Triumph of the Will
Brief Synopsis
The Nazis create a massive propaganda event in Munich in 1934.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Leni Riefenstahl
Director
Adolf Hitler
Rudolf Hess
Konstantin Hierl
Viktor Lutze
Baldur Von Schirach
Film Details
Also Known As
Triumph des Willens
Genre
Documentary
Historical
Political
Release Date
2001
Production Company
20th Century Fox Studio Facilities
Distribution Company
Janus Films; Nelson Entertainment
Location
Nuremberg, Germany
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 20m
Synopsis
The Nazis create a massive propaganda event in Munich in 1934.
Director
Leni Riefenstahl
Director
Cast
Adolf Hitler
Rudolf Hess
Konstantin Hierl
Viktor Lutze
Baldur Von Schirach
Heinrich Himmler
Nuremberg Rally Participants
Nuremberg Citizens
Crew
Sepp Allgeier
Camera Operator
Sepp Allgeier
Director Of Photography
Karl Altenberger
Camera Operator
August Beis
Camera Assistant
Eugen O Bernhard
Camera Assistant
Richard Bohm
Camera Assistant
Werner Bohne
Camera Operator
Wolfgang Bruning
Production Assistant
R Bude
Lighting
Hans Buhring
Camera Assistant
H Bullerjahn
Sound Assistant
Fritz Bunsch
Photography Workshop
H Compart
Lighting
H Degner
Sound Assistant
Bernhard Delschaft
Lighting
Bernhard Delschaft
Lighting
K Drews
Sound Assistant
E Eisenbach
Sound Assistant
E Erdmann
Lighting
Walter Frentz
Camera Operator
W Fried
Lighting
Hans Gottschalk
Camera Operator
Erich Grohmann
Camera Assistant
K H Grohwald
Lighting
Walter Grosskopf
Business Manager
Peter B Gushue
English Subtitles (2001 Dvd Version)
Peter Haller
Camera Assistant
Wolf Hart
Camera Assistant
Bruno Hartwich
Sound Editor
O Hilbert
Lighting
H Honicka
Sound Assistant
Werner Hundhausen
Camera Operator
Otto Jager
Camera Assistant
Richard Kandler
Camera Assistant
Herbert Kebelmann
Camera Operator
Sepp Ketterer
Camera Assistant
Arthur Kiekebusch
Camera Operator Supervisor
Albert Kling
Camera Operator
Albert Kling
Aerial Photography
Franz Koch
Camera Operator
Josef Koch
Camera Assistant
Feliz Koziolek
Lighting
E Kropf
Sound Assistant
Han Kubisch
Lighting
Erich Kuchler
Camera Assistant
C Kuhns
Sound Assistant
Ernest Kuntsmann
Camera Assistant
Herbert Kutschbach
Camera Operator
Rolf Lantin
Stills
Guzzi Lantschner
Business Manager Assistant
Otto Lantschner
Business Manager Assistant
Paul Lieberenz
Camera Operator
Gisela Lindeck-schneeberger
Photography Editing; Photography Enlargement
Heinz Linke
Camera Assistant
H Loos
Sound Assistant
Alice Ludwig
Sound Editor
Wolfgang Muller
Camera Assistant
Richard Nickel
Camera Operator
Hans Noack
Photography Workshop
Svend Nolan
Photography Workshop
Erna Peters
Business Manager Assistant
Walter Prager
Business Manager Assistant
R Radtke
Lighting
F Reinke
Lighting
J Richter
Sound Assistant
Leni Riefenstahl
Artistic Producer; Producer
Walter Riml
Camera Operator
W Rosskopf
Sound Assistant
F Rusch
Lighting
Anthony R Santoro
English Subtitles (2001 Dvd Version)
Wilhelm Schmidt
Camera Assistant
K Schrieber
Lighting
Otto Schroeder
Lighting
Kurt Schulz
Camera Assistant
Siegfried Schulz
Sound Engineer
Ernst Schutz
Sound Engineer Assistant
Herbert Seehofer
Consultant (Propaganda-Nsdap)
Albert Speer
Art Direction (Architectural Planning)
W Stangenberg
Lighting
Erich Stoll
Camera Assistant
Walter Traut
Business Manager
Karl Vass
Camera Operator
Arthur Von Schwertfuhrer
Camera Operator
Franz Weihmayr
Camera Operator
Siegfried Weinmann
Camera Operator
Karl Wellert
Camera Operator
Herbert Windt
Music
Hans Wittmann
Camera Assistant
Film Details
Also Known As
Triumph des Willens
Genre
Documentary
Historical
Political
Release Date
2001
