Review of Triumph of the Will (1935) by Nathan T — 01 Apr 2006

[FONT=System]An important message doesn?t always a great film make (just check out [I]The Day After Tomorrow[/I]). Conversely a horrible message doesn?t always a poor film make. Need proof? Watch one of the all-time great documentaries, [I]Triumph of the Wil[/I]l.

Made by German filmmaker Leni Reifenstahl in 1934 and released the following year, [I]Triumph of the Will[/I] is an eerily beautiful masterpiece that counterbalances a purely evil message with first-rate cinematography. It is far scarier than any horror film could ever be. Every shot is meticulously arranged to demonstrate the almighty power of the Nazi party and their dictator Adolf Hitler. One of the film?s first sequences is of an airplane moving through a majestic sky. It doesn?t take long before the camera reveals that the plane is Nazi-manufactured and is in the process of carrying Nazis to a hate rally. These images are followed by amazing aerial shots of German architecture and people.

Most of the documentary moves like that. Jawdropping shots of a country dominated by hatred, panic, and fear and soon to be run as a perpetual state of futile war and mass genocide. We witness a highly suggestible German public eating up the words of the Nazi leaders.

There are stories of Americans who visited Germany during the 1930s being so energized by the mass hatred of a Nazi gathering that by the time Hitler took the stage they too were giving the Nazi salute. Over seventy years later we are horrified by such stories. But they serve as powerful warnings about the danger of strong men taking power and ruling on the basis of ?cult of personality.? The film itself was made as a pure propaganda piece. It was quite effective in its time and was for many years banned in the States. When viewed now, no one is or should be impressed by Hitler?s strength as a ruler. Instead we are afraid of rule by one evil lunatic. Very afraid.

[/FONT].