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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.


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Born:
Aug 22, 1902 In Berlin, German Empire
Movie/TV Credits:
21
First Appeared:
In the movie Ways to Strength and Beauty 1925-03-16
Latest Project:
Movie Hitler's Hollywood 2017-02-23
Known For
Poster of Underwater Impressions
Poster of From Stag Beetle to Swastika
Poster of S.O.S. Iceberg
Poster of White Ecstasy
Filmography
Movie Hitler's Hollywood Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) 2017-02-23
Movie Speer and Hitler Herself 2005-05-08
Movie Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa 2003-09-28
Movie From Stag Beetle to Swastika 2002-01-24
Movie Underwater Impressions 2002-08-21
Movie Birth of a Nation Self 1997-08-06
Movie The Night of the Filmmakers Self 1995-02-12
Movie The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl Herself 1993-09-11
Movie Games of the XXI Olympiad Herself - Spectator 1977-04-21
Movie Memories of a Summer in Berlin herself 1972-08-22
Movie Lowlands Martha 1954-02-11
Movie Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations Nude Dancer - Prologue (uncredited) 1938-04-21
Movie S.O.S. Iceberg Hella Lorenz 1933-08-30
Movie S.O.S. Iceberg Ellen Lawrence 1933-09-22
Movie The Blue Light Junta 1932-03-24
Movie White Ecstasy Leni 1931-12-10
Movie Storm Over Mont Blanc Hella Armstrong 1930-12-25
Movie Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg Maria Vetsera 1928-11-16
Movie The Great Leap Gita 1927-12-20
Movie The Holy Mountain Diotima 1926-11-01
Movie Ways to Strength and Beauty 1925-03-16
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