It took a female filmmaker to define how we see sports today on the screen. Germany's Leni Riefenstahl presented a revolutionary new way to document a major sporting event, establishing unique visual techniques we're now so familiar with in April 1938's "Olympia." Her stirring images of the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games produced a documentary that even today mesmerizes viewers. Riefenstahl and her team's coverage of the Olympic Games combined artistic shots with wide-angled coverage of athletes and spectators, creating a larger-than-life portrayal of the quadrennial competition.
Film reviewer Nicholas Barber says Riefenstahl wasn't so much interested in the statistical competitive nature of the games in who won what medal. "Her only concern is to make them all uniquely cinematic, via slow-motion sequences, tracking shots, an astonishing number of different camera angles, and some extreme close-ups which were filmed afterwards and then spliced into the competition footage."
In his book about the Olympics, David Goldblatt described Riefenstahl's documentary as breaking "the mould of Olympic films in many ways. She had total access and total control, and an immeasurably large crew and budget. Second, in terms of technological and cinematic sophistication, there was no comparison."
"Olympia" established many cinematic techniques commonly seen in today's sports coverages. She was the first to use extreme closeups of athletes, and placed her camera on track rails to follow both runners on the field and spectators in the stands. The torch relay, from Athens to Berlin, was first introduced at the 1936 Games, and was designed partly to capture on film the emotional linkages between the ancient Grecian competitions to the modern ones. The underwater camera was used for the first time in "Olympia," capturing divers as they swam underneath the surface. Small cameras were introduced in Riefenstahl's documentary, strapped to the saddles of horse jockeys and even on marathon runners to give a personal perspective. The German director also was able to obtain amateur film footage from the many spectators with movie cameras to supplement the shots her team captured.
Riefenstahl was commissioned to cover the events of the 1936 Olympic Games by Germany's government officials, most notably Adolf Hitler. The dictator was so impressed by her propaganda documentary, 1935's "Triumph of the Will," he encouraged her to produce an even more ambitious visual document on the Berlin games. Riefenstahl, who was known for her acting in German 'mountaineering films,' turned to directing dramatic feature films in the early 1930s. Her "Triumph of the Will" has been cited as one of the greatest propaganda documentaries ever produced-unfortunately it happened to be about one of the most insidious regimes in the history of mankind. Riefenstahl claimed she was just recording history when she led a camera crew filming the 1934 Nuremberg Rally.
"Olympia" downplays the Nazi presence at the Olympic Games, even though Hitler and his colleagues are seen. In one of the more beguiling segments the party must have been uncomfortable with, but which Riefenstahl included, was Jesse Owens' dominating victories in the running events. The German commentator notes Owens is the "fastest man in the world," and each of his medal award ceremonies are shown. What's more fascinating is that Owens is seen beaming while displaying his collective wins, a shot that is not repeated with any other athletes, including the Germans. The 800-meter race also highlights two African-Americans, John Woodruff and Phil Edwards, finishing first and third respectively. "It's hard to see how this sequence could have served the Nazi cause," notes reviewer Barber.
Riefenstahl's crew shot over 1.3 million feet of film during the two-week event. She and her editors pared the immense pile of film to 100,000 feet before shaping the two-part four-hour "Olympia" into 6,000 feet to compile the final edit. It took 18 months and five editing rooms to create the documentary. Riefenstahl produced versions in German, French and English. She whittled down footage of the Nazi hierarchy in the version she sent to the United States in the hopes one of Hollywood's major studios would offer her a film position. Leni's unexpectedly bad timing during her trip to New York City in November 1938 to promote her film coincided with the Nazis' 'Night of Broken Glass.' It was an evening in Germany where Jewish-owned stores and synagogues were demolished and 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. Riefenstahl told the American press she didn't believe anything of that scope could take place in her Germany, which ruined any chances of her ever securing a Hollywood studio offer.
Internationally, "Olympia" won several awards, including the Olympic Gold Medal from the International Olympic Committee. Premiere Magazine lists the documentary as one of '100 Movies That Shook the World.' The influential film is included as one of '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.'
Film reviewer Nicholas Barber says Riefenstahl wasn't so much interested in the statistical competitive nature of the games in who won what medal. "Her only concern is to make them all uniquely cinematic, via slow-motion sequences, tracking shots, an astonishing number of different camera angles, and some extreme close-ups which were filmed afterwards and then spliced into the competition footage."
In his book about the Olympics, David Goldblatt described Riefenstahl's documentary as breaking "the mould of Olympic films in many ways. She had total access and total control, and an immeasurably large crew and budget. Second, in terms of technological and cinematic sophistication, there was no comparison."
"Olympia" established many cinematic techniques commonly seen in today's sports coverages. She was the first to use extreme closeups of athletes, and placed her camera on track rails to follow both runners on the field and spectators in the stands. The torch relay, from Athens to Berlin, was first introduced at the 1936 Games, and was designed partly to capture on film the emotional linkages between the ancient Grecian competitions to the modern ones. The underwater camera was used for the first time in "Olympia," capturing divers as they swam underneath the surface. Small cameras were introduced in Riefenstahl's documentary, strapped to the saddles of horse jockeys and even on marathon runners to give a personal perspective. The German director also was able to obtain amateur film footage from the many spectators with movie cameras to supplement the shots her team captured.
Riefenstahl was commissioned to cover the events of the 1936 Olympic Games by Germany's government officials, most notably Adolf Hitler. The dictator was so impressed by her propaganda documentary, 1935's "Triumph of the Will," he encouraged her to produce an even more ambitious visual document on the Berlin games. Riefenstahl, who was known for her acting in German 'mountaineering films,' turned to directing dramatic feature films in the early 1930s. Her "Triumph of the Will" has been cited as one of the greatest propaganda documentaries ever produced-unfortunately it happened to be about one of the most insidious regimes in the history of mankind. Riefenstahl claimed she was just recording history when she led a camera crew filming the 1934 Nuremberg Rally.
"Olympia" downplays the Nazi presence at the Olympic Games, even though Hitler and his colleagues are seen. In one of the more beguiling segments the party must have been uncomfortable with, but which Riefenstahl included, was Jesse Owens' dominating victories in the running events. The German commentator notes Owens is the "fastest man in the world," and each of his medal award ceremonies are shown. What's more fascinating is that Owens is seen beaming while displaying his collective wins, a shot that is not repeated with any other athletes, including the Germans. The 800-meter race also highlights two African-Americans, John Woodruff and Phil Edwards, finishing first and third respectively. "It's hard to see how this sequence could have served the Nazi cause," notes reviewer Barber.
Riefenstahl's crew shot over 1.3 million feet of film during the two-week event. She and her editors pared the immense pile of film to 100,000 feet before shaping the two-part four-hour "Olympia" into 6,000 feet to compile the final edit. It took 18 months and five editing rooms to create the documentary. Riefenstahl produced versions in German, French and English. She whittled down footage of the Nazi hierarchy in the version she sent to the United States in the hopes one of Hollywood's major studios would offer her a film position. Leni's unexpectedly bad timing during her trip to New York City in November 1938 to promote her film coincided with the Nazis' 'Night of Broken Glass.' It was an evening in Germany where Jewish-owned stores and synagogues were demolished and 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. Riefenstahl told the American press she didn't believe anything of that scope could take place in her Germany, which ruined any chances of her ever securing a Hollywood studio offer.
Internationally, "Olympia" won several awards, including the Olympic Gold Medal from the International Olympic Committee. Premiere Magazine lists the documentary as one of '100 Movies That Shook the World.' The influential film is included as one of '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.'