Production Company
20th Century Fox Studio Facilities
Distribution Company
Janus Films; Nelson Entertainment
Location
Nuremberg, Germany
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 20m
Articles
Triumph of the Will (Special Edition) - Triumph of the Will - Special Edition
Knowing the power of cinema to spread the gospel of Nazism far and wide, Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels handpicked Riefenstahl to start the cadence of assimilation and blind obedience to the National Socialist German Workers Party. And Riefenstahl pulled it off brilliantly, as shown in Synapse Films' new DVD release of Triumph of the Will - Special Edition.
The DVD boasts corrected translations of the various fiery speeches by Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and countless other Nazi officials. Detailed liner notes give a succinct history behind the making of the film as well as its understandably controversial legacy. The running audio commentary by historian Dr. Anthony R. Santuro is well done, offering jovial and enlightening insight behind the film on the city of Nuremberg, the Nazi party's hierarchy, customs, paraphernalia, their rise to power, and most usefully, a succinct summation of what the Nazis' totalitarian state meant to Germans: Nazis wanted your thoughts as well as your actions. Of special interest on the DVD is the 15-minute short film Day of Freedom (1934), Riefenstahl's war exercise film that is meant to show the professionalism and invincibility of the Nazi's military industrial complex. The short film opens as soldiers wake up and get ready for the day's events, while a crowd of observers gather in the grandstands to watch the enactment of what would be the real thing four years later in Czechoslovakia, followed by Poland, France and the rest of Europe. But Riefenstahl doesn't quite inspire awe at German firepower by virtue of the fact that the weapons are all necessarily shooting blanks. Not even the evil Nazi Party would subject themselves to stray gunfire while sitting in the observation grandstands just a few hundred yards away from the "fighting." But the film's final image, that of planes flying in the formation of a swastika, suggests that Riefenstahl's early show of mastery over form and technique would later find its zenith in Triumph of the Will.
Indeed, Triumph of the Will is an admirable and monumentally important film, both as a work of art and as a historical document. While there's nothing beautiful or artistic about the Nazis' barbaric and genocidal ideology, the film should be studied for the way in which Riefenstahl presents the Nazi aesthetic on screen. Akira Kurosawa and George Lucas might have been taking notes on how to block thousands of marching minions and make their movement look stunningly beautiful. Many have compared the final scene in Lucas' Star Wars (1977) with Hitler's entrance into a grandiose arena of SA and SS storm troopers, a comparison that still stands up today. Because much of Germany had suffered under a crushing economic depression, many of her citizens had not enough money to buy food, let alone the newest fashions. Pride in the nation and culture was at low ebb. In this Hitler took the fullest advantage of selling the power of the Nazis, to restore pride in Germany. Thus, Riefenstahl spent much of her film caressing the shiny and sharp Nazi image. Fetishized close ups of handsome men with boots, medals, uniforms, carefully cropped hair, and the abundant banners emblazoned with the swastika turn the German peoples' embarrassment of their poverty into the idolatry of Nazi chic.
