Triumph of the Will (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Propaganda's primary mission is to appeal to the emotions.
Review: This is a perfect portrait of mass hysteria: a warning from history revealing how easy (and even attractive) it is to subvert your individual identity, follow the crowd and allow others to think for you. As for the film itself, it is a masterpiece of emotional manipulation presented in the form of a documentary. There is no dialogue or narration, however, except for speeches (most of which are delivered by Hitler), which, combined with an uplifting musical soundtrack and Reifenstahl's striking imagery (and masterful editing), strive to impress upon the viewer the power and glory of the Nazi Party in its heyday. What is most frightening about watching this movie is noticing both one's own emotional reactions, and the disturbingly small extent to which people have changed.


Rating:
Summary: Just a "documentary" as Riefenstahl intended it to be?
Review: The opening music to this film would not be out of place in any American Saturday morning serial, which were very popular in movie theaters in the 1930s, since this most famous of propaganda films was made contemporaneously. Like those serials, words only appear for about a minute after the opening title, words which "remind" the German-speaking audience of events which were only too familiar to them at the time: that the Great War had begun only 20 years before, that Germany's "suffering" had begun 16 years before and that Germany's "rebirth" had begun a mere 19 months before.

The "rebirth" alluded to the coming of power of the film's main attraction, Hitler, who presided over the Sixth Congress of the National Socialist German Workers' Party which took place in the historic city of Nuremberg between September 4 and 10, 1934. Though Hitler had been in supreme power for only a few weeks after the death of former army chief of staff, President von Hindenburg (1847-1934), it is made abundantly clear just what affection most people seen in the film had for this man. The scenes of cheering civilians lining the streets as the Fuhrer was driven to his hotel are quite thought-provoking, given that it is all too easy to remember what Hitler really intended for the German people in spite of his very public orations, in which he emphasized strength and unity of "all", even if certain minorities were, of course, never meant to be included.

Seven decades have now passed since Riefenstahl and her staff captured this propaganda event on film, and the film has served as a testament to how a people was collectively ready to embrace an ideology and its leader, since both it and he had brought them to a stage in their nation's history where they could show the world just how strong Germany had become just 16 years after the end of the Great War, after which the victorious Allies had extracted an extremely high price for Germany's aggressive foreign policies.

Now that Hitler was the supreme ruler, he meant to take Germany forward in a way that would mean that all Germans would be made responsible for their part. An indication of just how many people were supposed to be involved in all this can be gained from the scenes involving the Hitler Youth and other youth organizations (see the thousands of tents lined up in hundreds of rows, as seen from the air), the Reich Labor Service men bearing their spades and stating where in Germany they hailed from, and, of course, the thousands of storm-troopers and army soldiers, who filled the stadium to hear Hitler's speeches.

Even here, Hitler's power as an orator is clear. He shines over everybody else, as he makes his impassioned speeches, reminding his audience of where they have been, where they are now, what they must do to continue to make Germany strong, and where Germany is heading. At one point, deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess proclaims that Hitler is the "guarantor of peace", yet that seems utterly incongruous when he immediately leads the assemblage into shouting "Sieg Heil!" no less than three times before Hitler steps onto the podium. Once Hitler has finished and Hess steps back on, it is clear that the audience is rapt and that, for a moment, Hess himself is speechless and hesitant, conveying the idea that, as a speaker, nobody could remotely touch Hitler.

Even in 1934, Hitler's society is very much a military-industrial machine, although agrarian society is represented in the film, as men, women and children from the countryside are seen in traditional rural costumes, some of whom are presented to Hitler himself. However, the brevity of the screen time on their part indicates just how minor agriculture played in the scheme of things in Nazi Germany. If anything, the uniformed storm-troopers, SS men and army soldiers marching past Hitler's staff car in front of the Church of Our Lady in the centre of the historic city of Nuremberg serve to remind the audience of just how military-oriented Germany was even at that time.

Whatever people may think of Riefenstahl as a film-maker, the fact was that she had a brief to cover as many aspects of the congress and its participants as possible, including aspects not immediately relevant, such as Nuremberg's historic architecture. The power of her finished product indicates that she was successful in doing what she had been briefed to do, and this is all the more remarkable, considering that women in Nazi society were largely encouraged to be homemakers and mothers, whereas Riefenstahl, a woman, had been given such a high responsibility to document the most important political event in Germany in 1934.

