Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will" (or, The Art of Propaganda)

The best way to begin a discussion of Leni Riefenstahl's masterwork Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will) is with some illustrations. Two things are COMPLETELY obvious from stills taken from the film: the Nazi party is massive and the Nazi party is powerful. In her 1934 propaganda film, Riefenstahl created a document of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress, held in Nuremberg. Through incredible and artistic usages of camera angles, lighting, and other film techniques, Riefenstahl put together pictures of  a Nazi party to be joined, adored, and feared. A Nazi party whose leader was a supreme, almost God-like figure. One who would lead the nation out of the dire straits of Germany of the 1920s and 1930s into a new Aryan Golden Age.

Surprisingly, Riefenstahl was not an old hand at film directing. She had previously directed only a few films and, as far back as 1925, had been acting in various films, including Der heilige Berg (The Holy Mountain) and Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light- also her directorial debut). Riefenstahl was approached by Adolf Hitler shortly after he gained power. The following quote from Leni herself shows some of her thoughts on being approached by Hitler:

"Shortly after he came to power Hitler called me to see him and explained that he wanted a film about a Party Congress, and wanted me to make it. My first reaction was to say that I did not know anything about the way such a thing worked or the organization of the Party, so that I would obviously photograph all the wrong things and please nobody - even supposing that I could make a documentary, which I had never yet done. Hitler said that this was exactly why he wanted me to do it: because anyone who knew all about the relative importance of the various people and groups and so on might make a film that would be pedantically accurate, but this was not what he wanted. He wanted a film showing the Congress through a non-expert eye, selecting just what was most artistically satisfying - in terms of spectacle, I suppose you might say. He wanted a film which would move, appeal to, impress an audience which was not necessarily interested in politics."

Hitler's goal of getting a film in his hands that showed spectacle and appeal to a mass audience was accomplished admirably (in style, of course-- I'm no neo-Nazi) by Riefenstahl. Riefenstahl's images showed an incredible view of the power and unity of the Nazi Party.

This scene, famously labeled "Sea of Flags," shows how massive the Nazi Party was. With their leader watching over them, the Nazi military marches around the memorial monument in Nuremberg. The incredible amount of unity shown in their movement makes the Nazi Party something bigger than the sum of its parts. It is without a doubt a power to be reckoned with. Riefenstahl created an artistic vision more powerful than anything a poster could have shown and painted a vivid and horrifying picture of the might of the Nazi Party. Here, triumphant trumpet music is used to highlight the power of the party.

In another scene, Riefenstahl shows Hitler marching up to the podium to give a speech in front of the party. Once again, camera angles are used to great effect. Beyond that, though, the noise of the crowd creates an overwhelming sensation-- the Nazi party is huge and is drowning out everything around it.

In the finale to the film, Riefenstahl shows a speech from Hitler. During the speech, she cuts to the crowd frequently. These shots seem to say "Look at this crowd!! See how they pay attention to him! See how they honor him and adore every word that comes out of his mouth!!! Shouldn't you as well? Do you have a choice?"

In her film, Riefenstahl created some of the most lasting images of the most horrifying movement of the 20th century. While the Nazi party has thankfully long since fallen, many of Riefenstahl's artistic angles and shots and her general expertise when it comes to mise-en-scene will continue to influence filmmakers (propagandist and otherwise) for as long as film is an art form.