Rating: 
Summary: Great Look at the Nazis Through Their Own Eyes
Review: This is a fascinating film - a rare chance to see the Nazi Party through their eyes. Sometimes the film drags and is boring with such things as endless miles of parading Nazis and long-winded speeches, etc, but overall, this film will fascinate anyone interested in history.
In some ways I think these guys are brilliant and in other ways, I think they're just bizarre (the Nazi Party leaders). Their obsession with creating pseudo-traditionalism is just weird to me, I just don't "get it". To tear down old religeons and customs to fabricate new phony made-up ones just seems silly to me. These were some strange birds, no doubt, and this film exposes a lot of that strange mentality going-on behind the scenes in that party.
It's a good film and a great DVD with a wonderful commentary soundtrack, which makes watching this film like sitting through a home movie. The narrator explains what you are looking at wonderfully - this guy knows his stuff and unless you're an expert, you'll learn a lot watching this film with the commentary on. Get this DVD, its a great historical piece and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: A cinematic triumph by Riefenstahl
Review: Triumph Des Willens opens with Wagnerian fanfare and a series of introductory captions, identifying it as "the historical document of the 1934 Congress of the National Socialist German Worker's Party." The Congress was held 4-10 September 1934. Other captions remind the viewer that it was "20 years after the Outbreak of the World War", "16 years after the beginning of Germany's suffering", and "19 months after the beginning of the German Rebirth"It's interesting to note the skill with which Leni Riefenstahl constructed the 1934 Party Congress as a nationalistic, moral-booster to inspire the Germans that their time of destiny has come. However, it's also an exercise on picking up hints of Hitler's plans. Hitler says that the racially best of Germany are the carriers of the best blood. At the Night Rally, he declares that "The State does not order us. We order the state" and "The State did not create us. We created the State." The second is true, but as for the first, hmmm.... Rabid anti-Semite Julius Streicher's assertions that people who don't protect their racial purity go to seed is the most overt. Hitler's skills as an orator are demonstrated throughout, especially his address to the Hitlerjugende (Hitler Youth) and the closing speech. In the key line in the first address
where he tells the youth to be peace-loving, but strong and courageous, and to learn self-sacrifice and never to collapse, he's basically telling them, "I'm sending you out to war to be killed." Cunning of the man! And in the closing speech, he is glowing with excitement and triumph. The labour force's equating spades and tools as their weapons in their quest to rebuild Germany is a repeat of the societal militarization during Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm II's time. A slam at Versailles comes where the youths announce where they came from--Silesia, Bavaria, Dresden, etc. The last two names mentioned: the Rhine and the Saar. Other references are alluded to in his speech to the SA and SS. The dark shadow that crossed the SA months ago is a reference to the Night of the Long Knives, as is the presence of Victor Lutze, successor to Ernst Rohm, a prime target in the Long Knives. Lutze and the SA and SS pledge to be faithful to Hitler also establishes Hitler's sole control of the SS, and under him, Himmler. The lion's share of the film, weighted towards the film's latter moments, is devoted to the Grand Review of armed forces in Adolf Hitler Platze, where units of the SA, air force, and SS march, the latter the crowning finale, all marching in formation. The leaders of each division, such as Lutze, Goering, and Himmler all salute Hitler, stand by him, and watch the processions. This show of force is clearly a grand telling off of the Versailles Treaty. Riefenstahl's cinematography also plays a massive role in this film. Indeed, certain scenes are best seen on the big screen, such as Albert Speer's Sea of Flags and Cathedral of Light on Zeppelin Field, panoramic shots, such as Hitler, Himmler, and Lutze marching the long distance to pay tribute to the fallen with columns of SA standing at attention on either side, and the closing moments of the Congress. Aerial shots include the shadow of Hitler's plane flying over Nuremberg and the view of the Hitler Youth tents and barracks. As for the new subtitles and translations, there are subtle changes compared to the copy I had before. The most notable one comes in the intro, where instead of "16 years after the crucifixion of Germany", the caption now reads "16 years after the beginning of Germany's suffering". The brief captions identifying key Nazi personnel help out tremendously. No, Leni Riefenstahl shouldn't be condemned as a collaborator of the Nazi Party? This documentary if anything set the standard for long shots, the power effect transcended by mass crowd, and the choking close-ups of a symbol, that of the swastika, and as a piece of art transforming speeches and marches into a political extravaganza, is a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A Historic Warning against the danger of POWER
Review:
No, the endless rows of troops and supporters are not special effects - they're the real thing in all their terror and power. Nothing like this can be seen in the world today except maybe in North Korea. This movie is a priceless historical document and a study in mass psychology and propaganda. Hopefully, it will always stay in circulation, where it best serves as a warning against the power of charismatic dictators and blind devotion to The State, and unlimited power.
