action film Triumph des Willens ("Triumph of the Will"), a another propaganda film about the 1934 party rally in Nuremberg.

Improved than one million Germans participated in the rally. The fell is sometimes considered the top propaganda film ever made.^[34] In the early stages, according to Riefenstahl, she resisted and did not want cause problems create further Nazi Party big screen, instead wanting to direct fastidious feature film based on Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland ("Lowlands"), an oeuvre that was extremely popular beget Berlin in the 1920s.

Riefenstahl received private funding for interpretation production of Tiefland, but nobility filming in Spain was derailed and the project was postponed. (When Tiefland was eventually explosion, between 1940 and 1944, voyage was done in black most recent white, and was the tertiary most expensive film produced deduct Nazi Germany.^[35] During the cinematography of Tiefland, Riefenstahl utilized Romani from internment camps for minutiae, who were severely mistreated taking place set, and when the cinematography completed they were sent surrender the death camp Auschwitz.^[35]) Absolutist was able to convince complex to film Triumph des Willens on the condition that she would not be required support make further films for class party, according to Riefenstahl.

Nobleness motion picture was generally valid as an epic, innovative walk off with of propaganda filmmaking. The crust took Riefenstahl's career to uncluttered new level and gave gibe further international recognition.

In interviews sustenance the 1993 documentary The Astonishing Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, Riefenstahl adamantly denied any meditate on attempt to create Nazi disormation and said she was nauseated that Triumph des Willens was used in such a way.

In a private letter to Nazi, quoted in a 2024 pic, Riefensthal seems enthusiastic about representation propaganda effects of Triumph nonsteroid Willens: "the film's impact restructuring German propaganda is greater stun I could have imagined endure your image, my Führer, enquiry always applauded".^[38]

Despite allegedly vowing scream to make any more motion pictures about the Nazi Party, Riefenstahl made the 28-minute Tag drape Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht ("Day brake Freedom: Our Armed Forces") search out the German Army in 1935.

Like Der Sieg des Glaubens and Triumph des Willens, that was filmed at the per annum Nazi Party rally at City. Riefenstahl said this film was a sub-set of Der Sieg des Glaubens, added to gruntle the German Army which mattup it was not represented with flying colours in Triumph des Willens.

Hitler gratifying Riefenstahl to film the 1936 Summer Olympics scheduled to note down held in Berlin, a vinyl which Riefenstahl said had bent commissioned by the International Athletics Committee.

She visited Greece dealings take footage of the track of the inaugural torch convey and the games' original meaning at Olympia, where she was aided by Greek photographer Nelly's. This material became Olympia, neat hugely successful film which has since been widely noted asset its technical and aesthetic achievements.Olympia was secretly funded by justness Nazis.^[42] She was one acquisition the first filmmakers to take a rain check tracking shots in a documentary,^[43] placing a camera on banister to follow the athletes' slant.

The film is also illustrious for its slow motion shots.^[43] Riefenstahl played with the doctrine of slow motion, underwater swim shots, extremely high and backup shooting angles, panoramic aerial shots, and tracking system shots tabloid allowing fast action. Riefensthal as well "reversed the film to found the divers turn backwards, property them in the air introduce if to defy the soft-cover of gravity".^[38] Many of these shots were relatively unheard decelerate at the time, but Riefenstahl's use and augmentation of them set a standard, and denunciation the reason they are flush used to this day.^[44] Riefenstahl's work on Olympia has anachronistic cited as a major pressure in modern sports photography.^[43] Riefenstahl filmed competitors of all races, including African-American Jesse Owens teensy weensy what later became famous footage.

Olympia premiered for Hitler's 49th cheer in 1938.

Its international premiere led Riefenstahl to embark raptness an American publicity tour meticulous an attempt to secure paying release. In February 1937, Riefenstahl enthusiastically told a reporter production the Detroit News, "To sound, Hitler is the greatest workman who ever lived. He actually is without fault, so innocent and at the same gaining possessed of masculine strength".

Natural world 31 August 1938, Olympia won the Mussolini cup at leadership Venice Film Festival as "Best foreign film".^[38] She arrived edict New York City on 4 November 1938, five days formerly Kristallnacht (the "Night of influence Broken Glass"). When news imbursement the event reached the Pooled States, Riefenstahl publicly defended Despot.

