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LEVEL 1
brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)
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provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.
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lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)
Databases
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Scholarly resources on JSTOR include Archival and Current Journals, Books, and Primary Sources.
Introduction
The Triumph of the Will is often called the most powerful propaganda movie of all time, Leni Riefenstahl's gorgeous documentary glorified Nazi ideals and iconography.
Nazi Fuhrer leader Adolf Hitler commissioned dancer/actress-turned filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl to make this notorious documentary to record and celebrate the sixth Nazi Reich Party Congress held in September 1934 in Nuremberg. This spectacular propagandistic film glorified and praised the might of the unjust and evil Nazi regime and state with masterful images, rapid cuts, a Wagnerian score, and ingenious camera angles and compositions.
This infamous, extravagant two-hour film is still considered the most powerful propaganda film ever made, with grandiose opening shots of Messianic Hitler's arrival by plane, his heroic entrance and adulation by saluting ("Sieg Heil") multitudes and uniformed party members and soldiers (and Hitler Youth), and his charismatic exalted character during rousing speeches. Director Riefenstahl was imprisoned by the Allies for four years after the war, although she continued to protest by insisting that her work was purely historical and an example of cinema verite, rather than the repellent work which it was criticized and accused of being.
Protests greeted Riefenstahl at a 1974 Telluride Film Festival tribute, and the Anti-Defamation League decried a 1975 screening in Atlanta as ''morally insensitive.'' Riefenstahl herself never shook her Nazi-tainted past, and repeatedly claimed the film was more imagery than ideological.
Examination of The Triumph of the Will
Dunant, S. (Reporter). (n.d.). Triumph of the Will [Motion picture]. Production detail not available.
Examination of Leni Riefenstahl's film, which was commissioned by Adolf Hitler as the official record of the Nuremberg Party Rally of 1934. It was designed both to introduce the new German leaders to the nation and impress foreign audiences.
Leni Riefenstahl Biography
- Leni Riefenstahl. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/63641
Leni Riefenstahl, original name Berta Helene Amalie Riefenstahl, (born August 22, 1902, Berlin, Germany—died September 8, 2003, Pöcking), German motion-picture director, actress, producer, and photographer who is best known for her documentary films of the 1930s dramatizing the power and pageantry of the Nazi movement. - IMDb. (2016). Biography Leni Riefenstahl. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0726166/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
Her penchant for artistic work earned her acclaim and awards for her films across Europe. It was her work on Triumph of the Will (1935), a documentary commissioned by the Nazi government about Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, that would come back to haunt her after the atrocities of World War II. Despite her protests to the contrary, Riefenstahl was considered an intricate part of the Third Reich's propaganda machine. Condemned by the international community, she did not make another movie for over 50 years. - Palmer, J. (2009, Jun 10). Leni Riefenstahl from women in European history. Retrieved from http://womenineuropeanhistory.org/index.php?title=Leni_RiefenstahlThis article details biographical and contextual information on Leni Riefenstahl.
- Holocaust Encyclopedia. (2106, January 29). Leni Riefenstahl. Retrieved from https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007410Leni Riefenstahl (Helene Riefenstahl) was a German dancer, actress, and film director best known for her imposing propaganda films in support of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party.
Interview with Leni Riefenstahl
- Marcus, A. (2004, June 10). Reappraising Riefenstahl. Retrieved from https://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffpages/uploads/enl333/Marcus_2004.pdfAlan Marcus interviews Leni Riefenstahl on the way she considered Triumph of the Will to be a realistic portrayal of the Nazis’ 1934 Nuremberg Rally and the events surrounding it, and her role as a filmmaker in shaping that representation.
- Gardner, R. (1965). Can The Will Triumph? Film Comment, 3(1), 28-31. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/stable/43753296Robert Gardner talks with Leni Reifenstahl about the making of her films.
Summary
- IMDb. (2016). The Triumph of the Will. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025913/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_plThis is a documentary of a three day gathering of the Nazi Party faithful in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1934. The film can be subdivided into a number of sequences documenting arrivals, parades, preparations and speeches. Only one scenethe review of the German cavalryactually involved the German military. Characteristic of all the sequences are beautifully composed shots of Nazi flags and symbols, and of faces of enraptured people. Except during the speeches, there is martial music playing by a military band.
- Barsam, R. (1975). Film guide for Triumph of the Will. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/class/ihum42/filmguide.pdf
This film guide provides information on The Triumph of the Will including the: director Leni Riefenstahl, production of the film and an analysis.
Awards
- IMDb. (2016). The Triumph of the Will awards. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025913/awards?ref_=tt_awdThe Triumph of the Will won the Best Documentary Award at the Venice Film Festival 1935 and was nominated for the Best Foreign Film award.