Le triomphe de la volonté

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.

A historical film capturing the1934 Nazi party rally in picturesque Nazi hotbed of Nuremberg, Filmed over a number of days it contains all the leading lights of National Socialism in pre-war Germany making speeches to the faithful. It also shows the various clips of the different organizations within National Socialism ie.The Hitler Youth in all their Arian glory excited and in gleeful expectation of seeing their Fuhrer,The goosestepping standard bearers of the S.A. and the S.S. paying homage to their glorious leader. Triumph of the Will captures the state of the German nation and the Nazi mindset perfectly ,and I felt a sense of foreboding with the bluntness of some of the speeches. The film is full of very striking German Expressionism Cinema techniques,never more so than in the night shots, full of torch bearing storm troopers and the Nazi faithful hailing their glorious leader..Goebbels vision was put brilliantly to film by Riefenstahl who had over thirty cameras to film every incident of the event.This is truly a masterclass in Propaganda but it is also one in Cinema,Triumph of the Will truly is a triumph of Cinema and despite its content should be seen as one. Riefenstahl for her part was imprisoned for four years after the war and never was able to reinvent her career as a top Director,a real and tragic loss to Cinema

This film can only be judged or analyzed in any meaningful way only by those who can envision Germany and its people with the hindsight of the decade following its defeat in WWI and the ensuing economic chaos of the 1920s. For those of us who can objectively remove ourselves from our time and revisit the year in which it was filmed, 1934, and then compare it only with all other films made during that early part of the 20th Century can we locate the single word describing it … astonishing.

We are called to objectivity when commenting on a book or film, a piece of art, or product. Only when that is accomplished does a comment have any enduring and meaningful value. Another thing I have found astonishing about this film and its creator is the seemingly unique inability of those commenting on it to be objective. It is seen in the overwhelming number of cases, not from the time in which it was made but with the hindsight of decades of history that had not yet taken place.

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.

Utterly brilliant film that was unfortunately very difficult to find (along with some other great films by propaghandist directors like Sergei Einsten)until a dvd release recently . Just look at the long shots. Absolutely no cameras visible. Truly meticulous work. Astounding score. The opening sequence of Hitler's descent is brilliant artistry, with the director creating the implicit parallel of God's descent from heaven. Excellent film for anyone remotely interested in politics since all these techniques are routinely used in campaign ads. People often neglect to realize the inherent politicality of all art. Art's politics is at its most dangerous when we fail to realize this simple truth - art and politics are inextricably linked. Do you think there's not a reason why the American market will soon be glutted with war films as we prepare for one? gee, i wonder. Riefenstahl is an amazing director, one that should have done more films. When we censor great works for fear of "what they might do to the 'ignorant'", we're a lot closer to the fascists than their detractors.