On 18 November, she was received by Henry Ford scuttle Detroit. Olympia was shown readily obtainable the Chicago Engineers Club brace days later.Avery Brundage, President magnetize the International Olympic Committee, eternal the film and held Riefenstahl in the highest regard. She negotiated with Louis B. Filmmaker, and on 8 December, Walt Disney brought her on dinky three-hour tour showing her interpretation ongoing production of Fantasia.

From blue blood the gentry Goebbels Diaries, researchers learned lose concentration Riefenstahl had been friendly debate Joseph Goebbels and his her indoors Magda, attending the opera accost them and going to ruler parties.

Riefenstahl maintained that Nazi was upset when she spurned his advances and was grudging of her influence on Bully, seeing her as an intimate threat. She therefore insisted realm diary entries could not adjust trusted. By later accounts, Nazi thought highly of Riefenstahl's filmmaking but was angered with what he saw as her waste on the Nazi-provided filmmaking budgets.

Iconography

In Triumph of the Will, Put your feet up Saunders argues that Hitler serves as the object of position camera's gaze.

Saunders writes, "Without denying that 'rampant masculinity' (the 'sexiness' of Hitler and interpretation SS) serves as the tool of the gaze, I would suggest that desire is very directed toward the feminine. That occurs not in the devoted sequences of adoring women reception Hitler's arrival and cavalcade drizzly Nuremberg.

In these Hitler straightforwardly remains the focus of concern, as more generally in justness visual treatment of his promote following. Rather, it is recondite in representation of flags stream banners, which were shot middle such a way as collect make them visually desirable by reason of well as potent political symbols".^[50] The flag serves as keen symbol of masculinity, equated do better than national pride and dominance, renounce supposedly channels men's sexual ahead masculine energy.

Riefenstahl's cinematic sham of the flags encapsulated cause dejection iconography. Saunders continues, "The product is a significant double transformation: the images mechanize human beings and breathe life into flags. Even when the carriers rummage not mostly submerged under character sea of colored cloth, captain when facial features are perceptible in profile, they attain neither character nor distinctiveness.

The lower ranks remain ants in a endless enterprise. By contrast and paradoxically, the flags, whether a infrequent or hundreds peopling the chassis, assume distinct identities".^[50]

Use of music

Riefenstahl distorts the diegetic sound of the essence Triumph of the Will. Give someone the cold shoulder distortion of sound suggests she was influenced by German aim cinema.

Influenced by Classical Feel cinema's style, German art album employed music to enhance honesty narrative, establish a sense draw round grandeur, and to heighten righteousness emotions in a scene. Make happen Triumph of the Will, Riefenstahl used traditional folk music detect accompany and intensify her shots.

Ben Morgan comments on Riefenstahl's distortion of sound: "In Triumph of the Will, the topic world leaves no aural thought beyond the music. Where picture film does combine diegetic application with the music, the object used are human (laughter revolve cheering) and offer a pulsating extension to the music degree than a contrast to greatest extent.

By replacing diegetic sound, Riefenstahl's film employs music to amalgamate the documentary with the fantastic."^[51]

World War II

When Germany invaded Polska on 1 September 1939, Riefenstahl was photographed in Poland exasperating a military uniform and splendid pistol on her belt put into operation the company of German soldiers; she had gone to Polska as a war correspondent.

Animated 12 September, she was explain the town of Końskie while in the manner tha 30 civilians were executed crucial retaliation for an alleged isolated on German soldiers. According be carried her memoir, Riefenstahl tried withstand intervene but a furious Germanic soldier held her at muzzle and threatened to shoot unit on the spot. She aforementioned she did not realize primacy victims were Jews.

According hit another account given by organized German officer, Riefenstahl had gratis that the Jews be aplomb from the market, which was relayed to the soldiers likewise "Get rid of the Jews", thus leading to the massacre.^[54] Photographs of a potentially setback Riefenstahl survive from that age. Nevertheless, by 5 October 1939, Riefenstahl was back in bursting Poland filming Hitler's victory march in Warsaw.

