Leni Riefenstahl and Bipolar 2: Difference between pages

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[[Image:Leni_Riefenstahl.jpg|frame|Riefenstahl in ''[[The Blue Light (film)|The Blue Light]]'', 1931]]

'''Berta Helene Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl''' ([[August 22]], [[1902]] - [[September 8]], [[2003]]) was a [[Germany|German]] [[actor]], [[Film director|director]] and [[filmmaker]] widely noted for her [[aesthetics]] and advances in film technique. Her most famous works are [[documentary film|documentary]] [[propaganda film]]s for the German [[Nazi Party]]. Rejected by the film industry after [[World War II]], she later became a [[photographer]].

Bipolar II is considered the less-severe form of Bipolar Disorder. According to most medical opinions, psychosis must be absent in order to qualify as a Bipolar II diagnosis. Bipolar II has not been studied extensively independantly from Bipolar I, and its frequency in the general population is uncertain. Since it may require less medical attention than Bipolar I, more people with Bipolar II remain undiagnosed, as they may not be adversely affected by the condition. Those seeking help for Bipolar II usually do so under the umbrella of Bipolar I, since Bipolar II may not be considered a medical need by some practitioners. However, this brings with it the possibility of over-treatment.

==Biography==

===Dancer and actor===

Born in [[Berlin]], [[Germany]] Riefenstahl started her career as a self-styled and well-known interpretive [[dance]]r. In a [[2002]] interview she said dancing was what made her truly happy. After injuring a knee she attended a [[film]] about mountains and became fascinated with both them and the possibilities of the medium. She went to the [[Alps]] for about a year and when she returned, confidentially approached [[Arnold Fanck]], the director of the film she'd seen earlier, asking for a role in his next film. Riefenstahl went on to star in a number of Fanck's [[Mountain film|bergfilme]], presenting herself as an athletic and adventuresome young woman with suggestive appeal. Riefenstahl's career as an actor in silent films was prolific, and she became highly regarded by directors and publicly popular with German film-goers. When presented with the opportunity to direct ''[[The Blue Light (film)|The Blue Light]]'' she took it. Her main interest at first was in fictional films. Her last acting role before moving to directing was in the [[1933]] film, ''[[SOS Eisberg]]'' (U.S. title ''SOS Iceberg''); this film was released on [[DVD]] in [[North America]] in November [[2005]].

===Documentary filmmaker===

[[Image:riefenstahl_tdw.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Riefenstahl influenced how later movies were made with her innovative filming techniques (here shown during the production of ''[[Triumph of the Will]]'').]]

She heard [[Adolf Hitler]] speak at a rally in [[1932]] and, mesmerized by his powers as a public speaker, offered her services as a filmmaker. In [[1933]] she directed a [[short film]] about a [[Nazi]] party meeting. Hitler then asked her to film the Nazi Party rally at [[Nuremberg]] in [[1934]]. She refused, suggesting Hitler ask [[Walter Ruttmann]] to film it instead. Riefenstahl later consented and made ''[[Triumph of the Will]]'', a [[documentary film]] glorifying Hitler and widely regarded as one of the most effective pieces of [[propaganda]] ever produced, although Riefenstahl claimed she intended it only as a documentary. She went on to make a film about the German [[Wehrmacht]], released in [[1935]] as ''[[Tag der Freiheit]]'' (''[[Day of Freedom]]'' and available on [[DVD]]). Reports vary as to whether she ever had a close relationship with Hitler.

In [[1936]] Riefenstahl qualified as an athlete to represent Germany in [[cross-country skiing]] for the [[1936 Summer Olympics|Olympics]] but decided to film the event instead. This material became ''[[Olympia_(film)|Olympia]]'', a film widely noted for its technical and aesthetic achievements. She was the first to put a camera on rails, in this case to shoot the stadium crowd. Riefenstahl's achievements in the making of Olympia have proved to be a major influence in modern sportscasting.

After World War II she spent four years in a [[France|French]] [[detention camp]]. There were accusations she had used [[concentration camp]] inmates on her film sets but those claims were not proved in court. Being unable to prove any culpable support of the Nazis, the court called her a ''sympathizer''. In later interviews Riefenstahl maintained she was fascinated by the Nazis but politically naïve and ignorant about their atrocities, a position many of her critics dismiss out of hand.

