Word: riefenstahl
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Riefenstahl, still witty, athletic and argumentative at age 91, is best known for her film "Triumph of the Will" (also reviewed in this issue) which documents the 1934 Nazi Party rally at Nuremburg. She is also well known for "Olympia," a documentary of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin...
Muller does question Riefenstahl about her involvement with the Nazis throughout, but this film is not meant as a trial or an interrogation. Instead, "The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl" examines her various occupations and interests. To emphasize his purpose, Muller opens the film with a curious montage of tropical fish, Nuba tribal dancers, and marching Nazis...
Muller has several alternating ways of presenting Riefenstahl to the viewer, tracing her life both chronologically and geographically. While Riefenstahl does most of the talking in a series of mini-monologues at many of the important places of her life, Muller also engages her in conversation about specific aspects of her life and work...
Along with this dialogue, Muller intersperses clips from movies which influenced Riefenstahl and from the films in which she acted or directed. All of the film's contrasts insure that the viewer never gets bored...
...Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl" also consciously displays the advantages and problems that a documentary filmmaker faces, especially when the subject is another filmmaker. Muller accomplishes this by having one camera person film the rest of the crew as it works...