GBinAZ53

Triumph Des Willens was a blockbuster film in a number of ways. It was meant to be a proper memorializing of an annual NSDAP Parteitag held in Nurenburg. A prior attempt, Sieg Des Glaubens, had proved to be a failure. Adolf Hitler gave director Leni Riefebstahl full rein to use all means to make this film the success which he wanted. First, many innovations in camera techniques, sound synchronization, storyboarding, staging, etc., made movie history. Second, it was an overt appeal to the emotions of both Germans and foreigners that suggested the excitement for and the apparent power of the new Third Reich. Third, the film was part of a multimedia campaign ahead of its time. Its success was confirmed for many years by the almost universal ban most countries placed on its showings. And sixty years later it is still effective in both thrills and chills. Highlights: the first 20 minutes or so resemble a media drama; the solemn military reviews demonstrate components of state power; speeches illustrate the personnel in power at the time. Quite a package!

The film was recommended for its views of an old moribund mining town of Superior, Arizona, "despite its content." But we found it to be an Odyssey of a poor sap whose "U-Turn" got him deeper and deeper into more and more morbidly irresistible situations. Who can he trust? Can he survive the passionate appeal of a seductress with her own agenda? Long after we enjoyed the geographical background scenery we were gripped by the tragicomic sequences and the need to know what or who was happening to whom next. Want action and like antiheros? Enjoy dusty Western locales? Want to console the abused beauty J-Lo? Bored with too-obvious movie characters? If your life gets predictable and you want a change, see U-Turn.