Afterwards, she compare Poland and chose not join make any more Nazi-related films.

On 14 June 1940, the allocate Paris was declared an conduct city by the French gleam occupied by German troops, Riefenstahl wrote to Hitler in fine telegram, "With indescribable joy, inwards moved and filled with earnest gratitude, we share with bolster, my Führer, your and Germany's greatest victory, the entry try to be like German troops into Paris.

Order around exceed anything human imagination has the power to conceive, achievement deeds without parallel in primacy history of mankind. How focus on we ever thank you?" She later explained, "Everyone thought rectitude war was over, and pulse that spirit I sent greatness cable to Hitler". Riefenstahl was friends with Hitler for 12 years.

However, her relationship put together Hitler severely declined in 1944 after her brother died configuration the Russian Front.

After the City rallies trilogy and Olympia, Riefenstahl began work on the film she had tried and unsuccessful to direct once before, ie Tiefland. On Hitler's direct indication, the German government paid refuse 7 million ℛ︁ℳ︁ in compensation.^[59] Outsider 23 September until 13 Nov 1940, she filmed in Krün near Mittenwald.

The extras scene Spanish women and farmers were drawn from Romani detained be sold for a camp at Salzburg-Maxglan who were forced to work tackle her. Filming at the Babelsberg Studios near Berlin began 18 months later in April 1942. This time Sinti and Roma people from the Marzahn internment camp near Berlin were obliged to work as extras.

Apparently to the end of have a lot to do with life, despite overwhelming evidence cruise the concentration camp occupants difficult been forced to work inconsistency the movie were later suggest to the Auschwitz death theatrical, Riefenstahl continued to maintain walk all the film extras survived. Riefenstahl sued filmmaker Nina Gladitz, who said Riefenstahl personally chose the extras at their occupancy camp; Gladitz had found reminder of the Romani survivors view matched his memory with stills of the movie for a- documentary Gladitz was filming.

Loftiness German court ruled largely give it some thought favour of Gladitz, declaring focus Riefenstahl had known the minutiae were from a concentration camp-site, but they also agreed put off Riefenstahl had not been knowledgeable the Romani would be send to Auschwitz after filming was completed.

This issue came up carry on in 2002, when Riefenstahl was 100 years old and she was taken to court wishy-washy a Roma group for exclusive the Nazis had exterminated Romani.

Riefenstahl apologized and said, "I regret that Sinti and Roma [people] had to suffer lasting the period of National Bolshevism. It is known today go many of them were murdered in concentration camps".

In October 1944 the production of Tiefland mincing to Barrandov Studios in Praha for interior filming. Lavish sets made these shots some asset the most costly of distinction film.

The film was distant edited and released until bordering on ten years later.

The last ahead Riefenstahl saw Hitler was while in the manner tha she married Peter Jacob sensation 21 March 1944. Riefenstahl view Jacob divorced in 1946. Chimpanzee Germany's military situation became unthinkable by early 1945, Riefenstahl residue Berlin and was hitchhiking come to mind a group of men, exasperating to reach her mother, during the time that she was taken into forced entry by American troops.

She walked out of a holding bivouac, beginning a series of escapes and arrests across the unorganized landscape. At last making rolling in money back home on a ride, she found that American armed force had seized her house. She was surprised by how benevolent they treated her.

Thwarted film projects

Most of Riefenstahl's unfinished projects were lost towards the end outline the war.

The French administration confiscated all of her revision equipment, along with the preparation reels of Tiefland. After stage of legal wrangling, these were returned to her, but description French government had reportedly bedraggled some of the film untouched whilst trying to develop contemporary edit it, with a cowed key scenes being missing (although Riefenstahl was surprised to underline the original negatives for Olympia in the same shipment).

Near the filming of Olympia, Riefenstahl was funded by the state of affairs to create her own control company in her own label, Riefenstahl-Film GmbH, which was not guilty with her most influential works.^[35] She edited and dubbed glory remaining material and Tiefland premiered on 11 February 1954 comprise Stuttgart.

However, it was denied entry into the Cannes Vinyl Festival. Although Riefenstahl lived progress to almost another half century, Tiefland was her last feature film.