Riefenstahl is most successful in using groundbreaking camera movement to capture the panoramic sweep of Nuremberg and the weight and breadth of Hitler's presence in the city. Her mastery of orchestrating the camera and bodies in geometric precision recalls the work of her contemporary, Busby Berkeley. During one rally, three gargantuan swastika banners cloak one camera that moves up and down the length of the banners, capturing truly breathtaking shots of the perfectly aligned Nazis standing and marching in formation.
Riefenstahl uses multi-camera shots for Hitler's Wagnerian flight over the beautiful city of Nuremberg. Indeed, the film acts as a wonderful travelogue of Nuremberg, as much as it does a love song to the god-like Hitler. The sights and sounds of Nuremberg were seen for the first time by most of the Germans who saw Triumph of the Will in the movie houses. The fair city was also seen for the first time by Allied bombers who obliterated the city during World War II. (According to historian Anthony R. Santuro, much of Nuremberg was rebuilt after the war to the specifications of the city's original design, so the city looks much as it does in this film.)
As history, it should be remembered that Triumph of the Will is the greatest piece of propaganda filmmaking ever made. The film's official title includes this qualifier: "The historical document of the 1934 Congress of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Party Day of Victory, September 4-10, Nuremberg." Due to its propagandistic and artificial nature, in no way could this film stand as a historical document of fact. The astute observer will note that there are obvious ways in which Riefenstahl manipulated the proceedings to make a much more powerful film. For example, we see Hitler in close up riding in an open car down a long boulevard of adoring throngs. But in long shot, we see Hitler, supposedly in the same car, only there is no camera to be seen. The obvious conclusion is Riefenstahl filmed the Fuhrer in close up separately, and spliced his visage back into the long shot footage of his parade. Riefenstahl reportedly filmed Hitler separately for some of his speeches as well.
But aside from the dissolves, cuts, jumpcuts and wipes, editing techniques which are by their very nature manipulative, the film is an important historical summation of the power of the Nazi state to manipulate and control its own image. And as history, Triumph of the Will stands as a reminder of the scourge of fascism and how it seduced the minds of millions of Germans, resulting in the obscene deaths of millions, untold suffering, billions of dollars in damage, and geopolitical repercussions that will echo for decades.
For more information about Triumph of the Will - Special Edition or to purchase a copy, visit Synapse Films.
by Scott McGee
Triumph of the Will (Special Edition) - Triumph of the Will - Special Edition
Triumph of the Will (1935), a propaganda film produced by and for the German Nazi party, is an astonishing piece of filmmaking. It's also a terrifying vision of humanity's potential for absolute, systematic evil. Directed with full authority by former actress Leni Riefenstahl, Triumph of the Will is the piece de resistance of propaganda filmmaking, giving a three dimensional portrayal of the Nazi party's belief in the power of the cinema to hypnotize.
Knowing the power of cinema to spread the gospel of Nazism far and wide, Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels handpicked Riefenstahl to start the cadence of assimilation and blind obedience to the National Socialist German Workers Party.
And Riefenstahl pulled it off brilliantly, as shown in Synapse Films' new DVD release of Triumph of the Will - Special Edition.
The DVD boasts corrected translations of the various fiery speeches by Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and countless other Nazi officials. Detailed liner notes give a succinct history behind the making of the film as well as its understandably controversial legacy. The running audio commentary by historian Dr. Anthony R. Santuro is well done, offering jovial and enlightening insight behind the film on the city of Nuremberg, the Nazi party's hierarchy, customs, paraphernalia, their rise to power, and most usefully, a succinct summation of what the Nazis' totalitarian state meant to Germans: Nazis wanted your thoughts as well as your actions. Of special interest on the DVD is the 15-minute short film Day of Freedom (1934), Riefenstahl's war exercise film that is meant to show the professionalism and invincibility of the Nazi's military industrial complex. The short film opens as soldiers wake up and get ready for the day's events, while a crowd of observers gather in the grandstands to watch the enactment of what would be the real thing four years later in Czechoslovakia, followed by Poland, France and the rest of Europe. But Riefenstahl doesn't quite inspire awe at German firepower by virtue of the fact that the weapons are all necessarily shooting blanks. Not even the evil Nazi Party would subject themselves to stray gunfire while sitting in the observation grandstands just a few hundred yards away from the "fighting." But the film's final image, that of planes flying in the formation of a swastika, suggests that Riefenstahl's early show of mastery over form and technique would later find its zenith in Triumph of the Will.
