Two more reasons: 1. She has been quite talented as a filmmaker and photographer, subject matter aside. 2. Because of that talent, her career impinges on a number of issues that are less complex in the cases of more mediocre (if more vicious and politically influential) filmmakers: Aestheticism vs.(?) political commitment Whether there is a "facsist aesthetic" Artistic intentionality Documentary "truth" Abstracting an ideal image of the human (male?) body u.s.w. One might compare the range of reactions of reviewers to the recent show of early works by that other, far less talented but much more influential, artist--Adolf Hitler! Don Larsson ----------------------------------------------------------- "Only connect" --E.M. Forster Donald F. Larsson Department of English, AH 230 Minnesota State U, Mankato (56001 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Leo Enticknap [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 2:38 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Reply: leni riefenstahl turns 100 today Why does Riefenstahl continue to receive so much critical and historiographical attention when there are many other Nazi directors who did a lot more damage? I think most people would conclude that Riefenstahl was quite a nasty Nazi, but there were some far nastier ones: anniversaries relating to (for example) Veit Harlan, Fritz Hippler, Wolfgang Leibeneiner and Karl Ritter do not attract any comment, though the films these people were responsible for did far more damage than any of Riefenstahl's. Some possible reasons: 1. She's still alive. 2. She's a woman. 3. She had close relationships with a number of senior Nazis, and is alleged to have had an affair with Hitler (as Robert Harris commented in his book on the Hitler diaries fiasco, 'swastikas sell'). 4. 'Triumph des Willens' and 'Olympische Spiele' were shown in Western Europe and the US at the time of their initial release, but many of the most notorious Nazi fiction films weren't 'discovered' until after the war. 5. She continues to take an active interest in the exploitation of her films from the Nazi period, and aggressively pursues legal action against her detractors whenever she can. Responses? Leo. Dr. Leo Enticknap Director, Northern Region Film and Television Archive School of Arts and Media University of Teesside Middlesbrough TS1 3BA United Kingdom Tel. +44-(0)1642 384022 Fax. +44-(0)1642 384099 Brainfryer: +44-(0)7710 417383 ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]