Leni Riefenstahl Dead at 101

[LoneStarLiberal]

<http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/09/germany.riefenstahl/index.html>

It does bear a moment of consideration that the woman who was one of the first producers/directors to craft the state as propaganda on the silver screen and to incorporate the heavy hand of Nazi nationalism into her films has passed away.

In an era in our own country where most of our media is no longer a guardian of fair standards nor a critical beacon that shines on our corrupt and creaking government, I for one think Leni circa 1934 would feel right at home at Fox, CNN, or MSNBC.

[JitterbugPerfume]

1. only the good

die young

[BurtWorm]

3. Ha ha!

That's a fitting trinbute, JP!

[HootieMcBoob]

2. oh the irony

right about the time of showtimes 9/11 bush propoganda film. Who planned this?

[Champion Jack]

10. I heard she was hired as an advisor on the showtime epic

[BurtWorm]

4. I wonder how the freepers are taking this.

Probably sieg-heiling at half mast.

[slackmaster]

5. Your post inspired me to actually look at the forums on freerepublic.com

A search for "Reifenstahl" turned up no hits.

Maybe BurtWorm's life experience is different from mine, but I have yet to meet a Republican who had anything positive to say about the Nazis other than the same sarcastic truisms everyone else does, e.g. "the trains ran on time" and "they had snappy uniforms".

So far those Republicans have nothing to say about the death of Leni Riefenstahl.

[RichM]

6. You possibly got the 'ie' wrong in the spelling,

considering that you spelled it 2 different ways here.

[BurtWorm]

8. Pssst, slackmaster.

I was joking.

[slackmaster]

13. I know that, BurtWorm

I can't recall who said it (was it Gallagher?), but whoever did was right when he or she said that mateur comics should not attempt to make jokes involving Hitler or the Nazis. That should be attempted only by a professional.

There was nothing funny about Hitler or the Nazis.

[BurtWorm]

18. Sorry if my joke offended you, slack.

[slackmaster]

20. No prob' Burt

Being about 99% German and having a German surname have left me somewhat sensitive to the Nazi thing.

One of my friends from high school days had his German surname legally changed because of all the taunting he experienced in his youth.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. They probably never heard of her

She's not that well known outside of film buff circles.

[slackmaster]

15. Yes, I first learned of her in an undergraduate film class

It was a course on the Munich filmmakers. I can't say whether or not there were any Republican students. Back then (late 1970s) nobody would 'fess up to not being a leftist.

[jmowreader]

26. Mussolini's trains ran on time.

Hitler's trains ran to Poland...but only the ones with cattle cars on them.

[liberalhistorian]

7. Good RIDDANCE!

It's about damned time! That woman NEVER expressed any sorrow or remorse or any understanding at all as to how her work helped cause the greatest hate-filled genocide in history. She was left to live out her years in peace and comfort, while the millions who suffered horribly and were murdered, and those who were scarred for life, will never, ever be able to. To HELL with her, because I hope that's exactly where she's rotting now, in company with her pimp, Hitler, and her propaganda teacher, Goebbels.

[bobthedrummer]

9. There are an unknown number of PAPERCLIP Nazis remaining here

only the good die young indeed!
http://www.infoage.org/paperclip.html

http://www.goordnance.apg.army.mil/OPpaperclip.htm

http://www.spiritone.com/~gdy52150/ratlines.htm

[theboss]

11. Biographical movie now?

Hasn't some actress been trying to greenlight a movie on her life for years? I want to say Madonna but that doesn't sound right.

Anyway, it's a fascinating story.

Has anyone ever actually watched Triumph of the Will? Remarkable filmmaking even if the point of view is pretty frightening.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I actually saw Triumph of the Will

during a film history class in college, and I must say that those who protest against its showing are misguided. Sure, it's pioneering propaganda film making, but if you're not already a Nazi, it's not going to turn you into one, because in the end, it gets rather tedious.

Olympia, her documentary on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, is quite another matter. It looks a bit primitive in some respects, but it's still quite watchable.

Coincidentally, there's a documnetary about her playing on the Sundance Channel this week. The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl is profiled in my Movies for Democrats feature in the Meeting Room.

[TheBigGuy]

17. I saw part of it too..

...I actually found it kind of boring.

[slackmaster]

19. We were forced to watch the whole film backwards

My film professor at UCSD often did that to allow us to focus on composition and editing rather than content. It was fascinating but awfully tedious.

[theboss]

21. Same thing with Birth of a Nation for me

Which is just a horribly boring film - and not just because of the content. And it's not because it was a silent film either; I've seen silent films that entertained me. Just a really bad melodramatic story. Though it is interesting to say "First cross-cut ever . . .First close-up ever . . "

[Yavin4]

16. So That's Why The Fox News Correspondents and Anchors

are wearing black arm bands.

[liberalhistorian]

23. LOL!

I'm at work at unable to watch TV, so tell me, they aren't REALLY wearing black armbands, are they? I simply cannot believe that.

[pansypoo53219]

22. as an artist myself

even before her Nazi films, she was most interested in capturing beautiful images. starting as the thing of beauty herself.
I think she went that way into the nazi films and did not realize what a propaganda toll it was. If you remove the context, her films are just damned beautiful and very eye pleasing. she couldn't help the propaganda part. Yes, she supported Hitler, but she eventually saw what he was. and maybe she should have been punished for what her films were used for, but frankly I think she was a great artist. period.

[Laughing Mirror]

24. i agree with you

one can consider the art independently of the artist

[skypilot]

25. I saw "The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni...

...Reifenstahl" and was a little bemused by it. The filmmakers could not quite get her to admit what she knew about the Nazis' plans so they went after her for her "fascist aesthetic". This aspect of the film really annoyed me. Her "fascist aesthetic" as far as I could tell seemed to consist of having a thing for photographing good-looking, buff men. I'm not excusing her involvement with the Nazis but the makers of this film seemed to be grasping at anything they could to vilify her once they realized they weren't going to get a really damning confession from her. I kept thinking, why single her out for her aesthetic when you can flip through any fashion magazine and find the same thing? I've been meaning to see the film again because maybe I missed something. And I agree that "Triumph of the Will" was very tedious. The only thing I even remember about it was lots and lots of pageantry.