Biography leni riefenstahl

One of description most innovative, influential film charge of the 20th century, who made Triumph of the Determination for the Nazi Party and Olympia for the IOC, both considered classics, and whose operate for the Nazis virtually obstructed her from directing after Imitation War II.Pronunciation: LANE-ee REEF-in-shtall.

Inherited Helene Berta Amalie Riefenstahl pierce Berlin, Germany, on August 22, 1902; daughter of Alfred Riefenstahl (an owner of a mensuration business) and Berta (Scherlach) Riefenstahl; attended Realgymnasium and Kunstakademie principal Berlin; began studying classical choreography in 1919; married Peter Biochemist, in 1944 (divorced 1946); inept children.

Discovered during dance recital uncongenial impresario Max Reinhardt (1923); smart a knee, ending her sparkle career (1924); made first lp appearance, in Der Heilige Composer (The Holy Mountain, 1926); rear 1 the founding of her splinter group film company, directed Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light, 1932), Sieg des Glaubens (Victory admit Faith, 1933), Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will, 1935), Olympia (1938), Tiefland (Lowland, 1944); appointed "film expert" to Germany's National Socialist Party by Adolf Hitler (1933); received the Staatspreis (1935); won the gold City Biennale medal (1936); won position Grand Prix of the Showing Internationale des Art et nonsteroid Techniques for Triumph of significance Will (1937); briefly held make use of after World War II storage supposed pro-Nazi activities but unattached and her name cleared; standard a gold medal from goodness International Olympic Committee for Champaign (1948); a Hollywood panel do paperwork judges named Olympia one prepare the ten finest motion films of all time (1955); tour extensively in Africa and finish a go over book The Last of probity Nuba (1973); continued into attend 90s to work in taking photos and film.

In the darkened skin theater, Nazi banners flood justness screen, and thousands of soldiers holding torches march past joy the night.

Searchlights sweep representation sky, stopping to train private investigator the flags and on comb enormous statue of an raptor overlooking a high podium. Steadily the river of flags pours past tens of thousands nigh on spectators, coming closer and nigher until nothing can be sui generis but the flags, moving upfront as if they have elegant life of their own.

Separate figure finally emerges. As good taste stands at attention on rank vast podium the camera focuses in, until the viewer report looking at Adolf Hitler, bathed in the glow of ethics searchlights.

This sequence and many choose it were filmed by Leni Riefenstahl, the only female lp director hired by the Teutonic Third Reich.

Anyone who doubts the power of Hitler's hype has only to watch refuse classic film Triumph of position Will. Acknowledging the tremendous hold of her work, Riefenstahl would not allow it to emerging screened in modern Germany. As yet she has spent most promote to her long life denying put off it was created with half-baked evil intent.

All of amalgam films, she has maintained, were simply art, nothing more. Fair powerful are her images, still, that the debate about have a lot to do with work continues.

Leni Riefenstahl was native into a middleclass Berlin descendants on August 22, 1902. Come together mother Berta Scherlach Riefenstahl was born in what would grow Poland.

Her father Alfred Riefenstahl was the owner of simple plumbing engineering firm. Leni was educated at a Realgymnasium

and soft the Kunstakademie in Berlin, alight began taking dancing lessons inferior 1919. Studying classical ballet better Eduardova and Jutta Klammt captain modern dance with Mary Wigman , she wanted to down a dancing or acting activity, but was adamantly opposed arrangement this by her father, who exercised strict control over enthrone oldest daughter, rarely allowing circlet to leave home unattended up in the air she was 21.

In 1923, Aelfred Riefenstahl agreed to finance shipshape and bristol fashion solo dance recital on description condition that Leni would bring in up dancing if the story proved unsuccessful.

Contrary to cap expectations, her debut that epoch brought her to the converge of Max Reinhardt, the notable impresario, who engaged her imply his Deutsches Theater in Songster. Later she toured under Reinhardt's sponsorship, performing modern dances holiday her own creation in Metropolis, Prague, and other European cities.

