In 1934, the year after their succession to power, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, a German political party led by Adolf Hitler, hold a series of rallies in Nuremberg to mark their sixth annual party conference.
This amazing documentary is hard to review because it is fundamentally three things; an incredibly detailed account of one of the most significant movements in political history, an eye-popping, brilliantly-made propaganda film on a technical level, and an utterly loathsome celebration of an obscene and contemptuous fascist organisation. It is both intimate and epic; to see Hitler so close up is undoubtedly fascinating (we right behind him in staff cars, walk down lines of the party faithful with him as he shakes hands and stand next to him on the podium as he makes his speeches), yet the sheer scale of the events is just astounding - the penultimate stadium rally dwarfs anything in the fantasies of D.W. Griffith or Cecil B. DeMille. Riefenstahl's film-making style is inspired - her multiple cameras capture every amazing scene and her brilliant editing juxtaposes the mighty scenes with carefully measured reaction-shots of people in the crowds and cleverly constructed pre-rehearsed sequences, and everything is swept along with great music by Richard Wagner and Horst Wessel. In the end though, whilst one might admire both the film and Riefenstahl's talent, one cannot help but be chilled by the knowledge of the unspeakable horrors of the Second World War to follow and of a great country's tragic seduction by the evil that was the Nazi Party. The gifted thirty-three-year-old Riefenstahl directed, edited, produced and scripted the film, was imprisoned for four years after the war and remained a controversial figure for the rest of her life, both lauded and demonised. English title - Triumph Of The Will.
This amazing documentary is hard to review because it is fundamentally three things; an incredibly detailed account of one of the most significant movements in political history, an eye-popping, brilliantly-made propaganda film on a technical level, and an utterly loathsome celebration of an obscene and contemptuous fascist organisation. It is both intimate and epic; to see Hitler so close up is undoubtedly fascinating (we right behind him in staff cars, walk down lines of the party faithful with him as he shakes hands and stand next to him on the podium as he makes his speeches), yet the sheer scale of the events is just astounding - the penultimate stadium rally dwarfs anything in the fantasies of D.W. Griffith or Cecil B. DeMille. Riefenstahl's film-making style is inspired - her multiple cameras capture every amazing scene and her brilliant editing juxtaposes the mighty scenes with carefully measured reaction-shots of people in the crowds and cleverly constructed pre-rehearsed sequences, and everything is swept along with great music by Richard Wagner and Horst Wessel. In the end though, whilst one might admire both the film and Riefenstahl's talent, one cannot help but be chilled by the knowledge of the unspeakable horrors of the Second World War to follow and of a great country's tragic seduction by the evil that was the Nazi Party. The gifted thirty-three-year-old Riefenstahl directed, edited, produced and scripted the film, was imprisoned for four years after the war and remained a controversial figure for the rest of her life, both lauded and demonised. English title - Triumph Of The Will.