“Triumph of the Will” was released in 1935 and was directed by Leni Riefenstahl. The star of the film is Adolph Hitler. Triumph is a propaganda film and was constructed using 60 hours of film from the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany. The film was released four years before the start of WW II. In it you will see film of, not only Hitler but, Himmler, Goebbels, Hess, Goering, Bormann and other big shots in the Nazi party.
The film was commissioned by Hitler in 1934. The theme of the movie is the return of Germany as a great power. Make Germany great again. After WWI Germany suffered the loss of much of its territory and was ordered to pay reparations. Money Germany did not have since everything was taken away from it. This caused a depression that was the breeding ground for tyrants like Hitler.
I couldn’t think of a scarier horror story than “Triumph of the Will”. Especially with the thought that it could happen again. I would hate to think that it could happen here, but the past few years have taught me that nothing is impossible. The film is a portrait of evil in the mask of patriotism.
Most of the movie is cheering and speeches and people saluting and then a rousing speech by Hitler. A lot of it is actually boring, unless you are either a Nazi or a Nazi wanna-be. What makes it different are the techniques used in filming the documentary.
Director Leni Riefenstahl had over thirty cameras to film every incident of the event. She was given carte blanch to do whatever she wanted. She used unique camera movements and locations. The use of dollies, cranes, ramps and towers for overhead views and wide shots. Shots from different perspectives and camera angles that made the leaders of the party, especially Hitler, look larger than life.
As far as cinematic techniques are concerned it is considered a masterpiece of cinematic art. Techniques used in making the film were analyzed and copied by artists such as Frank Capra when he made “Why We Fight”. This creates a paradox. Can a film be both art and reprehensible on a human level?
All the pageantry and lock step of the movie makes the Nazi Party look like a well-oiled machine. Everything looks organized and precise. In reality the German Nation, and in particular the Nazi Party, couldn’t be further from the truth.
Although the Nazi’s were meticulous in regard to keeping records and in the systematic murder of people, and in giving themselves parades, the government was a rat’s nest of inefficiency and power hungry wanna-bes. Many of those in power were unsuited for their positions and had no idea what they were doing. Sort of like using acting cabinet department heads. Many were figure heads only with no powers. Other agencies were redundant and overlapping. The in-fighting and the backstabbing were rampant. All to gain the favor of the fuehrer. Hitler himself came to power by assassinating everyone else in the way.
Add to it the fact that Hitler was a micro manager that had to have the last word on everything. The truth was his truth. He had advisors but he didn’t always take their advice and distrusted his generals. He was stubborn and relied too much on his own instinct. He was basically the one responsible for the downfall of Nazi Germany.
The film is extremely important in that is shows a slice of history that, if we don't learn from it and prevent it, could easily happen again.