Maybe it would be best if this movie was sold back-to-back with footage and photos of the horrors produced by Nazi Germany, and hopefully end with some photos of the Red Army's vicious three-day pillage of Berlin, where soldiers were given 'liberty without restraint,' to punish the Germans in the most horrific ways, and the Soviet propaganda footage of a gigantic concrete Nazi emblem being blown to smithereens by dynamite. That way you could see the gross effect of Hitler's spell over Germany, and the absolute horror of war - Hell on Earth.
If you ever wondered how Hitler gained so much power, this movie will explain it to you. A total loser and drifter for most of his young life, then-Corporal Hitler stumbled across his hidden talent as an orator when given an end-of-service assignment of preaching to troops exiting the defeated Werchmact about the dangers of communism. His superiors immediately recognized his latent talents, and made more use of his speaking abilities. From there he started his career in politics. In 'Triumph,' Adolph Hitler is at his best - or worst. Not only did Hitler have an amazing talent for public speaking, but he was a shrewd propagandist. He once said that torchlight rallies were a favorite of his because it was easiest to bend people's will at the end of the day. Anyone who looks at Germany and says 'that could never happen here,' is dead wrong. All that's needed is a right ingredient mix of timing, politics, and the state of the human condition. Then, add in a charismatic dictator, and watch the troops march and 'leftist' opposition get crushed on the road to nationalistic Armageddon.
This movie will silence anyone who says that protest isn't patriotic. While the leaders of any nation would pee their pants to have millions of people screaming 'heil' at each of theis 'seigs,' we now know all too well the results of blind devotion to a leader. This movie is all the warning we need. Watch it, at least once, so that you can recognize the traits of nationalism, and so you can gain a better sense of propaganda and rhetoric. Too many people can't identify truth from schpiel already!
Notice this movie doesn't show anyone countering the Nazi movement. That's because anyone 'liberal' enough to say war is bad, would have, at the time this movie was made, found themselves wearing a piano-wire necktie.
While it's tempting to ban this movie outright because of the horrific acts of Nazi Germany, that would be a massive mistake. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
-- JJ Timmins
Rating:
Summary: Great Historical Film
Review: ...He is correct in saying the film is great for history buffs and that is what I am (BA-Hist). This film depicts history. It is an inside look at Nazi Germany. Turn off the lights when you watch it and you will think you have a front row seat at a Nuremburg rally. It may have been produced as propaganda but what it is now is nothing short of historical documentation, regardless of how the images were woven together.
It has great footage and shows all of the regular Nazi Nuts and ones you have never seen or heard before. I loved being able to listen to them in German with subtitles instead of having a narrator. You can have that too. I bought the Special Edition DVD. The quality of this black and white film is the best I have ever seen. Special features include English subtitles and voice-over narration (all optional). Leni did not hire Industrial Light and Magic to insert millions of regimented Nazi followers. They are the real thing. The Nazi movement clearly stirred nationalistic fervor. You cannot deny the images. They speak for themselves. The German people were caught up in a movement of incredible proportions and this movie shows you what it was like in the early years of the Third Reich. Germans killed millions and millions of Germans died in WW II. This movie will give you a very good idea of what the Allied forces were fighting against.
Rating:
Summary: Must have if you are interested in history of the II WW
Review: Simply you can't lose this piece of history if you are interested in the IIWW and in the characters and twisted ideas that were involved. This is the movie of the 1934 Parteitags, day of the nazi party in Nuremberg. An event for the Hitler's party, and unfortunatly for the entire world.
You can take a look at the nazi reign through the eyes of an ippeccable artist Leni Riefensthal. You can hear words from men who lost their right way, who were push to crime by the unstoppable Hitler's evil force. And than you can see him, you can hear him, you can study the face of a man who left behind himself every human feeling in order to express his will to dominate the entire world. If you'll see this document you probably will understand a little better how things went and why went that way 60 years ago, when Europe was near to become fire and ash.
