Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party. Riefenstahl's prominence in the Third Reich along with her personal friendship with Adolf Hitler thwarted her film career following Germany's defeat in World War II, after which she was arrested but released without any charges. Triumph of the Will gave Riefenstahl instant and lasting international fame, as well as infamy. Although she directed only eight films, just two of which received significant coverage outside of Germany, Riefenstahl was widely known all her life. The propaganda value of her films made during the 1930s repels most modern commentators but many film histories cite the aesthetics as outstanding. The Economist wrote that Triumph of the Will "sealed her reputation as the greatest female filmmaker of the 20th century". In the 1970s Riefenstahl published her still photography of the Nuba tribes in Sudan in several books such as The Last of the Nuba. She was active up until her death and also published marine life stills and released the marine-based film Impressionen unter Wasser in 2002. After her death, the Associated Press described Riefenstahl as an "acclaimed pioneer of film and photographic techniques". Der Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin noted, "Leni Riefenstahl conquered new ground in the cinema". The BBC said her documentaries "were hailed as groundbreaking film-making, pioneering techniques involving cranes, tracking rails, and many cameras working at the same time". Description above from the Wikipedia article Leni Riefenstahl, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Riefenstahl as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · Leni Riefenstahl - The End of a Myth as Self (archive footage)
- 2017 · Hitler's Hollywood as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- 2016 · Les Champions d'Hitler as Self
- 2015 · LENI as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · Speer und er: Nachspiel - Die Täuschung as Herself
- 2003 · Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa as
- 2002 · Underwater Impressions as
- 2002 · The Immoderation of Me - Sandra Maischberger meets Leni Riefenstahl as Self
- 2002 · From Stag Beetle to Swastika as
- 2000 · Kino kolossal - Herkules, Maciste & Co as Self (archive footage)
- 1997 · Birth of a Nation as Self
- 1995 · The Night of the Filmmakers as Self
- 1993 · The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl as Herself
- 1982 · Time of Darkness and Silence as Self
- 1978 · Lebensläufe as Self
- 1977 · Games of the XXI Olympiad as Herself - Spectator
- 1976 · Das ist Ihr Leben as Self
- 1976 · Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture as Self - Interviewee
- 1973 · Je später der Abend as Self
- 1972 · Memories of a Summer in Berlin as herself
- 1965 · aspekte as Self
- 1954 · Lowlands as Martha
- 1938 · Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations as Nude Dancer - Prologue (uncredited)
- 1933 · S.O.S. Iceberg as Ellen Lawrence
- 1933 · S.O.S. Iceberg as Hella Lorenz
- 1932 · The Blue Light as Junta
- 1931 · White Ecstasy as Leni
- 1930 · Storm Over Mont Blanc as Hella Armstrong
- 1929 · The White Hell of Pitz Palu as Maria Maioni
- 1928 · Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg as Maria Vetsera
- 1927 · The Great Leap as Gita
- 1926 · The Holy Mountain as Diotima
- 1925 · Ways to Strength and Beauty as