Triumph of the Will

Leni Riefenstahl's documentary recording the 1934 Nuremburg rally is simultaneously a stunning piece of cinema, a landmark of propaganda filmmaking, and a terrifying look at totalitarian demagoguery. The film is full of speeches by Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and others—delivered to members of the Nazi party—that feature inflamed rhetoric about the thousand-year Reich, the one and only party, and the purity of the race (while there is no overt anti-Semitism, the word "purity" is a coded term). But the bombastic speeches are less important than the mythic dimensions and sense of awe that Riefenstahl managed to create, not just in the filmmaking but in the calculated design and staging of the event itself. Riefenstahl intersperses massive scenes of troops marching in support, along with shots of obedient crowds responding with choreographed perfection to the sloganeering. Triumph of the Will is possibly the first political spectacle expressly made for the cameras, and it presents Hitler as both a God from the heavens and a man of the people with a seductive message: "this future belongs entirely to us!" Susan Sontag called it the "most successful, most purely propagandistic film ever made." And that, as is the case with The Birth of a Nation, makes the film both a historical landmark and a piece of hateful propaganda. Newly remastered, this Blu-ray edition offers historical perspective and helpful context, with new English subtitles that also identify locations, activities, and key figures in the film. Extras include audio commentary by historian Dr. Anthony R. Santoro and a newly remastered edition of Riefenstahl's short film Day of Freedom (1935) shot at the 1935 rally. In light of recent comparisons made between Hitler's rallies and those of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Triumph of the Will remains a frighteningly relevant film. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)