Letter from China Jul 25, 2008
From the athletes who are its tools to the big new buildings, Beijing has conceived the entire project as a paean to the old-fashioned state, and although other comparisons to Nazism are not warranted, the parallels with Berlin's 1936 Games are, replete with propaganda efforts that eclipse those of Leni Riefenstahl and company. 1. (International Herald Tribune)
Film Country for Old Men May 20, 2008
" Oliveira carries a cane, but he uses it less for support than as a jaunty prop twirling it, pointing it at the cheering audience till you expect him to break into a song-and-dance routine. The cane might be a tribute to his first cinema idol, the dapper French comic Max Linder, who influenced Charlie Chaplin, Oliveira's second idol. In the audience, clearly buoyed by the old man's energy, were other distinguished directors: Cannes Jury President Sean Penn, Marjane Satrapi of Persepolis and a... (Time.com)
Olympic Flame Out Apr 15, 2008
Over breakfast in Berlin, Germans can read accounts of the ceremony's modern origins: It seems Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's filmmaker, invented the torch relay for the and then deployed it with "terrifying mastery," , in her film Olympia. What a disappointment this must all be for the , the English-language organ of the Chinese Communist Party, which last month bragged that the 2008 torch relay "will traverse the longest distance, cover the greatest area and include the largest number of people"... (Slate)
DEFORD: Beginning of the decline Apr 13, 2008
The torch was conjured up out of whole cloth by the Nazis for the 1936 Berlin Games, and then embedded in our dreamy Olympic consciousness by the magnificent gossamer photography of Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's favorite movie maker. Now, three-quarters of a century later, the torch has come back as an unexpected curse to haunt another totalitarian government to which the International Olympic Committee has hitched its wagon. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- More)
Shedding light on the torch Apr 10, 2008
The event would be captured by the regime's filmmaking prodigy, Leni Riefenstahl, and broadcast over radio. In fact, Rogge's dream that the torch be a symbol of "peace, harmony and global unity" is reminiscent of Hitler's own words in 1936. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
Get used to the Olympic protests Apr 8, 2008
Are we willing to be used as extras in a new Leni Riefenstahl production. Recommend this article. (Globe and Mail)
President Bush Must Skip Communist Olympics Apr 7, 2008
Really, how would this generation of Americans esteem Franklin Roosevelt -- no slouch at setting Presidential precedents -- had he not let the cup of the Berlin Olympics pass from his nicotine stained lips and, instead, pursed them into a smirk with Der Fuerher for Leni Riefenstahl s lens. Yes, this assumes Mr. Bush worries he may one day be regarded by posterity in the manner William Manchester recalled a discredited generation of sophisticated British statesmen , save one. (Human Events Online)
Farewell, New Line Feb 29, 2008
It's been a tough ride for Spielberg, with Mia Farrow pressing him to get out last March in a Wall Street Journal article in which she exhorted him not to be "the Leni Riefenstahl" of the '08 games. On Wednesday, Farrow told us that she's happy Spielberg had what she called "a Lillian Hellman moment." (Farrow has a knack for allusions to famous ladies of stage and screen, it seems. (Slate)
The Cougar Lounge - Newly Re-Hashed Genius Feb 25, 2008
"Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games?". - Actress Mia Farrow taunting film director Steven Spielberg - who had agreed to direct the opening ceremonies at this year's Olympics by invoking the name of the famous Nazi propagandist who filmed the opening of the 1936 Berlin Olympics before Spielberg quit, citing China's support of the Sudanese government. (Washington State Sports -- Rivals.com)
* Collateral risk for China Feb 19, 2008
Mia Farrow's warning that Spielberg risked becoming a modern Leni Riefenstahl if he did for Beijing what she did for the 1936 Berlin Olympics seemed overblown. But the director's decision shows China cannot expect people to slot its behavior into neat little boxes, as it does -- one for trade, one for Confucian culture, one for the propagation of reassurances that China's rise is a peaceful one, one for ensuring the flow of raw material to its industry, and one for the defense of national... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
• Host feels the heat as Games approach Feb 14, 2008
" In a March 2007 op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal, she issued a pointed warning to Spielberg, who had agreed a year earlier to "give the world a taste of peace, friendship and understanding" by helping Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou design the Games' opening and closing ceremonies. Farrow wrote that Spielberg could "go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games," invoking the name of the German who created Nazi propaganda films. Spielberg responded by sending a letter... (FOX59, IN)
Read on... Nov 16, 2007
Book Im reading: Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl by Steven Bach. Total number of books I own: Too many to count at the moment. (Variety)
UFA plans feature on Nazi filmmaker Nov 5, 2007
UFA will produce a two-part TV movie on the life of Leni Riefenstahl, the late filmmaker whose career was tainted by her association to Adolf Hitler and who was branded a Third Reich propagandist for her patriotic Nazi-era documentaries. Project, based on a screenplay by Katrin Buehlig, will start filming next year as an international co-production with German and British partners. (Variety)
President Bush's Olympic Mistake Sep 14, 2007
This is especially inexcusable after all of the discussion in recent years (of which Spielberg is certainly aware) about the inglorious career of Leni Riefenstahl, perhaps the most notable example in the past century of a great artist being morally obtuse when it came to the use of talent. What I have never understood about situations of this kind is that one would think that immense succcess would bring with it the absolute freedom to make only the most morally clean choices in selecting one's... (New Republic)
What to see as the Show goes up Aug 31, 2007
The first year of the event, 1973, the three tributees were Gloria Swanson, Francis Ford Coppola and Leni Riefenstahl. As I look back over the years, I see a pattern in the way our tributes are chosen, said Meyer. (Telluride Daily Planet, CO)
Activists press China with 'Genocide Olympics' label Jun 26, 2007
Mr. Spielberg could "go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games," Ms. Farrow had charged, referring to the German filmmaker considered by many a Nazi sympathizer and propagandist for those 1936 Olympics. America's favorite director quickly flew into action, shooting off a private letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
The Skinny: Green Zone Security Breach Apr 14, 2007
Farrow even suggested, in an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal that Spielberg could "go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games," a reference to the German director who made propaganda films for the Nazis. Spielberg responded by sending a letter to China's president, asking him to use his influence to help bring an end to the suffering in Darfur. (CBS News)
Darfur Collides With Olympics, and China Yields Apr 13, 2007
In a March 28 op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal, she warned Mr. Spielberg that he could ;go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games,; a reference to a German filmmaker who made Nazi propaganda films. Four days later, Mr. Spielberg sent a letter to President Hu Jintao of China, condemning the killings in Darfur and asking the Chinese government to use its influence in the region ;to bring an end to the human suffering there,; according to Mr. Spielberg;s spokesman,... (The Ledger)
World/Inferno goes for anarchy in the US Feb 8, 2007
The band is made up of anti-authority lefties who adore "Triumph of the Will" director Leni Riefenstahl and whose performances often sport fascist undertones. There's a fierce pro-anarchy and anti-capitalism streak, but they still considered Mitsubishi's attempt to license their song "Zen and the Art of Breaking Everything in This Room.". (Boston Globe -- Living)