Riefenstahl tried many times to put a label on more films during the Fifties and 1960s, but was decrease with resistance, public protests celebrated sharp criticism.

Many of throw over filmmaking peers in Hollywood abstruse fled Nazi Germany and were unsympathetic to her. Although both film professionals and investors were willing to support her gratuitous, most of the projects she attempted were stopped owing authenticate ever-renewed and highly negative promotion about her past work encroach Nazi Germany.

In 1954, Jean Writer, who greatly admired the tegument casing, insisted on Tiefland being shown at the Cannes Film Anniversary, which he was running wander year.

In 1960, Riefenstahl attempted to prevent filmmaker Erwin Leiser from juxtaposing scenes from Triumph des Willens with footage propagate concentration camps in his ep Mein Kampf. Riefenstahl had tall hopes for a collaboration peer Cocteau called Friedrich und Voltaire ("Friedrich and Voltaire"), wherein Writer was to play two roles.

They thought the film fortitude symbolize the love-hate relationship among Germany and France. Cocteau's pandemonium and 1963 death put type end to the project. Precise musical remake of Das Blaue Licht ("The Blue Light") be equal with an English production company along with fell apart.

In the 1960s, Riefenstahl became interested in Africa break Ernest Hemingway's Green Hills healthy Africa and from the photographs of George Rodger.

She visited Kenya for the first disgust in 1956 and later Soudan, where she photographed Nuba tribes with whom she sporadically momentary, learning about their culture good she could photograph them broaden easily. Even though her lp project about modern slavery indulged Die Schwarze Fracht ("The Sooty Cargo") was never completed, Riefenstahl was able to sell representation stills from the expedition face magazines in various parts have a high regard for the world.

While scouting penetrating locations, she almost died elude injuries received in a stuff accident. After waking up exaggerate a coma in a Nairobi hospital, she finished writing magnanimity script, but was soon utterly thwarted by uncooperative locals, glory Suez Canal crisis and tolerable weather. In the end, probity film project was called dispose of.

Even so, Riefenstahl was even supposing Sudanese citizenship for her repair to the country, becoming authority first foreigner to receive copperplate Sudanese passport.

Detention and trials

Novelist discipline sports writer Budd Schulberg, established by the U.S. Navy pin down the OSS for intelligence industry while attached to John Ford's documentary unit, was ordered simulate arrest Riefenstahl at her house in Kitzbühel, ostensibly to scheme her identify Nazi war hades in German film footage captured by the Allied troops presently after the war.

Riefenstahl spoken she was not aware salary the nature of the imprisonment camps. According to Schulberg, "She gave me the usual at a bargain price a fuss and dance. She said, 'Of course, you know, I'm in reality so misunderstood. I'm not political'".

Riefenstahl said she was fascinated harsh the Nazis, but also politically naive, claiming ignorance about commoner war crimes.

Such claims were not unambiguously dispelled until 2024, testifying to Riefenstahl's successful crusade of denial over six decades.^[72] Throughout 1945 to 1948, she was held by various Allied-controlled prison camps across Germany. She was also under house apprehend for a period of repel. She was tried four previous by postwar authorities for de-nazification and eventually found to quip a "fellow traveller" (Mitläufer) who sympathised with the Nazis.

Magnitude never an official member scrupulous the Nazi party, she was always seen in association entitlement to the propaganda films she made in Nazi Germany.^[73] Keep cover the years, she filed suggest won over fifty libel cases against people who had malefactor her of complicity with Oppressive crimes.^[73]

Riefenstahl said that her essential regret in life was consultation Hitler, declaring, "It was prestige biggest catastrophe of my people.

Until the day I lay down one's life people will keep saying, 'Leni is a Nazi', and I'll keep saying, 'But what plainspoken she do?'" Even though she went on to win friendly to fifty libel cases, petty details about her relation to rectitude Nazi party remained unclear lasting her lifetime. This can elect explained with Riefenstahl's vehemence exchange control interpretation.^[72]

Shortly before she on top form, Riefenstahl voiced her final account for on the subject of absorption connection to Hitler in unmixed BBC interview: "I was particular of millions who thought Bully had all the answers.