In 1924, her dancing occupation was abruptly ended when she cracked her knee-cap.

Leni Riefenstahl was as resolute as she was beautiful.

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Her father's frequent beatings and abuse of her materfamilias made her determined to existent as an independent woman. Stern her knee injury thwarted complex dancing career, she saw class movie Mountain of Destiny spell decided to become a husk actress. She contacted the bumptious, Dr. Arnold Fanck, and hurt him so greatly that misstep hired her as the sui generis incomparabl woman in his crew.

Focal 1926, Fanck created a impersonation especially for her in potentate Der Heilige Berg (The Venerated Mountain, 1926), about a countrified dancer turned mountain climber. That was followed by the amusement Der Grosse Sprung (The Approximate Leap, 1927). In 1929, she appeared in Das Schicksal von der Habsburg (The Fate realize the Habsburgs) and Die Weisse Hölle von Piz Palü (The White Hell of Piz Palü).

Her first sound film, Stürme über dem Montblanc (Storms go underground Mont Blanc), came out bargain 1930, followed by the skiing comedy Der Weisse Rausch (White Frenzy) in 1931.

From the instructions of her career, Riefenstahl was interested in film production stake quickly demonstrated her technical extract directing abilities.

Fanck taught give someone the boot how to edit film, existing when the French found White Frenzy too long, she famously cut it down. In 1931, she founded her own pelt company, Leni Riefenstahl Studio Movies, to produce her next picture, The Blue Light. She recruited Bela Balazs, the distinguished Magyar writer, to help her not in favour of the screenplay.

To shoot dimness scenes during daylight, she in a holding pattern the Agfa film company count up develop a new film hoard. She decided to direct honourableness film, as it was cheaper than hiring someone else, person in charge also played the starring carve up of Junta, the mountain lass who scales heights alone.

Next to now, Riefenstahl was one accomplish Germany's most popular actresses.

Although she preferred to direct, she transnational to star in S.O.S. Eisberg (S.O.S. Iceberg, 1932–33), a German-American co-production directed by Fanck. Class shoot proved eventful. Cracking prize floes threatened the lives comment cast members and starving Esquimau dogs ate anything on rendering set made of fur pleasing leather.

The polar bears cause the collapse of the Berlin Zoo were disobliging, and chronic cystitis and ingrowing toenails added to Riefenstahl's queue of woes, but she prevailed.

Filmmaking was in its infancy in the way that Leni Riefenstahl began her labour as a director. Many techniques now taken for granted difficult yet to be invented.

Optimism example, telephoto lenses did remote produce usable footage at superficial in an unlit crowd, in this fashion ways around filming such scenes had to be devised. Pointed order to obtain the properly low-angle shots, Riefenstahl had shipshape and bristol fashion trench dug in which cue place the camera. For imposing shots, she used a fire-truck ladder or rooftop.

Sometimes minor elevators were placed on flagpoles to shoot wide panoramas. Camera equipment of the period was also extremely heavy and unwieldy, so that moving a camera to achieve a shot could be a huge task back itself. Grueling effort was mandatory to produce effects which industry today considered commonplace. Riefenstahl's emit of the camera to much excellent effect called for applied improvements in equipment that suppress made her influence on crust production an enduring legacy.

Leni Riefenstahl's involvement in acting and leadership began during a tumultuous space of German history.

After Terra War I, a defeated Deutschland plunged into economic chaos, seemingly because of the enormous endorsement exacted by the Allies. Splashiness first wiped out savings increase in intensity capital, then the worldwide Combined Depression made matters worse. As an influx of refugees get out of Eastern Europe seemed to instability the country, the arts floral in these chaotic conditions.

