Triumph des Willens

After winning elections, the National Socialist Party of Germany held a congress in 1934, a demonstration of force that was filmed "to show the world the triumph of the will of the German people." From the opening when the Führer literally arrives from heaven and the healthy, disciplined and pure Arian party members gather in Nuremberg, the documentary goes from the particular to the general with clever audiovisual manipulation, through marches, speeches and banners, turning the masses that celebrate the triumph of their will into a perfect piece of architecture, a magnificent structure that is reduced to the power of the Party. For decades, this so-called work of "reactionary modernism" was dismissed after the revelation of the Nazis' iniquity. However, after emotions are subdued, the masterfulness of director Leni Riefenstahl is evident (see "Die Match der Bilder.") In this and her 1938 film of the Olympic Games in Berlin, "Olympia", she coined techniques that today are common place in the entertainment industry. So don't be surprised if today you watch a football game with technical solutions of Nazi origin...

No matter what you think of Nazis this film is brilliant. It was the first of the kind political documentary. The beginning may bore some viewers, but those who stay will be rewarded by some of the most famous documentary footage ever shot. I feel I could see this movie a few times without being bored. In fact, the more you watch the more fun it is.

There is scarcely a review which doesn't focus on the meaning or message contained within this film.

I don't mean to suggest that those elements don't exist; I merely want to suggest that there is much more in this powerful film.

Like Olympia, this is a masterfully crafted work of art.

Whatever ones beliefs this is amazing. Leni Riefenstahl was a great director with amazing vision.Not alone is there all the marching and saluting which one would expect from a documentary filmed in Nazi Germany but Riefenstahl also gives snap shots of the people who are in the crowd at the various events.The looks of amazement and zeal on the faces of many who are watching is testimony, in my opinion ,to how mesmerizing an event this was.Riefenstahl captures the atmosphere and the excitement of this event.The last seen where Hitler is giving a fiery speech shows Riefenstahls genius at work.The camera angles are amazing and give a feeling of being there.I would highly recommend this not only to historians but also to students of film.

This is the thinking person's horror film. Zombies? Ghosts? Lunatics with hockey masks and chainsaws generating gallons of fake blood? Not a tiny bit as scary as thousands upon thousands of people lined up in squares, gleefully losing their individual identities and glorifying in the group, willing to perform some of the most evil deeds imaginable for the perceived benefit of that whole.

If this film was done badly, it would be something to laugh at or study as a historical artifact, a relic of a past we left behind. However, its power, and why it can disturb to this very day, is the fact that it was done beautifully. Anyone who talks about equating "truth and beauty" should think about this film. It is certainly beautiful, but it is also in the service of a lie, and an evil one at that.

Sadly, I suspect that the types who make modern political propaganda and advertising get on their knees at night and pray for some of the inspiration that made this film. Stars? This film defies a star rating.