Triumph of the Will

Stars: N/A. Leni Riefenstahl's classic documentary commemorating Reich Party Day, 1934, was commissioned by Hitler, and surprisingly still stands up as a textbook case of cinematic propaganda. In sweeping shots the camera captures the tens of thousands of soldiers and Party members attending the rally in Nuremberg. Always, the faces display pride and joy, and Riefenstahl very consciously intercuts numerous scenes of smiling, happy children to underscore the point of solidarity among the various ages and classes. The ceremony concludes with a bunch of preliminary speakers praising Hitler, followed by Hitler himself delivering his usual wild-eyed, arm-flinging megalomaniacal message. Audience: Mostly a one-sided, often boring, German puff piece for its time, the main audience for this is really college students studying media or the period.