Indeed, Triumph of the Will is an admirable and monumentally important film, both as a work of art and as a historical document. While there's nothing beautiful or artistic about the Nazis' barbaric and genocidal ideology, the film should be studied for the way in which Riefenstahl presents the Nazi aesthetic on screen. Akira Kurosawa and George Lucas might have been taking notes on how to block thousands of marching minions and make their movement look stunningly beautiful. Many have compared the final scene in Lucas' Star Wars (1977) with Hitler's entrance into a grandiose arena of SA and SS storm troopers, a comparison that still stands up today. Because much of Germany had suffered under a crushing economic depression, many of her citizens had not enough money to buy food, let alone the newest fashions. Pride in the nation and culture was at low ebb. In this Hitler took the fullest advantage of selling the power of the Nazis, to restore pride in Germany. Thus, Riefenstahl spent much of her film caressing the shiny and sharp Nazi image. Fetishized close ups of handsome men with boots, medals, uniforms, carefully cropped hair, and the abundant banners emblazoned with the swastika turn the German peoples' embarrassment of their poverty into the idolatry of Nazi chic.
Riefenstahl is most successful in using groundbreaking camera movement to capture the panoramic sweep of Nuremberg and the weight and breadth of Hitler's presence in the city. Her mastery of orchestrating the camera and bodies in geometric precision recalls the work of her contemporary, Busby Berkeley. During one rally, three gargantuan swastika banners cloak one camera that moves up and down the length of the banners, capturing truly breathtaking shots of the perfectly aligned Nazis standing and marching in formation.
Riefenstahl uses multi-camera shots for Hitler's Wagnerian flight over the beautiful city of Nuremberg. Indeed, the film acts as a wonderful travelogue of Nuremberg, as much as it does a love song to the god-like Hitler. The sights and sounds of Nuremberg were seen for the first time by most of the Germans who saw Triumph of the Will in the movie houses. The fair city was also seen for the first time by Allied bombers who obliterated the city during World War II. (According to historian Anthony R. Santuro, much of Nuremberg was rebuilt after the war to the specifications of the city's original design, so the city looks much as it does in this film.)
As history, it should be remembered that Triumph of the Will is the greatest piece of propaganda filmmaking ever made. The film's official title includes this qualifier: "The historical document of the 1934 Congress of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Party Day of Victory, September 4-10, Nuremberg." Due to its propagandistic and artificial nature, in no way could this film stand as a historical document of fact. The astute observer will note that there are obvious ways in which Riefenstahl manipulated the proceedings to make a much more powerful film. For example, we see Hitler in close up riding in an open car down a long boulevard of adoring throngs. But in long shot, we see Hitler, supposedly in the same car, only there is no camera to be seen. The obvious conclusion is Riefenstahl filmed the Fuhrer in close up separately, and spliced his visage back into the long shot footage of his parade. Riefenstahl reportedly filmed Hitler separately for some of his speeches as well.
But aside from the dissolves, cuts, jumpcuts and wipes, editing techniques which are by their very nature manipulative, the film is an important historical summation of the power of the Nazi state to manipulate and control its own image. And as history, Triumph of the Will stands as a reminder of the scourge of fascism and how it seduced the minds of millions of Germans, resulting in the obscene deaths of millions, untold suffering, billions of dollars in damage, and geopolitical repercussions that will echo for decades.
For more information about Triumph of the Will - Special Edition or to purchase a copy, visit Synapse Films.
by Scott McGee
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States on Video April 17, 2001
Released in United States on Video April 17, 2001