How did Hitler’s film-maker hide her complicity from the world?

A new documentary delves into controversial German film-maker Leni Riefenstahl’s private archive to uncover a director who spent a lifetime covering up her central role in the Nazi propaganda machineLeni Riefenstahl had several successes at the Venice film festival. In 1932, the festival’s inaugural year, the German film-maker’s mystical mountain drama The Blue Light made the official selection. In 1934, she picked up a gold medal for Triumph of the Will, her chronicle of the Nazi party congress in Nuremberg. In 1938, 10 weeks before Kristallnacht, she won best foreign film with Olympia, a two-part documentary of the summer Olympics in Berlin that was commissioned and financed by the Nazi government, overseen by the Reich ministry of propaganda and enlightenment, and released on Adolf Hitler’s birthday.After the war, and until the day she died, aged 101, in 2003, Riefenstahl insisted that her films were only ever about award-winning art. Through the postwar decades, and over the course of four denazification proceedings, the film-maker presented herself as an apolitical aesthete. She had no interest in “real-world issues”. She was motivated only by beauty, creative opportunity and the perfection of her craft. Although she never disavowed her personal fascination with Hitler, she vehemently denied complicity with the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Olympia and Triumph of the Will were in no way tendentious, she told Cahiers du Cinéma in 1965. They were “history – pure history”. Continue reading...

Comments

Culture

Violin used in 1997 Titanic film sells for £54k

Comments

Similar News

Heather Graham eyes own production company to combat Hollywood sexism

‘Watching this Hollywood actor play my love rat ex sent shivers down my spine’

Director Pedro Almodóvar Through the Eyes of His Stars

How accurate is Conclave? What the film gets right (and wrong) about selecting a new Pope

John Lithgow says Roald Dahl was ‘a very complicated man damaged by terrible tragedies’

Book Review: ‘The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood,’ by Matthew Specktor

How director Ryan Coogler’s historic Sinners deal with Warner Bros could change his life

TV tonight: Louis Theroux is back on top form in West Bank documentary

Upskirted, assaulted, accused of faking their music skills: Why female DJs need to be 'bulletproof'

19 movies that saved actors’ careers

David Chase’s fear for James Gandolfini when casting The Sopranos

1960s showbiz survivor returns to Scotland as she hits her ninth decade

Jeremy Renner says ‘tiny but monumental slip of the mind’ caused horrific near-death snowplough accident

Writer Saba Sams: ‘I wanted it to be sexy and really messy’

The Accountant 2 director gives update on Anna Kendrick following her absence from the sequel

LPO/Gardner review – no recording could match the visceral thrill of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony live

How Hauser & Wirth Took Over N.Y.C.’s Museums This Spring

Kevin McCloud: ‘I never get enraged, though inside I might be seething’

David Tennant issues response after being ‘called out’ by JK Rowling

Culture

Violin used in 1997 Titanic film sells for £54k

Final Glastonbury tickets sell out in 20 minutes

Drag Race and Pose star Jiggly Caliente dies aged 44

Kneecap 'kill MP' footage being assessed by police

Glow Up is back, and Thunderbolts* hits cinemas: What's coming up this week

'Much loved' music venue to reopen after a decade

Jiggly Caliente, ‘RuPaul Drag Race’ Star and Judge, Dies at 44

Romanians confront a deluge of online disinformation ahead of a presidential election rerun

The Vietnam War produced classic Hollywood films -- and hardly any classic female roles

Suspect in Kardashian jewel heist case plans to take responsibility for his role at Paris trial

For nearly 60 days, Israel has blocked food from Gaza. Palestinians struggle to feed their families

Tech industry tried reducing AI's pervasive bias. Now Trump wants to end its 'woke AI' efforts

Rare diseases often go undiagnosed or untreated in parts of Africa. A project seeks to change that

Spielberg, De Niro, Freeman praise Francis Ford Coppola as he accepts the AFI Life Achievement Award

Comment: Dear filmmakers, stop waiting for permission (a polite British reminder)

Rob McElhenney shares message to fans as Wrexham promotion celebrations take a toll

James Cameron almost didn't choose Leonardo DiCaprio or Kate Winslet to star in 'Titanic'

'Love Actually' cast to reunite for 20th anniversary TV special

'Glass Onion' sharpens the 'Knives Out' formula in a polished Netflix sequel

In 'Wednesday,' Jenna Ortega makes Netflix's Addams Family series look like a snap

Marsai Martin and Omari Harwick play to win in 'Fantasy Football'

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West reach divorce settlement

'The Phantom of the Opera' extends Broadway run for eight weeks due to high demand

'Super Mario Bros. Movie' trailer shows being a hero isn't all fun and games

Will Smith, opening up about Oscars slap, tells Trevor Noah 'hurt people hurt people'

Inside Christine McVie's and Stevie Nicks' decades-long friendship

Joe Pesci says playing Harry in the 'Home Alone' films came with some 'serious' pain

'Love Actually' director feels 'a bit stupid' about movie's lack of diversity

'Willow' revives the Lucasfilm fantasy with a more contemporary streaming adventure

Harrison Ford cracks the whip in teaser trailer for 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'

Christine McVie's music: 5 songs to listen to in her honor

Keke Palmer reveals baby bump as part of her 'Saturday Night Live' opening monologue

Ben Affleck says Netflix's 'assembly line' approach to making quality films is 'an impossible job'

George Clooney has a simple strategy for being a star in the age of social media

Neil Diamond surprises audience with 'Sweet Caroline' performance at Broadway opening of 'A Beautiful Noise'

Adam Sandler still gets emotional singing sweet Chris Farley song

Jill Scott announces 'Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1' 23rd anniversary tour

'Harry & Meghan' series gets release date and new trailer

Gabourey Sidibe reveals she's been secretly married for over a year

K-pop band Blackpink selected as Time Entertainer of the Year 2022

Bong Joon Ho's 'Mickey 17' gets trailer and release date

Ashton Kutcher and twin Michael talk health, guilt and rift between them

Chelsea Handler, Leslie Jones and John Leguizamo among guest hosts to step in for Trevor Noah on 'The Daily Show'

John Travolta and Kirstie Alley: A love story

Kirstie Alley, 'Cheers' and 'Veronica's Closet' star, dead at 71

Axl Rose will stop tossing mic after a fan was reportedly injured

9 people killed when a vehicle plows into a Filipino street festival crowd in Vancouver

Second Kneecap gig footage assessed by police over alleged ‘kill MP’ call

‘Heartwarming’ Sam Ryder sings with critically ill children at Disneyland Paris

Rapper with five number one singles and Mercury Prize reveals he’s retrained as plasterer

RuPaul’s Drag Race star Jiggly Caliente dies following leg amputation, aged 44

Top Gear star Paddy McGuinness responds to Freddie Flintoff rift rumours

How director Ryan Coogler’s historic Sinners deal with Warner Bros could change his life

Martin Freeman says he confronts ‘annoying’ fans who follow him around

Netflix viewers baffled by Tom Hardy’s accent in new action thriller: ‘Will never not be funny’

Jeremy Renner says ‘tiny but monumental slip of the mind’ caused horrific near-death snowplough accident

13 of the highest-rated horror films on Rotten Tomatoes to haunt your nightmares

John Lithgow says Roald Dahl was ‘a very complicated man damaged by terrible tragedies’