ABSTRACT
The one notable exception to the large-scale absence of talent in the Nazi cinema is Leni Riefenstahl, who gave brilliant cinematic expression to the myths of National Socialism. As a girl she studied painting and dancing, and in the mid-twenties she was engaged as a star ballerina by Max Reinhardt and toured the capitals of Central Europe. In 1932 she turned to production and wrote, directed and starred in her own mountain film Das blaue Licht, which won the Gold Medal at the Venice Film Festival. The film is far more than simply a documentary account of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The film is far more than simply a documentary account of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It is a hymn to the human body and to the glories of competitive sport, an athletic triumph of the strength. It opens with a memorable evocation of the myth of antiquity and physical beauty.