Whether she was a fervent Nazi or a dispassionate observer, depending on one's point of view, Riefenstahl produced a film that can hardly fail to make people open their eyes to just how much influence the Nazi Party had in a country which could boast Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Goethe, Schiller, Gutenberg, Kant, the brothers Grimm and Wagner amongst its most distinguished cultural and literary figures. Whether those images, which have endured seven decades and will continue to do so as long as Nazi Germany, as an entity, continues to remain within the public consciousness, can be seen as glorifying Nazism or, at the very least, as "showing the highlights" of the Congress, will also be subject to one's own viewpoint.

Riefenstahl, who died in September 2003 aged 101, would always claim that she was "mesmerized" by Hitler and the Nazis, but that she was always a film-maker who made esthetics, rather than purely content, a primary concern. (She even released a film about underwater photography when she was 100 years old.) Nevertheless, "Triumph of the Will" (for which Riefenstahl won the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937, although the film itself is allegedly still banned in Germany even today) should serve as a lesson as to what happens when a people follows one person in what appears to be blind faith.


Rating:
Summary: Hitler's "disingenuous filmmaker"
Review: Important to see for many reasons, "Triumph of the Will" is a masterful example of cinematography, the forerunner of propaganda "documentaries", and a remarkable piece of history, where we get to see some of the most sinister men that ever lived, and the world of extravagance and power that surrounded them.
We also get to see a seemingly hypnotized people, who took pride in what was going on in their country, and women who gazed adoringly at a strange weaselly looking man with a cowlick and silly mustache. The people who went along with all this were the same people who read Goethe and listened to Beethoven...one of the most highly cultured, civilized people of recent history, proving that intelligence and education does not prevent brainwashing or political madness and evil.

Filmed on September 4 - 10, 1934, there is tremendous symbolism used, starting with the aerial footage of Hitler arriving in Nuremberg, through the clouds, as though he were a god coming to save his people. For those who viewed this film in Germany during the mid to late '30s who had never been on an airplane, this footage must have been spectacular; also marvelous are the views of the city seen from the air, so much of it since bombed, and then re-built.
Like all propagandists, Riefenstahl started with the message, and spliced and diced her film to fit it...she just did a better job of it than anyone else has since, and unfortunately, it ruined her career as a filmmaker, and as she would say later, it "cast a shadow" over her life,

The vastness of the scenes has never been achieved in any Hollywood epic...the ocean of saluting arms, the endless line of marching men, the sheer enormity of the "Commemoration of the Dead" ceremony, where Riefenstahl had cameras set up high for panoramic views, and where Hitler gave one of his fiery speeches. There are also a multitude of happy, tow-headed children, strong, firm-jawed youths, and those salivating women looking at Hitler. This is a trip down the rabbit-hole, and a strong reminder that as George Santayana said, "Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it".

It is fascinating to watch this with the added commentary by historian Dr. Anthony Santoro, which sheds a lot of light on the events, as well as watching it with subtitles, and if you want to get the full impact, view it with no subtitles, just the German and the rather Wagnerian soundtrack. Total running time is 120 minutes.
The DVD "extra" is "Day of Freedom", a 20 minute film of a military exercise exhibition, that is brilliantly filmed, and absolutely riveting.
Recommended viewing for the evil of our present time is the DVD "Buried in the Sand".


Rating:
Summary: magnificently magnified
Review: Surely no dictator ever got any better promotion than Adolf Hitler did by 'Triumph des Willens'. With her absolutely breathtaking camera-handling Leni Riefenstahl fully succeeds in showing the Nazi's the way they wanted to: larger than life.

There isn't - and never will be - a movie showing a wider gap between stunning artistic quality at one hand, and an equally stunning immorality of its subject at the other. And don't deceive yourself by thinking that in 1934-'35 the Nazi's were still innocent; even then their criminal record was already considerable.