===Post war career and legacy===

Riefenstahl attempted to make films after the war but each attempt was met with resistance, protests, sharp criticisms and an inability to secure funding. If she did make any films they would have been short and personally funded (however, none seem to exist). <!--This needs a source. Her biopic and imdb list _no_ films after Tiefland ... note: there are only underfunded fragments after Tiefland-->She became a [[photographer]] and was later the first to photograph rock star [[Mick Jagger]] and his wife [[Bianca Jagger]] as a couple holding hands after they were married, as they were both admirers of her. Jagger told Riefenstahl he had seen her movie ''Triumph of the Will'' at least 15 times.

Later she became interested in the [[Nuba]] tribe in [[Sudan]]. Her books with photographs of the tribe were published in [[1974]] and [[1976]]. She survived a [[helicopter]] crash in the Sudan in [[2000]].

In her late 70s Riefenstahl lied about her age to get certified for [[scuba diving]] and started a career in underwater photography. She released a new film titled ''[[Impressionen unter Wasser]]'' (''Underwater Impressions''), an idealized documentary on life in the oceans, on her hundredth birthday - [[August 22]], [[2002]].

In October 2002, when Riefenstahl was 100, German authorities decided to drop a case against her for falsely claiming that "each and every one" of the [[Roma people]] which had been drawn from a [[concentration camp]] to appear in her film ''Tiefland'' had survived the war. A Gypsy group had filed the case, claiming she used them for the film and sent them back when she no longer needed them. In addition to Riefenstahl having signed a withdrawal of her claim, the prosecutor cited Riefenstahl's considerable age as a reason for dropping further action.

Leni Riefenstahl died in her sleep on [[September 8]], [[2003]], at her home in Pöcking in Germany a few weeks after her 101st birthday. She had been suffering from cancer. In her obituaries Riefenstahl was said to be the last famous figure of Germany's Nazi era to die.

Riefenstahl is renowned in [[History of cinema|film history]] for developing new aesthetics in film, especially in relation to nude bodies. While the propaganda value of her early films repels critics, their aesthetics are cited by many filmmakers as outstanding.

==Works==

===Actor===

* ''[[Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit]] - Ein Film über moderne Körperkultur'' (''[[Ways to Strength and Beauty]]'', [[1926]])

* ''[[Der Heilige Berg]]'' (''[[The Holy Mountain]]'', [[1926]])

* ''[[Der Große Sprung]]'' (''[[The Great Leap]]'', [[1927]])

* ''[[Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg]]'' (''[[The Destiny of the Habsburgs]]'', [[1928]])

* ''[[Der Weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü]]'' (''[[The White Hell of Pitz Palu]]'', [[1929]])

* ''[[Stürme über dem Mont Blanc]]'' (''[[Storm Over Mont Blanc]]'', [[1930]])

* ''[[Der Weiße Rausch]]'' (''[[The White Flame]]'', [[1931]])

* ''[[Das Blaue Licht]]'' (''[[The Blue Light (film)|The Blue Light]]'', [[1932]])

* ''[[SOS Eisberg]]'' (''[[SOS Iceberg]]'', [[1933]])

* ''[[Tiefland]]'' (''[[Lowlands]]'', [[1954]])

===Director===

* ''[[Das Blaue Licht]]'' (''[[The Blue Light (film)|The Blue Light]]'', [[1932]])

* ''[[Der Sieg des Glaubens]]'' (''[[Victory of Faith]]'', [[1933]])

* ''[[Triumph_of_the_Will|Triumph des Willens]]'' (''[[Triumph of the Will]]'' [[1934]])

* ''[[Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht]]'' (''[[Day of Freedom]]'', [[1935]])

* ''[[Olympia_(film)|Olympia]]'' (Part 1 known as ''Festival of the Nations'', Part 2 as ''Festival of Beauty'', [[1938]])

* ''[[Tiefland]]'' (''[[Lowlands]]'', [[1954]])

* ''[[Impressionen unter Wasser]]'' (''[[Underwater Impressions]]'', [[2002]])

===Photographer===

* ''[[The Last of the Nuba]]'' (Harper, 1974; [[St. Martin's Press]], 1995, ISBN 0312136420)

