Triumph of the Will (1935)

The Worst Film Ever

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I love TOTW but not for what the movie is. The movie begins with 22 minutes of marching and then thee is speech after speech of how Hitler will "improve" Germany with his plan-which everyone cheers for. Little did he know he as planning the Holocaust. The reason I love it is because of how important it is. This is a document of our world's history. As horrible as it was, it must be remembered.I do recommend it for that reason.

Triumph of the Will is a filmmaker's masterpiece in almost every way— especially cinematography and symbolism. You are not likely to see one Aryan in this film without a happy and proud smile on his face. It was made that way, don't you see? It's very likely that every frame of this film was edited and then approved by Hitler, himself, for tone and content. I'm also quite sure that many scenes of the film were added after the Nuremberg Rally had finished. Most of the crowd scenes were, no doubt, taken in real time. But the little determined drummer (@ 41:50") and that overjoyed lady running--with the little blond girl in her arms--to give flowers to Hitler (@ 6:21) were probably staged. (Does anyone notice that the woman is just giving those flowers to a German soldier's arms as he is riding in a car? Those arms could have been anyone's.) And, what about those cutaway shots to those "bright young faces"? I'm sure that, during the last 80 years, this propaganda film has been deconstructed and analyzed many times, as the technology for such analysis has become available. It seems as though almost everything in the film could have been re-created after the actual rally. What does that leave us that we can trust—the flags and banners being marched into the rally?

Well, what can you say about the most infamous person to ever exist in real life? It's hard to review a documentary, but I certainly can. Anyway, it was weird to have a documentary without narration. Then again, you know how those wacky Nazis were! Rudolf Hess was featured the most prominently next to Hitler. Hermann Goering seemed to only appear briefly at the end. Is it sad that I am so familiar with how the most famous Nazis work? The strangest thing might be that this movie does not contain a single anti-Semitic line. There are a few quotes where Hitler mentions the Germans being a superior race but even then, the term "Aryan" was never once used. Everyone now views this as an historical documentary, even though it obviously wasn't. Hitler has become such a staple of pop culture I recognize a lot of stock footage came from this movie.Photographs of him in general seemed to have originated from here. A lot of documentaries exaggerate or simply outright lie to their viewers. I guess I have to give the creators credit for being honest. There were segments showing a Nazi's name before a brief speech. I only seemed to recognize Alfred Rosenberg and Joseph Goebbels. Guess I DON'T know my Nazis that well. What's also weird is how you would think that the whole movie would just be one big speech or a series of speeches. There were a lot of times where there was no talking whatsoever. It was just showing young people training or people heiling Hitler in general.This was before World War II and the Holocaust so it might not be as historically significant as you would think. Of course, it's something every historian should look at just to have the best movie depiction of the real life Adolf Hitler. I guess modern documentaries that chronicle his atrocities are technically more entertaining, but this is great to watch in its raw form. Hitler has been depicted more times than any other historical figure, so he's practically become a myth in himself. It's all the more powerful to see him as his actual self.Some people might compare this to "Birth Of A Nation" in that it's a movie people are ashamed of but is still technically a great movie. I personally found this better than that. BOAN did in fact depict the Ku Klux Klan as suppressing blacks, but this did not show depiction of Nazis oppressing Jews or really anybody else. Now, it's really hard to compare fiction to real life, but obviously a documentary comes off as more authentic. Don't worry, you won't be supporting genocide by loving this. Perfect ****.

Crafted with rigour, shot with astute vision & resonating an undeniable power throughout its runtime, Triumph of the Will is arguably the most powerful propaganda piece of all time that presents the ideals of Adolf Hitler & his Nazi party in such a clever manner that it convinced the German civilians that their nation is destined for eternal glory if they put their faith in the leadership of the Führer, and is also a celebration of Germany's revival as a great power.Triumph of the Will chronicles the Nazi Party Rally held at Nuremberg in 1934 where some of the most infamous Nazi leaders give their speeches in front of 700,000 Nazi supporters. The whole picture is filled with images of Nuremberg, multiple scenes featuring countless troops rallying through the city's streets, various moments that capture the public reaction and rally speeches, all repeated several times over the course of its 114 minutes of runtime.Directed by German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl under the orders of Adolf Hitler himself who wanted to reach the masses through a movie that would capture the ideals of his party and influence the civilians to join & support his cause, Triumph of the Will provides a calculated view of National Socialism for the only thing its leaders keep talking about is restoring their nation to its once-mighty status & reviving the nationalist spirit in every German citizen.There is no explicit mention of the numerous atrocities Nazi would later perpetrate during the Second World War and in most ways, the documentary succeeds in painting a positive portrait of National Socialist Party. Each frame brims with strong feelings of patriotism, the wide shots of massive troops formations serves as an inspiring reminder that Germany is powerful once again and the profound effect of Hitler's speeches cannot be understated.Triumph of the Will also features politics of the highest order. It beautifully exhibits just how easily public will rally its support to the party's cause if they can manage to create a perfect illusion. Using the humiliation Germany was subjected to after World War I to his advantage, Hitler's speeches make relentless use of religion, power & unity to instil the German pride in every citizen and by delivering on previous promises, easily succeeds in earning their trust & services.The infamous documentary is also influential for a number of innovations it brings into the world of filmmaking, both in its use of camera & music. Sitting through the picture however is a tedious experience for it becomes repetitive very soon and stays on the same level for the rest of its runtime. The propaganda element works only on looking back & in more ways than one, it's a documentary that captures what possibly was the true state of Germany in the 1930s.The most memorable thing about Riefenstahl's direction, apart from her technical mastery over all aspects of filmmaking, is the strong psychological pull she's able to generate just by those ingeniously photographed images. From the outside, Triumph of the Will appears as an immensely boring documentary in which similar set of events unfold in loop form for the majority of its runtime, but it also manages to seduce its viewers into admiring as well as believing in the Nazi propaganda.It's astonishing that this film still retains a certain level of its potency despite being 80 years old which makes me wonder just how persuasive it must have been for the German public back in 1935. It sheds a completely different light on Hitler & his party and while it isn't an enjoyable experience by any means, it's bold, powerful & evocative nonetheless. Significant for its contribution to cinema & illustrating a vital segment of human history, Triumph of the Will captures the irrefutable power of cinema like no other example, before or after.