Rating:
Summary: One final note...
Review: One nice feature about this DVD is that the optional English subtitles are in yellow text. Earlier editions had them in white, which made them hard to read in a classroom situation. These are very easy to follow for students who don't understand German.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating yet controversial look inside the Third Reich
Review: Leni Riefenstahl's 1934 cinematic masterpiece "Triumph of the Will" still stands as an archetype of extraordinarily successful political propaganda. Made to capture the pageantry of the massive Nazi Party rally held in Nuremberg, just one year after Adolf Hitler rose to power through the office of chancellor, this film is also an important historical document. "Triumph of the Will" is a snapshot of a Germany arising out of the post-World War I malaise, a Germany preoccupied with installing a new system National Socialist government while preparing to spread its influence, not necessarily military influence at this point, far beyond its borders. Barely a whisper of anti-Semitism appears anywhere in the film, nor are there grandiose proclamations about subjecting huge swaths of Europe to Nazi rule. Riefenstahl's film appears to serve as a sort of introduction of the new German leaders to the rest of the world, as well as a paean to the wholesome, unifying effects of National Socialism on the German people. Of course, we know what happened just five years after the filming of "Triumph of the Will." It is, therefore, extremely difficult to watch this film without a prejudiced eye.

The first thing that strikes the viewer while watching the film is its beauty. Riefenstahl's film begins by showing the city of Nuremberg from Hitler's airplane as it prepares to land. What a beautiful place! The bird's eye view of the city is breathtaking, filled with images of majestic structures that evoke memories of quaint Old European landscapes that seemed to disappear for decades after the destruction caused by World War II. Even better are the numerous marches through the city streets, not because the actors involved are particularly interesting but because the camera often drifts away from the people to capture wondrous images of German architecture and artwork. The statues alone are superb. As weird as it sounds, "Triumph of the Will" reinforced my hope that I will one day visit Europe even if most of what we see here is long gone. You definitely don't need to condone what the Nazis did in any way, shape, or form to appreciate parts of Riefenstahl's film on a purely aesthetic level. It's too bad that the majority of "Triumph of the Will" focuses on the rather mundane aspects of National Socialist party politics.

Speeches form the crux of Riefenstahl's picture--lots and lots of speeches from lots and lots of Nazi party officials. The usual rogues appear here from time to time, including Martin Bormann, Josef Goebbels, Hermann Goring, Rudolf Hess, Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler, Erich Raeder, and Julius Streicher. It is the last official, Streicher, that probably comes closest to articulating the centrality of racism to the Nazi philosophy in a speech about the importance of racial purity. Streicher, later sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials, was the Gauleiter of Upper Franconia. But it was his role as editor of the notorious anti-Semitic rag Der Sturmer that carried his influence far beyond the end of World War II. Most of the speeches avoid Streicher's charged remarks, focusing instead on the importance of an ascendant Germany and the unity of the German people. Unity is everywhere in "Triumph of the Will," from lengthy shots of Germans working together as groups to parades showing different classes of society marching together. Hitler and his cronies continually stress the importance of every individual and his or her place in the larger country, from the farmers to the children to the military. One important sequence shows individual Germans shouting out the names of their home regions, thus showing how all parts of Germany support the new regime.

"Triumph of the Will" is obviously a controversial film. Riefenstahl, who recently died at the ripe age of 101, bore a heavy burden for her National Socialist propaganda pieces right up to the end of her life. Critics accused her of glorifying a regime that started a war resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of people. In many respects, these critics score solid hits. No one who could read can deny that Hitler and his henchmen advocated war and organized murder as legitimate political tools even before the NSDAP came to power. "Mein Kampf" lays out Hitler's views on government and the Jews in no uncertain terms, and that book arrived on the scene years before the Nazis took over the German government. The aforementioned Julius Streicher's views on Jews were both vicious and well known long before Riefenstahl made her films. Der Sturmer began publication in 1923, according to Randall Bytwerk's incisive study of Streicher's career, and it leveled attacks against Jews almost from the beginning. How could Riefenstahl claim ignorance of the real agenda of Nazi leaders? I think a possible answer, if there is one, lies in the fact that her films came out at the beginning of Nazi rule, before the war and before the genocidal campaigns tarnished the heady early years when recovery from the shame of Versailles and the reemergence of Germany as a European power seemed pure and relatively harmless.

