Triumph of the Will

Introduction

There have been many controversial and notorious films in the history of cinema, from Tod Browning's Freaks in 1932 to A Clockwork Orange and Child's Play 3. One of the most contentious was Leni Riefenstahl's documentary of the 1934 Nazi Party rally at Nuremberg.

Adolf Hitler had just established himself as Führer of Germany following the 'night of the long knives' and Hindenburg's resignation. This congress was as much a celebration of what the party had achieved in the previous six years as the realisation that it was on the brink of becoming the sole party in Germany and their plans could come to fruition.

Leni Riefenstahl became a household name thanks to this documentary and an extraordinarily divisive figure - some celebrated her technical genius whereas others never forgave her association with the Nazi Party. At the 76th Academy Awards her face appeared on the big screen as she had died just after her 101st birthday - some stayed seated as a mark of protest with the rest applauding to celebrate the life of a master filmmaker.

Triumph of the Will follows the Nazi hierarchy during the 1934 Nuremberg Rally, showing the phenomenal organisation that transformed a normal stadium into a celebration of Nazi ideals, with hundreds of thousands of people in formation during the day and into the night over the several days that the congress lasted.

Video

This release has a horrible picture which is quite obviously a VHS to DVD transfer with terrible edging, white spotting throughout and a distinct lack of detail, doing the phenomenal cinematography no favours at all. Riefenstahl employed numerous tricks including aerial shots and hiding cameras which rise to show the massed ranks in all their debatable glory. At one point the film cuts to black then back 30 seconds or so, repeating the section again - this should really have been edited out and shows the lack of care that has gone into making this DVD.

The picture has burnt-in subtitles, some of which are spelt incorrectly (today as "toady" and Adolf as "Adolph"), which are plain white with no black edging so they often blur into the monochrome picture making them difficult to read.

Audio

A mono German soundtrack with constant hissing in the background which, again, fails to show the power of the proceedings. Adolf Hitler is renowned as one of history's great orators but, from this, you wouldn't know it. Although he had an unimpressive warm up act in Rudolph Hess, the soundtrack has a lack of depth that doesn't showcase his oratory skills or such things as the drumming and other music.

Extra Features

This set comes with a second DVD called March to the Führer which appears to be a 45 minute documentary following members of the Hitler Youth marching to Nuremberg for the 1940 rally. On the way they stay with families and take salutes from enthusiastic children though, because the piece is in German and isn't subtitled, unless you are near fluent in the language (which I am not) you'll have a hard time following it. Due to the numerous mentions of Landsberg, I thought the rally was being held there as some sort of commemoration for where Hitler was imprisoned and where he wrote Mein Kampf - I had to do some research to figure out what was actually happening! Oddly, the picture quality of this is better than the main feature, with clearer audio to boot.

Conclusion

Triumph of the Will is one of the greatest documentaries ever made and a prime example of what can be achieved in a totalitarian regime. The organisation and discipline on show is stunning and is similar to what was seen later in Ceauşescu's Romania, North Korea under Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and even the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Beginning with Hitler descending from the sky in an obvious messianic metaphor, through addresses to the congress by various ministers, including Hitler speaking to the Hitler Youth and Labour Movement, to the concluding speech where he whips the crowd into a fervour. The Speer-designed sets are quite incredible and the wide shots of thousands of people in formation, especially when Hitler, flanked by Himmler and Lutze, walks through 150,000 members of the recently subjugated SA, are amazing to watch. Just as D.W. Griffith did with Birth of a Nation, Leni Riefenstahl created a masterpiece out of morally repellent subject matter.

Riefenstahl's attention to detail and the finished film are as awe-inspiring as they are terrifying, with this as a testament to what devotion the Nazi leadership inspired. Some of the crowd look close to tears with emotion and others almost bursting with excitement. This is a phenomenal documentary film and a testament to the power of propaganda, but this DVD package is dreadful. Despite the welcome inclusion of March to the Führer, the lack of subtitles for that documentary and the appalling AV quality of Triumph of the Will make this a package to avoid - buy the DD Video/Simply Home Entertainment release or import the R1 Synapse Films version instead.