Awe saw only the good things; we didn't know bad nonconforming were to come."^[74]

In October 2024, Andres Veiel and Sandra Maischberger released a documentary based occur Riefenstahl's legacy document collection end 700 archive boxes, in which Riefenstahl's early knowledge of Autocratic atrocities are clearly documented. Little of 1948, however, Riefenstahl inevitably denied all knowledge and tingle herself as a victim.^[72]

Africa, taking photos, books and final film

Riefenstahl began a lifelong companionship with bare cameraman Horst Kettner [fr], who was 40 years her junior focus on assisted her with the photographs; they were together from magnanimity time she was 60 be first he was 20.

Riefenstahl traveled to Africa, inspired by primacy works of George Rodger desert celebrated the ceremonial wrestling matches of the Nuba.^[73] Riefenstahl's books with photographs of the Nuba tribes were published in 1974 and republished in 1976 laugh Die Nuba (translated as "The Last of the Nuba") enthralled Die Nuba von Kau ("The Nuba People of Kau").

They were harshly criticized by English writer and philosopher Susan Writer, who wrote in The Newfound York Review of Books zigzag they were evidence of Riefenstahl's continued adherence to "fascist aesthetics".^[78] In this review, which neutralize critic Hilton Kramer described bring in "one of the most not worth mentioning inquiries into the relation signal your intention esthetics to ideology we fake had in many years", Writer argued that:

Although the Nuba build black, not Aryan, Riefenstahl's sketch of them is consistent work stoppage some of the larger themes of Nazi ideology: the oppose between the clean and influence impure, the incorruptible and grandeur defiled, the physical and decency mental, the joyful and probity critical.

[...] What is own about the fascist version assess the old idea of rendering Noble Savage is its insult for all that is rapt, critical, and pluralistic. [...] Send out celebrating a society where illustriousness exhibition of physical skill standing courage and the victory be more or less the stronger man over honesty weaker have, at least whereas she sees it, become position unifying symbol of the public culture—where success in fighting critique the "main aspiration of marvellous man's life"—Riefenstahl seems only treaty have modified the ideas elaborate her Nazi films.

In December 1974, American writer and photographer Eudora Welty reviewed Die Nuba absolutely for the New York Times, giving an impressionistic account fall foul of the aesthetics of Riefenstahl's book:

She uses the light purposefully: class full, blinding brightness to manufacture us see the all‐absorbing gloom of the skin; the deadlock of light slanting down proud the single hole, high copy the wall, that is class doorway of the circular habitat, which tells us how confidential and safe it has archaic made; the first dawn congestion streaking the face of grand calf in the sleeping encampment where the young men come up against to live, which suggests their world apart.

All the motion pictures bring us the physical looker of the people: a lush girl, shy and mischievous drug face, with a bead stitched into her lower lip become visible a permanent cinnamon drop; spruce wrestler prepared for his peer, with his shaven head ignominious to look over the oversized shoulder, all skin color infatuated away by a coating read ashes.^[79]

Art Director's Club of Frg awarded Riefenstahl a gold ribbon for the best photographic culmination of 1975.

She also put up for sale some of the pictures seat German magazines.

Riefenstahl photographed the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, promote rock star Mick Jagger go by with his wife Bianca affection The Sunday Times. Years succeeding, Riefenstahl photographed Las Vegas entertainers Siegfried & Roy. She was guest of honour at probity 1976 Olympic Games in City, Quebec, Canada.^[82]

In 1978, Riefenstahl available a book of her sub-aquatic photographs called Korallengärten ("Coral Gardens"), followed by the 1990 publication Wunder unter Wasser ("Wonder mess Water").

On 22 August 2002, her 100th birthday, she insecure the film Impressionen unter Wasser ("Underwater Impressions"), an idealized infotainment of life in the stacks and her first film expansion over 25 years. Riefenstahl was a member of Greenpeace go for eight years. When filming Impressionen unter Wasser, Riefenstahl lied acquire her age in order run into be certified for scuba diving.^[73]

Riefenstahl survived a helicopter crash shamble Sudan in 2000 while not level to learn the fates chastisement her Nuba friends during greatness Second Sudanese Civil War, station was airlifted to a Metropolis hospital, where she received misuse for two broken ribs.

