Known For
Directing
Born
Aug 22, 1902
Died
Sep 08, 2003
Place of Birth
Berlin, Germany
Credits
48 titles
Leni Riefenstahl
Biography
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
Filmography
FASCISM(s): A Film in Six Parts
Self (archive footage)
Riefenstahl
Self (archive footage)
City of Toys
Self (archive footage)
Longing For Innocence
Director
Leni Riefenstahl - The End of a Myth
Self (archive footage)
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
Self (archive footage)
Eiskalte Leidenschaft - Leni Riefenstahl und Arnold Fanck zwischen Hitler und Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Buffa racconta Jesse Owens
Hitler's Hollywood
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Run
Les Champions d'Hitler
Self
LENI
Self (archive footage)
In the Service of the Regime. Leni Riefenstahl
Self (archive footage)
Faszination Bergfilm - Himmelhoch und Abgrundtief
Self (archive footage)
Speer und er: Nachspiel - Die Täuschung
Herself
The Goebbels Experiment
Self (archival footage)
Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa
Self
Underwater Impressions
The Immoderation of Me - Sandra Maischberger meets Leni Riefenstahl
Self
From Stag Beetle to Swastika
Birth of a Nation
Self
The Night of the Filmmakers
Self
The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
Herself
Time of Darkness and Silence
Self
Biographies
Self
Games of the XXI Olympiad
Self - Spectator
Das ist Ihr Leben
Self
Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture
Self - Interviewee
Je später der Abend
Self
Memories of a Summer in Berlin
herself
aspekte
Self
Lowlands
Martha
Hoch der Lambeth Valk
Idea
Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty
Producer
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
Nude Dancer - Prologue (uncredited)
Day of Freedom
Producer
Triumph of the Will
Director
The Victory of Faith
Director
S.O.S. Iceberg
Ellen Lawrence
S.O.S. Iceberg
Hella Lorenz
The Blue Light
Junta
The White Ecstasy
Leni
Storm Over Mont Blanc
Hella Armstrong
The White Hell of Pitz Palu
Maria Maioni
Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg
Maria Vetsera
The Great Leap
Gita
The Holy Mountain
Diotima
Ways to Strength and Beauty