Rating: 
Summary: No longer impressive
Review: If you have a diluted or very limited knowledge of Nazi Germany, or if you just never watch the history channel or have seen much World War 2 footage, this film with the narrative could be enlightening. And if you are a buff of that era history, you may find it enjoyable to try and pick out this or that Nazi leader. However much a step forward for film as art this propaganda piece might have been when it was first released, today it frankly does not have the same power. Even the scenes of mass rallies you have probably seen before in some history documentary, or in the news when they have huge parades. This film did not meet my expectations based on the glowing reviews found here. It is very repetitive, and the film techniques that were remarkable then are over-used now. There is no point in getting this film unless you are studying film history or are a WW2 history buff.
Rating:
Summary: No one can say we were not warned.
Review: Hitler wrote MEIN KAMPF, he gave lectures, he wrote letters, he campaigned on the destruction of 'Capitalistic Jewry', and he had a personal film-maker, Leni Riefenstahl. She captured the anger and angst of the post World War I Germans and their enthusiasm for a leader who promised to make Deutchland great again. TRIUMPH OF THE WILL is a triumph of film-making, and thankfully nothing else. It's hard to imagine a world that might today be overrun by the Nazi jackboot and not shudder. The black and white film along with the extraordinary camera work, massive rallies (notice the bizarre cult and occult overtones), and subtitles give us a rare -though very scripted to be sure- look into the Third Reich before it threw the world into disarray. Interestingly, we get a lot of material meant to reinforce Hitler's idea of 'volk' lifestyle: communal eating and bathing among the German military, 'normal' German women participating in what appear to be calisthenics and other dance-type arts, children being acclimated to the machinery of warfare (this is perhaps the creepiest thing about the entire film aside from Hitler mentioning in a night speech that he was there to do God's work...ugh.) An important historical document, example of propaganda film and a painful reminder that Hitler was at least a man of his word; he spoke about taking over the world and sending superior German culture to the farthest reaches of earth, he spoke of destroying the slav and the Jew. We just didn't listen. It's funny, but someone made a comment about the President's speech after 9/11 and tried -miserably- to compare it to this film. Let's be clear on one thing: radical Islam is NO different a threat than Hitler's thousand-year-Reich, except that Hitler did not have the variety of weapons and world transport that terrorist organizations have today. Let this film be a lesson to us all: we need to rise up and fight tyranny in all forms. Our President was right then and he's still right. Those of you who think this will all go away are deluding yourselves. I don't need 'Bush propaganda' to convince me, seeing people jump out of those towers was quite enough thank you.
Rating:
Summary: For anyone interested in WWII history it is a MUST
Review: This is NOT an "entertaining" movie. It is an ode to Hitler and his power. But for those who want a PICTURE of those times to fill in where a book cannot go, this is the best there is. It is also a profound work on the merits (certainly NOT on the subject). By the way, I was just a little young for the war, but remember Pearl Harbor to the end very well. I went to college with GI billers and spent hundreds of hours having a few beers and hearing their stories. I have a library of around a thousand books on the war, including one of the largest on the Holocaust (many of survivors were friends). I say this as I'm NOT a "reviewer", but someone who has devoted almost sixty years to the study of 20th Century history. I had ample chances to personally know many of the participants and victims, from all fronts as well as the camps. I retired as a professor, and have a book almost completed. However, because of the openness of many people whose families don't even know their stories, it will not be published until the last of them dies (as I promised when they spoke freely in the short period at the war's end and just after it)...
Rating:
Summary: If only to understand...
Review: I would not recommend this film as a "must see" for the general public. First, it's black & white & the unwashed masses will start fiddling with the TV/remote controls to correct the "mistake". Second, it has subtitles; need I say more? Third, our viewing tastes have been molded by Hollywood over the years & the filming style of the 1930s will appear stilted & boring (see earlier "review"). Fourth, it's history...
I would strongly recommend this film for the serious student. There is truth in the old saying: Seek and ye shall find. Serious students learn not by the repetition of dry facts but by understanding causes & effects. PS: Reviewer Thomas M. Seay is a pinhead.
Rating:
Summary: Society of the Spectacle
Review: A "MUST" for those who want to study the modern history of the spectacle and how it gained primacy over the real. An interesting study would be to compare this film with the speech that Bush gave to Congress following 9/11. There is an uncanny resemblance.
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