Triumph Of The Will

Rating:
Summary: Understandable
Review: After viewing this movie and taking a course on ww2 in college, I have come to the conclusion (not that Germany was right) that it is understandable what happened in Germany during 1934. This film captures the meaning behind national pride. The German Country was in complete tourmoil and they did need a leader to get them out of a hole. Hitler did this for the country and it is obvious that the Germans looked up to him, just as I would look up to the leader of my country. This is some of the best live footage I have ever seen in all of history and I strongly recomend it to anyone with a interest in German history prior to WW2

Rating:
Summary: This is a movie that grabs you
Review: It is fascinating to watch a film done so beautifully yet all the while focusing on a man who isresponsible for the slaughter of millions of innocent people. Watch itfor the beautiful filmmaking, but also watch it as a cautionary tale. Every political science class should make this film a requirement to teach the effectiveness of film propaganda. This is a movie that grabs you, haunts you, but ultimately, it is a film that you cannot ignore. END

Rating:
Summary: A most valuable historical record
Review: It's easy to see how this now famous (or infamous) 1934 film by Leni Riefenstal could have helped reinforce Hitler's already dizzying domination of the German psyche. For our own time, it helps reveal the human complexity of the Nazi phenomenon - so much more than just a march of crazed fanatics, as it's often stereotyped today. Triumph of the Will is particularly relevant to current politics - the Austrian controversy, as well as the continued importance of various dictators who still garner so much of the media spotlight.

Sadly, the near-sightedness of the Nazi mentality and its contradictory nature were already glaringly apparent at the time the movie was shot. Hitler's frenzied admonitions to value "peace" but at the same time to cultivate "courage", bristle with contradiction and hypocrisy. Brief allusions to racial purity and clear-cut moral rectitude are darkly ominous, as are the reiterated pledges of allegiance to Hitler , the man. It's instructive to compare Nazi rhetoric with much of today's political hype. Though, as many others have pointed out, nobody else has done it with quite the same elan. Sad to think that had they watched their own film with a more discerning eye, they might have seen what we see.

From an artistic standpoint, I can appreciate why it's cited as one of the most accomplished of all propagandist vehicles. Nazi shortcomings notwithstanding, the film is stunning. Riefenstahl's contribution is self-evident - even if she didn't direct the action herself, she captured and organized it admirably. But for all that, it is still the action which is most spellbinding. The gripping facial expressions, the charismatic speeches, the thundering shouts of allegiance, the enormous scale and choreography - all of this actually took place! Combine that with historical perspective - knowing what all of it would lead to - and the movie acquires a distincively haunting quality.

I not only recommend this film to others, I strongly advise it. It captures the very essence of social fanaticism. Many will instinctively feel its primitive appeal, and then, after putting it into perspective, recognize its inherent madness. Watching this movie, appreciating the feelings it evokes and reflecting on what it all means, will make the viewer a better person.

Rating:
Summary: Loving Portrait of a Madman
Review: Forget "Scream" and "Friday the 13th." If you want to see something that will scare you to death, watch this film. See a worshipping portrayal of the man whose maniacal twisted vision of a Third Reich that led to a war that left tens of millions of people dead. This is not to suggest this is a simplistic film. This is a brilliant film. You will be amazed by it. Propaganda film at its best.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning "love letter" to the Nazis
Review: If Stanley Kubrick had made propaganda films, "Triumph of the Will" would have been the result. Technically brilliant, visually stunning, this film documents a Nazi rally with all of the tools, tricks, and art that film is capable of. If anyone had told me that I would ever sit through a film about a Nazi rally and be entranced, I would have told them that they were nuts. Like another film with a morally repugnant message, Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing", the director here is so talented that the film mesmerizes even as all moral reservations and judgments are swept aside by a tidal wave of filmmaking brilliance. The speeches can bog the film down (although I found the closeups of these monsters of the reich speaking to be fascinating) but you can always patiently wait until the next amazing visual. Despite Reifenstahl's lifelong, failed attempt to distance herself from the Nazi's, it is clear that this is a love letter to them (and perhaps even to Hitler as there was always those rumours, weren't there, Leni?...). This is a history lesson, a cinematic tour de force, a warning about the deceptive powers of film, and one of the most important films ever made by the only woman filmmaker who can be put in the pantheon of great filmmakers without any apology. How interesting that the greatest woman filmmaker should have politics so disgusting. A bomb thrown in the playground of simpleminded feminists who usually assume a greater natural benevolence and humanity in women simply because of their sex.

Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Film
Review: Many people assume that Nazism somehow illegally took power in Germany during the 1930s. This masterpiece, the greatest propaganda film ever made, utterly destroys that notion. The hypnotic and euphoric hold that National Socialism, and in particular the charismatic nature of Hitler himself, held over the German people is blazingly illustrated by Riefenstahl (herself, a groundbreaking pioneer for female filmakers). Pay particular attention to the speeches, both large and small. Notice the reaction of the people and compare that to a modern day rock concert. There is virtually no difference.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning and ominous - a worthwhile edification
Review: It's easy to see how this now famous (or infamous) 1934 film could have helped reinforce Hitler's already dizzying domination of the German psyche. For our own time, it helps reveal the human complexity of the Nazi phenomenon - so much more than just a march of crazed fanatics, as it's often stereotyped today. Triumph of the Will is particularly relevant to current politics - the Austrian controversy, as well as the continued importance of various dictators who still garner so much of the media spotlight.

Sadly, the near-sightedness of the Nazi mentality and its contradictory nature were already glaringly apparent at the time the movie was shot. Hitler's frenzied admonitions to value "peace" but at the same time to cultivate "courage", bristle with contradiction and hypocrisy. Brief allusions to racial purity and clear-cut moral rectitude are darkly ominous, as are the reiterated pledges of allegiance to Hitler , the man. It's instructive to compare Nazi rhetoric with much of today's political hype, though, as many others have pointed out, nobody else has done it with quite the same elan. I venture to think that had they watched their own film with a more discerning eye, the Nazis might have seen what we see - a perfect example of how mankind is most blind to the realities of his own time.

From an artistic standpoint, I can appreciate why it's cited as one of the most accomplished of all propagandist vehicles. Nazi shortcomings notwithstanding, the film is stunning. Riefenstahl's contribution is self-evident - even if she didn't direct the action herself, she captured and organized it admirably. But for all that, it is still the action which is most spellbinding. The gripping facial expressions, the charismatic speeches, the thundering shouts of allegiance, the enormous scale and choreography - all of this actually took place! Combine that with historical perspective - knowing what all of it would lead to - and the movie takes on a haunting and psychologically penetrating quality.

I not only recommend this film to others, I strongly advise it. The mental impression it makes is the very essence of social fanaticism. Many will instinctively feel its primitive appeal, and then, after putting it into perspective, recognize its destructive potential. Watching this movie, appreciating the feelings it evokes and reflecting on what it all means, truly must be viewed as a worthwhile edification.

Rating:
Summary: You, yes you, had better see this work.
Review: Any modern young person wondering how the German people became what they became, and where willing to be hypnotised to die and kill by the millions for National Socialism's dream machine, see this. Its speakers, and art directors simply need you to sit in a darkened theater,(or room) uninerupted, and imagine yourself with hundred of others viewing this epic, while you are deep into an econmic depression and none of you has any money. Don't speak, only become changed. No need to say more.

Rating:
Summary: Triumph of the Will - A Triumph Itself
Review: Triumph is most definately one of the few beautiful works of the world. Filled with wonderful footage - from scenery shots to party rallies - the film is able to take you to one of the most pivotal rallies of all time. You can really feel the energy of the folk and the orators themselves. Leni gets an A++ for this one!

Rating:
Summary: The best documentary film of the century
Review: When you watch this video you will feel your life's greatest shock. This is the greatest documentary film of the century for better or worse. You will see how a nation became insane with their own blindness. It is truly the most shocking documentary I have ever seen.