* ''[[The People of Kau]]'' (Harper, 1976; St. Martin's Press reprint edition, 1997, ISBN 0312169639)

*''[[Vanishing Africa]]'' (Harmony 1st American edition, 1988, ISBN 051754914X)

*''[[Africa (Riefenstahl book)|Africa]]'' (Taschen, 2002, ISBN 3822816167)

*''[[Riefenstahl Olympia]]'' ([[Taschen]], 2002, ISBN 382281945X)

===Author===

*''[[Leni Riefenstahl (memoir)|Leni Riefenstahl]]'' by Leni Riefenstahl, [[autobiography]] ([[Picador]] Reprint edition, 1995, ISBN 0312119267)

*''[[Coral Gardens]]'' by Leni Riefenstahl ([[Harpercollins]] 1st U.S. edition, 1978, ISBN 0060135913)

==Tributes==

In [[1998]], the [[VAWS]] ([[Verlag und Agentur Werner Symanek]]) [[record label]] released a [[tribute]] double CD titled ''[[Riefenstahl (compilation)|Riefenstahl]]'' [http://www.discogs.com/release/208963], featuring such artists as [[Strength Through Joy (band)|Strength Through Joy]], [[Death In June]], and [[Von Thronstahl]].

==Bibliographies==

*[http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Germanfilmbib.html#Riefenstahl Leni Riefenstahl Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)]

==References==

*''[[The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl]]'', documentary film directed by [[Ray Müller]] (1994)

*''[[Leni Riefenstahl: The fallen film goddess]]'' by [[Glenn B. Infield]] ([[Crowell]], 1976, ISBN 0690011679)

*''[[Leni Riefenstahl: The Seduction of Genius]]'' by [[Rainer Rother]], translated by [[Martin H. Bott]] (Continuum International Publishing Group reprint edition, 2003, ISBN 0826470238)

*''[[The Films of Leni Riefenstahl]]'' by [[David B. Hinton]] ([[Scarecrow Press]] 3rd edition, 2000, ISBN 1578860091)

*''[[Leni Riefenstahl: Five Lives]]'' by [[Angelika Taschen]] ([[Taschen]], 2000, ISBN 3822862169)

==External links==

*Community

{{wikiquote}}

**[[Myspace]] group for Bipolar II [http://groups.myspace.com/bipolarII]

* [http://1971films.com/Victory_of_Faith_Triumph_of_the_Will.htm Her propaganda marches on], An analysis of Victory of Faith and Triumph of the Will.

{{Uncategorized|date=June 2007}}

* [http://leni-riefenstahl.de Homepage of Leni Riefenstahl]

* [http://www.riefenstahl.org/ www.riefenstahl.org - a fanpage], claims the "most accurate and detailed Leni Riefenstahl filmography ... available anywhere."

* {{imdb name|id=0726166|name=Leni Riefenstahl}}

*[http://www.websteruniv.edu/~barrettb/riefenstahl2a.htm Collection of Internet Resources: Leni Riefenstahl]

*[http://womenshistory.about.com/od/riefenstahl/ Women's History collection]

* [http://wsws.org/articles/2003/sep2003/rief-s15.shtml "Leni Riefenstahl: propagandist for the Third Reich''] by [[Stefan Steinberg]], on [[World Socialist Web Site]] published by the [[Trotskyist]] [[International Committee of the Fourth International]].

* [http://www.anti-rev.org/textes/Sontag74a/index.html "Fascinating Fascism", a critical 1974 essay] by [[Susan Sontag]] (out of ''[[Under the Sign of Saturn]]'')

* [http://www.powernet.net/~hflippo/cinema/tiefland.html ""Wherever you may run, you cannot escape him": Leni Riefenstahl's Self-Reflection and Romantic Transcendence of Nazism in ''Tiefland''"], analysis of the film and its [[sociopolitics]] by [[Robert von Dassanowsky]].

* [http://www.germanhollywood.com/rief.html Biography at The German-Hollywood Connection]

[[Category:1902 births|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:2003 deaths|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:Centenarians|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:Dancers|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:German actors|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:German film directors|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:German photographers|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:Film actors|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:Lutherans|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:Nazi propagandists|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

[[Category:Silent film actors|Riefenstahl, Leni]]

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