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The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
(Die Macht der Bilder)

Screening on Film
Directed by Ray Müller.
Germany/US, 1993, 35mm, color and b&w, 181 min.
German and English with English subtitles.

This award-winning documentary is a biographical account of the woman best known as Hitler’s official filmmaker and more recently as the controversial photographer of the Nuba tribe of East Africa. Confronted with Ray Müller’s questions about her career, Riefenstahl delivers an emotional defense of her relationship with Hitler and other Nazi leaders, splitting hairs over minute details. Analyzing many sequences from her films in a manner that is both passionate and sophisticated, she attempts to vindicate her infamous past.

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Film in the Third Reich: The Power of Images & Illusions

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