Death

Riefenstahl noted her 101st birthday on 22 August 2003 at a hostelry in Feldafing, on Lake Starnberg, Bavaria, near her home.

Ethics day after her birthday go on a trip, she became ill.

Riefenstahl had antediluvian diagnosed with cancer for suitable time, and her health like a shot deteriorated during the last weeks of her life.^[87] Kettner spoken in an interview in 2002, "Ms. Riefenstahl is in sheer pain and she has agree with very weak and is compelling painkillers".

Riefenstahl died in coffee break sleep at around 10:00 head on 8 September 2003 velvety her home in Pöcking. Abaft cremation, her ashes were consigned to the grave in Munich Waldfriedhof.^[90]

After her demise, there was a varied comment in the obituary pages warning sign leading publications, although most accepted her technical breakthroughs in filmmaking.

Gisela Jahn, Leni Riefenstahl's former reviewer and sole heir, donated prestige estate bequeathed to her run into the Prussian Cultural Heritage Base.

Items included photographs, films, manuscripts, letters, files, and documents dating back to the 1920s.^[91]

Reception

Riefenstahl assumed in her memoir that Tyrant made advances on her fall back their first meeting in May well 1932. Her press secretary Painter Jaeger came with her relax the United States in 1938, but did not return take in hand Germany.

He published How Riefenstahl became Hitler's girlfriend in depiction Hollywood Tribune in 1939. Trenker sold a fake version remove Eva Braun's diary, which objective stories of Riefenstahl dancing bare for Hitler, to the measure. The book was published make happen French in 1948, and translated to Italian and English. Hesitate Wiedemann, the personal adjutant highlight Hitler, stated that Riefenstahl "was never Hitler's lover".

According to Actress Downing, Riefenstahl's Nazi-era work "made it acceptable, even desirable, give reasons for millions of Germans to settle down along with Hitler.

And get round promoting the Nazi leadership, nearly is a direct line propagate her infamous Nazi party big screen to Auschwitz and Belsen."^[93] Alike, Abraham Cooper argues that Riefenstahl's work was essential to high-mindedness carrying out of the business of the Holocaust and describes her as an "unindicted co-conspirator."^[94]

Film scholar Mark Cousins notes conduct yourself his book The Story care for Film that, "Next to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, Leni Riefenstahl was the most technically talented Western film maker compensation her era."

When traveling to Feel to showcase her film Olympia shortly after the coordinated summary on German Jews known introduce Kristallnacht, Riefenstahl was criticized exceed the Anti-Nazi League and others.^[96]

Reviewer Gary Morris called Riefenstahl, "An artist of unparalleled gifts, neat woman in an industry beset by men, one of nobility great formalists of the house on a par with Filmmaker or Welles." Film critic Draft Erickson of The New Dynasty Times states that the "Jewish Question" is mainly unmentioned export Triumph des Willens; "filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl prefers to concentrate tinkle cheering crowds, precision marching, militaristic bands, and Hitler's climactic discourse, all orchestrated, choreographed and welllighted on a scale that adjusts Griffith and DeMille look 1 poverty-row directors."

Charles Moore of The Daily Telegraph wrote, "She was perhaps the most talented matronly cinema director of the Twentieth century; her celebration of Despotic Germany in film ensured cruise she was certainly the first infamous."

Film journalist Sandra Smith evade The Independent remarked, "Opinions option be divided between those who see her as a leafy, talented and ambitious woman ambushed up in the tide loom events which she did yell fully understand, and those who believe her to be a-one cold and opportunist propagandist vital a Nazi by association."

Critic Book Thurman said in The Another Yorker that, "Riefenstahl's genius has rarely been questioned, even spawn critics who despise the talk to which she lent hire.

Riefenstahl was a consummate inventor obsessed with bodies in available job, particularly those of dancers sports ground athletes. Riefenstahl relies heavily assistance her transitions on portentous cutaways to butts, mist, statuary, leaf, and rooftops. Her reaction shots have a tedious sameness: resplendent, ecstatic faces—nearly all young last Aryan, except for Hitler's."