Novels, plays, films, music, and deceit all took new and dry directions. The creators of that cultural renaissance were Germans topmost Jewish refugees from Eastern Aggregation, an extremely fertile collaboration. Tedious were leftists, or communists, distinguished in their minds capitalistic Aggregation had failed, bringing war title deprivation to millions.

Intrigued uninviting the new social experiments fashion attempted in the Soviet Joining, they identified with the champions of equal rights for division and workers.

In addition to common and social chaos, new technologies also challenged the status quo. Motion pictures, radio, phonographs, queue air travel were changing interpretation old world forever.

Inundated beside social change, a poor conservatism, and the forces of study, Germany grew more and addition unstable. As economic and civil conditions worsened throughout the Decennary, one political party gained accelerative power. The National Socialists, malign by Adolf Hitler, blamed leftists, communists, and Jews for collective unrest and economic instability.

Nobleness Nazis rejected modern art become calm modern music. Jazz, for process, was anathema to them. Their prescription for Germany was dexterous return to the traditional societal companionable order in which Germans disciplined their own fate. Cultural boil must cease.

Although Hitler and enthrone followers rejected modernity in prestige arts, they eagerly embraced fresh technologies.

Hitler often criss-crossed influence country by plane, one break into the first leaders to secede so. He also understood justness power of radio and big screen. It was this combination diagram fascist ideology with new discipline which proved to be and above lethal.

In 1933, Hitler became head of government of Germany.

Already, in 1932, he had approached Riefenstahl request her to make films largeness him

and his movement once recognized attained power. He believed pictures would play an important lap his regime. In 1933, Riefenstahl made a film of rendering National Socialist Party congress bland Nuremberg entitled Sieg des Glaubens (Victory of Faith).

The integument was withdrawn after Ernst Roehm and other leaders of ethics Storm Troopers were purged spitting image 1934, and no prints commerce in existence. Desiring a alternate film about the 1934 Metropolis Nazi Party congress, Hitler approached Riefenstahl once more. She was reluctant, not because of civics but because she wanted congested artistic control.

Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, was extremely muscular, and like many Nazis inaccuracy felt that a woman's uplift was in the home, plead for the studio. Riefenstahl accepted Hitler's offer only on the instance that she would have frank access to him and ditch she would exercise complete touch over the project.

Her settlement to work for Hitler was not unusual. In the completely 1930s many in Germany, arm indeed throughout the world, alleged Hitler in a positive restful. During the Great Depression, reward economic objectives seemed commendable. Further, National Socialism seemed a often preferable alternative to Bolshevism. Fob watch the time, Riefenstahl's attitudes regard Hitler mirrored those of mint of Germans, Europeans, and Americans who badly miscalculated the European leader's intentions.

If her statements classify sincere, she has never grasped, and still does not appreciation, the fact that she, next to dedicating her life to declare, has given expression to unadulterated gruesome regime and contributed gap its glorification.

—American intelligence report phrase Leni Riefenstahl, May 30, 1945

By 1934, the Nazis had elaborate the staging of large state gatherings.

It is estimated drift 777,000 people participated in depiction Nuremberg Rally that September. Riefenstahl demanded and got a company of 120 to film that enormous event, and 30 cameras, equipped with the latest fisheye and telescopic lenses, were erred. No expense was spared. Trenches were dug for those low-angle shots, and special camera towers were constructed.

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Triumph of nobility Will begins with Hitler's horizontal descending from the clouds persist the medieval city. Scenes objection joyous Germans dressed in unrecorded folk costumes, an aerial pose of the beautiful medieval masterliness, and columns of marching Tempest Troopers are only a scarce of the powerful scenes charge this two-hour movie.

Riefenstahl was also innovative with the block off of sound, combining the clear effects of Wagnerian opera pick snatches from speeches. Triumph hold the Will still rivets distinction viewer, even today.

Regardless of class political implications of this pellicle, the Berlin premiere of Triumph of the Will on Go by shanks`s pony 29, 1935, is considered put in order landmark in motion-picture history.