The debate over whether Leni Riefenstahl was a loyal Nazi or a dispassionate observer will rage forever. Her talents as a filmmaker, however, are abundantly clear. The extras included on the DVD are definitely worth a watch and a listen. A commentary track by historian Anthony Santoro provides a wealth of information on the subtle themes in the film as well as background on the obscure party officials appearing in the film. A Riefenstahl short film, "Day of Freedom," captures a German military exercise staged for the benefit of thousands of citizens. Thanks to the folks over at Synapse Films for bringing this controversial film to DVD.










Rating:
Summary: Like Watching Trees Grow
Review: I have heard so much about this "art" film that I couldn't help but purchase a copy, not that I was much intrigued by the subject or premise, personally, watching a bunch of fascist goons in their Sunday best does not feel very entertaining or intellectually stimulating. But I proceeded, how unbearable, lacking all artistry, this is nothing more than a documentary in which some moron holds a camera against the scene. It's black and white, very dull, extremely boring and without any merit, Leni was not very good as either a director or artist and on top of that she had dentures.

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Summary: Very important film, should be studied in post 9/11 america.
Review: The film is amazing. The visual impact of it alone - A lot of reviewers have made very good points about the film. It's power as a piece of propaganda and documentary is apparent. I think all Americans who aren't too ignorant of history to understand it should watch this.
Many of the people of America just don't understand the dangers of nationalism. The people of Germany in the 30s were not evil - not at all. They were normal people who were facing some harsh times who were swept up in and manipulated into a nationalistic ferver by their government. It could happen here. See any paralells with today's america? Now the bogeyman is the "terrorists" not the Jewish people, but the techniques are the same. Fascism is fascism - and it's where we're headed. Give up your rights. C'mon, oh, those people we're torturing, they're not people, they're terrorists..Give up your rights, c'mon, we'll keep them safe for you. Don't you trust us? we'll keep you safe. We never lie, we're your government. We believe in good things like puppies and pie. We'll keep you safe...Here, move to this FEMA camp, you'll be safe.....

oh...uh..the film, yeah right. SO aside from seeing this as a peice of nazi propaganda, to actually see all of these nazis speak at their rally - it sends shivers down your spine - as a historical document, it's amazing. You'll be watching this and thinking "Gee, these people aren't actors...wow, those are real nazi SS stormtroopers...those are real brown shirts..." And the english subtitles are great, because they provide a context, not just what the people are saying, but they also tell you who they are, where they are....

Rating:
Summary: Influential film
Review: I agree with just about every reviewer that this is a powerful film and very likely the best propaganda (in the neutral sense of the word) film ever made. There are elements in German history to which this appeals (for example, the scene where
the SA men recite their various geographic origins - as a sign
of unity in an often divided nation), which Anglo-Saxon viewers cannot often appreciate. The resentment at the injustices of the
Versailles Diktat, to which the beginning of the film alludes, was also
a major element of attraction to the NSDAP. Is propaganda active today? Witness the Soviet films of the thirties
(Potemkin, Nevsky). How many reviewers make mention of the
"horrible, stomach-churning, evil, etc." regime that produced these? Why do the Reds get off so lightly? PS I understand there was also a film of the 1933 rally, but that disappeared
subsequent to the downfall of one of its major players -
Ernst Roehm.PSS Look for the hidden cameras in the film - e.g.,
one moving up and down the tall flags behind the podium...also the man jumping into the street to take a quick personal photo of Hitler...and note that the Waffen SS carries no weapons in the parade (Army objection?)

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic documentary
Review: This picture goes to show what you can acomplish when you get people into the right state of mind. Give them jobs, give them a real leader, abolish class structures and give them hope. Watching the young men in this film gives me envy as no leader around the world today can do the same. A pity Hitler and the party turned out to be such war mongers as they created something missing from current day Earth.

The film is excellent as a historical piece. If your looking for an explaination why the whole of Germany followed Hitler like sheep then this movie is for you. Also would recommend watching "The Fog of War", then you can decide who the bigger criminals were in WW2.