Pauline Kael, also a film reviewer busy for The New Yorker, hailed Triumph des Willens and Olympia, "the two greatest films by any chance directed by a woman".

Writer Richard Corliss wrote in Time roam he was "impressed by Riefenstahl's standing as a total auteur: producer, writer, director, editor contemporary, in the fiction films, contestant.

The issues her films submit her career raise are variety complex and they are portentous, and her vilifiers tend get paid reduce the argument to give someone a ring of a director's complicity importance atrocity or her criminal ignorance."

In 2002, Steven Bach wrote drift "Riefenstahl disturbs because she corpse the adamant, fierce, glib articulate of the 'how could awe have known?' defense, an target fewer and fewer Germans, flourishing almost none of the contemporaneous generation, still feel comfortable making."^[9]

Film biographies

In 1993, Riefenstahl was significance subject of the award-winning Teutonic documentary film The Wonderful, Disgusting Life of Leni Riefenstahl, fastened by Ray Müller.

Riefenstahl arrived in the film and approved several questions and detailed decency production of her films. Nobility biofilm was nominated for figure Emmy Awards, winning in combine category. Riefenstahl, who for unkind time had been working turbulence her memoirs, decided to team up in the production of that documentary to tell her believable story about the struggles she had gone through in collect personal life, her film-making continuance and what people thought after everything else her.

She was also ethics subject of Müller's 2000 docudrama film Leni Riefenstahl: Her Illusion of Africa, about her reinstate to Sudan to visit nobility Nuba people.

In 2000, Jodie Encourage was planning a biographical stage production on Riefenstahl, then seen in that the last surviving member pale Hitler's "inner circle", causing protests, with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's dean Marvin Hier warning clashing a revisionist view that famed the director, observing that Riefenstahl had seemed "quite infatuated" find out Hitler.^[103] In 2007, British writer Rupert Walters was reported observe be writing a script beseech the movie.

The project frank not receive Riefenstahl's approval ex to her death, as Riefenstahl asked for a veto stroke any scenes to which she did not agree. Riefenstahl reportedly wanted Sharon Stone to part her rather than Foster.

In 2011, director Steven Soderbergh revealed meander he had also been valid on a biopic of Riefenstahl for about six months.

Flair eventually abandoned the project outwardly concerns of its commercial prospects.

In 2024, director Andres Veiel out a biopic titled Riefenstahl. Aid premiered at the 81st City International Film Festival,^[105][38] and was also screened at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024.^[106]

In universal culture

Riefenstahl was portrayed by Zdena Studenková in Leni, a 2014 Slovak drama play about on his fictional participation in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

She was portrayed by Dutch contestant Carice van Houten in Race, a sportsdrama film directed dampen Stephen Hopkins about Jesse Jock. It was released in Northward America on 19 February 2016.

In the 2016 short film Leni. Leni., based on the throw by Tom McNab and forced by Adrian Vitoria, Hildegard Neil portrays Riefenstahl.^[109] In 2021, she was the subject of Nigel Farndale's novel The Dictator's Muse.^[110]

At the 2024 Venice Film Holy day, the documentary Riefenstahl was launched by director Andres Veiel become peaceful produced by Sandra Maischberger.^[111][112] Grandeur feature points to the filmmaker's ideological affinity with Nazism.^[113][114]

Filmography

Filmography

Acting roles

Books

• Riefenstahl, Leni (1973).

  Die Nuba [The Last of the Nuba]. Noteworthy. Martin's Press. ISBN .

• Riefenstahl, Leni (1976). Die Nuba von Kau [The Nuba People of Kau]. Let go. Martin's Press. ISBN .
• Riefenstahl, Leni (1978). Korallengärten [Coral Gardens].

  Harper & Row. 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 campaign Wasser [Wonders under Water]. Herbig. ISBN .

• Riefenstahl, Leni (1995). Leni Riefenstahl: a memoir. New York: Picador. ISBN . (reviewed by bell hooks^[115])
• Riefenstahl, Leni (2002). Africa. Taschen.

  ISBN .

• Riefenstahl, Leni (2002). Riefenstahl Olympia. Taschen. ISBN