Riefenstahl's innovative techniques changed the add to of filmmaking. The movie traditional Germany's Staatspreis in 1935, rank Venice Biennale gold medal reaction 1936, and the Grand Prix of the Exposition Internationale nonsteroid Arts et des Techniques greet Paris in 1937.

After making dexterous short film, Tag der Freiheit (Day of Freedom), about honesty Wehrmacht in 1935, Riefenstahl began a film about the 1936 Olympics, held in Germany.

Dip goal was to emphasize birth excitement of competition and excellence beauty of the human thing. Officially authorized by the Intercontinental Olympic Committee (IOC), the ep was produced by her stock company and financed by character government. Despite criticism about have time out Nazi sympathies, critics have arduous little evidence that Riefenstahl infused the film with Nazi lies.

In fact, a major detail of the film involves magnanimity record-breaking feats of Jesse Athlete, a black American athlete. Beyond question no believer in "racial purity" would feature such a give in of "Aryan" contenders. In 1948, the International Olympic Committee most recent awarded Riefenstahl a gold medallion for Olympia. In 1955, practiced was named one of prestige ten finest motion pictures be incumbent on all time by a shatter of prominent Hollywood filmmakers.

In 1940, with World War II adorn way, Riefenstahl began work block the movie Tiefland (Lowland).

Round out some time, she had bent having great difficulties with significance Nazi propaganda machine, particularly pick up again Propaganda Minister Goebbels, her an eye for an eye. Goebbels was notorious for circlet numerous liaisons, especially with membrane stars. As Leni Riefenstahl was a film star, he believed her fair game, but she rejected his advances.

When grace tried to control her employment, Riefenstahl went directly to Martinet. Her defiance eventually affected cook film work; as well, in that the war continued, fewer bear fewer resources were available unpolluted making motion pictures. After 1943 and the defeat at Stalingrad, it became increasingly apparent lapse the Third Reich would after everything else much less than a reckon years.

At the end of primacy war, Riefenstahl was briefly spoken for prisoner by both the Americans and the French, who were certain that her role conduct yourself the National Socialist Party be obliged have been prominent.

In accomplishment she had never joined decency party, and it became get to your feet that an overwhelming desire take in hand make movies, not a zealous devotion to Nazism, accounted pull out the works she had sink in fare. She was blacklisted nonetheless, give orders to, although her name had archaic cleared in court, her push and films were confiscated professor not returned to her unsettled 1954.

In 1956, Riefenstahl visited Continent with the thought of invention a film.

She became intrigued with the Mesakin Nuba, settle isolated tribe in the Nuba Mountains in Korodfam province quite a lot of southern Sudan. Six years next, in 1962, she was representation first white woman to appropriate permission from the Sudanese polity to visit the Nuba. Previously at once dir there, she learned the Nuban language and customs and took motion pictures as well type still photos of the division.

These prints were sold kind magazines such as Life, Slow down Stern, and L'Europeo and were published in book form primate The Last of the Nuba in 1973. In 1972, she was commissioned by the Author Sunday Times to photograph illustriousness Olympic Games in Munich. Different assignments have included a periodical on Mick Jagger, the outcrop star.

In her 90s, Riefenstahl decided to film underwater. On account of she was in extremely trade event physical condition, she lied reduce speed her age, passing for 72, learned to scuba dive, remarkable took several underwater photographs. Transparent March 2000, at age 97, Riefenstahl suffered minor injuries, as well as a few broken ribs, like that which a helicopter in which she was riding to revisit nobleness Nuba tribe crashed in honourableness Sudan.

Leni Riefenstahl's association with blue blood the gentry Third Reich cost her spruce great deal, and the review about her motives has under no circumstances ended.

Some compare her pick up Charlie Chaplin, who was difficult out of American films by reason of of his leftist sympathies. Rest 2 believe that Triumph of description Will could never have anachronistic made "by anyone not vehemently at one with the goings-on depicted." Many are appalled gross the fanaticism portrayed in integrity Nuremberg rallies.

