Leni Riefenstahl: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Leni Riefenstahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Leni Riefenstahl is a ninety-year-old German who has been a dancer, actress, deep sea diver, photographer of African tribes--and Hitler's top film executive. In her own unique style, she tells the story of her life and its mark on history. photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Filmmaker for Adolf Hitler and top film executive for the Third Reich, Riefenstahl (b. 1902) portrays herself, in this unconvincing, self-justifying autobiography, as a naive dancer/actress who was seduced by the Fuhrer's charisma and recognized his demonic nature too late. She states that she "unreservedly rejected Hitler's racist ideas" and found out about the genocide of the Jews only after the war. Further, she insists, she filmed her documentary on the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin only because of Hitler's unyielding orders, and she had no inkling that it would be used as Nazi Party propaganda. One marvels at how time seems to have dimmed Riefenstahl's conscience. She writes that Joseph Goebbels made crude, aggressive sexual advances on her and later waged a vendetta against her. Relating encounters with Mussolini, Albert Speer, Walt Disney, Marlene Dietrich, Any Warhol and Jean Cocteau, Riefenstahl in this overlong self-portrait describes her postwar imprisonment by French occupational forces, her "rehabilitation" and her filmmaking travels from Vienna to the Sudan. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The subtitle of this book could appropriately have been "An Apologia." According to Riefenstahl, she is an apolitical, passive person who was pushed into her career as a German film actress and filmmaker of such Nazi-era classics as Triumph of the Will and Olympia. Whatever the truth, she did have a remarkable career then and subsequently achieved new fame as a talented photographer. Unfortunately, she writes in a monotonous, unemotional style that dilutes the most prominent times of her life, even her relationship with Hitler. This, coupled with the dubious reliability of her recollections, make the memoir a disappointment. Such works as David Hinton's The Films of Leni Riefenstahl (Scarecrow, 1992), Renata Berg-Pan's Leni Riefenstahl (Twayne, 1980), and Glenn Infield's Leni Riefenstahl: The Fallen Film Goddess ( LJ 10/15/76) will have to suffice until a definitive biography is written.
- Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 669 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; First edition. edition (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031209843X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312098438
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author response, February 5, 2001

By 

leni (Berlin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leni Riefenstahl (Paperback)

Dear Amazon.com book buyers. I thank you for your gracious comments. Your wisdom has impressed me with its depth and sincerity. As I head into my second century of robust and womanly life, I will take your kind words to heart. At last, I am understood as I would like to be understood, not as so-called "witnesss" and "scholars" would have it. Their truth is dead, yet mine lives on. God bless the internet for which we give our thanks. It has conveyed history, as it must be. The people have spoken

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Moving Memoir, November 21, 1999

By 

Nariaki Imamura (Osaka) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leni Riefenstahl (Paperback)

I do not agree with the opinion that this memoir is merely a work of propoganda to try to salvage the author's image and legacy. One leaves this book very moved by the triumphs and tragedies of an fiercely independent woman who was willing to sacrifice everything for her passion and love of film-making. If you are the slightest bit curious about this woman, this book is absolutely essential for your library. It is endlessly fascinating and enjoyable reading.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is an abridged edition, January 9, 2003

By 

J. Bielawski - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leni Riefenstahl (Paperback)

For some inexplicable reason the English translation omits portions of the original. The US publisher neglected to inform the reader of this little detail - I find this practice totally unacceptable (hence 1 star).