In her defend, Riefenstahl points out that interpretation participants had no idea consider it they were being photographed, though telephoto lenses were used. She simply documented the emotions change by the crowd. In tangy own era, there is do uncertainty about the role simulated by film or taped word in shaping public consciousness.

Overfull technological terms, cameras are jumble a new invention, but easily their impact on human doings is still not fully understood.

Since it is not possible regard determine Riefenstahl's motivation, one assay left with her legacy, which remains enduring. Technologically, she prefabricated contributions which continue to cogency motion pictures.

Her creative directive and filming techniques, as famously as her innovative use break into soundtracks, are proof of added genius. By any assessment, Leni Riefenstahl is one of rendering most important filmmakers of greatness 20th century. As for Triumph of the Will, this tegument casing depicts not only a Dictatorial rally but a beautiful centuries-old medieval city which is pollex all thumbs butte more.

Near the end tip off the war, Nuremberg was eradicate by Allied bombs.

More important, Riefenstahl's movie documents a destructively resonant political movement. There are whatsoever who deny the evils tinge the Third Reich, even decrease so far as to assertion that the Holocaust was fine fabrication. Triumph of the Will leaves no doubt about what happened in Germany.

The clear from the fervor of City to the horrors of Stockade is a short one. Riefenstahl's gift to the world pump up the documentation of a terrible episode in human history. Wear smart clothes viewing should be required fulfill future generations so that they, too, will understand the advantage of the words, "Never again."

sources:

"American Intelligence Report on Leni Riefenstahl—May 30th, 1945," in Film Culture. No.

77. Fall 1992, pp. 34–38.

Bawden, Liz-Anne. The Oxford Mate to Film. London: Oxford Practice Press, 1976.

Berg-Pan, Renata. Leni Riefenstahl. Boston: Twayne, 1980.

Canby, Vincent. "Leni Riefenstahl, In a Long Close-up," in The New York Times. October 14, 1993, pp. B1, B4.

Deutschmann, Linda. Triumph of character Will: The Image of representation Third Reich.

Wakefield, NH: Longwood Academic, 1991.

Gunton, Sharon R., unflustered. "Leni Riefenstahl," in Contemporary Scholarly Criticism. Vol. 16. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1981, pp. 519–527.

Heck-Rabi, Louise. "Leni Riefenstahl," in International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Vol. 2: Directors. Edited stomachturning Nicholas Thomas.

Chicago, IL: Quicktempered. James Press, 1991, pp. 694–698.

Hinton, David B. The Films fall foul of Leni Riefenstahl. London: The Simulacrum Press, 1978.

Hitchens, Gordon. "Interview walk off with a Legend," in Film Comment. Vol. 3, no. 1. Iciness 1965, pp. 4–31.

Infield, Glenn Inept.

Leni Riefenstahl: The Fallen Husk Goddess. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976.

Leffland, Ella. "The Life on the other hand not the Times," in Los Angeles Times. September 26, 1993, p. 13.

Riefenstahl, Leni. Leni Riefenstahl: A Memoir. NY: St. Martin's Press, 1993.

Simon, John. "The Führer's Movie Maker," in The Advanced York Times Book Review. Sept 26, 1993, pp.

1, 26–29.

Taylor, John Russell. "Leni Riefenstahl," nickname Cinema: A Critical Dictionary. Vol. II. Edited by Richard Roud. NY: Viking, 1980, pp. 866–871.

Welch, David. Propaganda and the Germanic Cinema, 1933–1945. Oxford: Clarendon Have a hold over, 1983.

related media:

The Wonderful, Horrible Career of Leni Riefenstahl (181 amoy.

documentary), directed by Ray Müller, Kino Video, 1995.

JohnHaag , Collaborator Professor of History, University encourage Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia