Triumph des Willens (1935)

Director:

Leni Riefenstahl

Writers:

Leni Riefenstahl (writer)
Walter Ruttmann (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 1935 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Plot:

The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.

Plot Keywords:

Hitler | Nuremberg | Third Reich | Nazi | Rally

Cast

Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (lauded by Hess, Physical Labour speech to RAD, Behind Us Comes Germany speech to HJ, We Created Our State speech, Black Shadow speech to SA, reviews parade, Two Principles speech to Party)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Max Amann	...	Himself (views parade of SA in long pants, no banners)
Martin Bormann	...	Himself (sits on Hitler's left, at HJ rally, enters hall behind Hess, sits behind Streicher)
Walter Buch	...	Himself (views parade of SA in long pants, no banners, views SS parade)
Walter Darré	...	Himself (Health of Our Farmers speech)
Otto Dietrich	...	Himself (Truth About Germany speech)
Sepp Dietrich	...	Himself (Commander of the SS-Leibstandarten)
Hans Frank	...	Himself (speech)
Josef Goebbels	...	Himself (arrives by plane with Hitler, Bright Flame speech, at HJ rally, views RAD parade, listens to Hitler)
Hermann Göring	...	Himself (listens to Hess, reviews Army, parades in SA uniform then joins Hitler, listens to Hitler, stands and nods agreement)
Jakob Grimminger	...	Blood Flag Bearer
Rudolf Hess	...	Himself (opens Congress, You Are Germany speech, at HJ rally, reviews parade, sits on Hitler's right, introduces Hitler, listens to Hitler, Hitler Is Germany speech)
Reinhard Heydrich	...	Himself (views SS parade with other officers by Hitler's car)
Konstantin Hierl	...	Himself (National Labour Service speech, presents RAD to Hitler, leads RAD parade then joins Hitler)
Heinrich Himmler	...	Himself (walks to flame with Hitler and Lutze, leads SS at SA rally, leads SS parade then joins Hitler, sits beside Lutze, listens to Hitler)
Robert Ley	...	Himself (reviews DAF with Hitler, Single Thought speech, salutes SA parade, listens to Hitler with Schwarz)
Viktor Lutze	...	Himself (speech as new SA leader, walks to flame with Hitler, Faithful to Führer speech, leads SA parade then joins Hitler, sits between Himmler and Hess, listens to Hitler)
Erich Raeder	...	Himself (listens to Hess, salutes SA parade when Göring sighted)
Fritz Reinhardt	...	Himself (Improvements speech)
Alfred Rosenberg	...	Himself (Unshakeable Belief speech)
Hjalmar Schacht	...	Himself
Franz Xaver Schwarz	...	Himself (sits between Wagner and Himmler, listens to Hitler with Ley)
Julius Streicher	...	Himself (stands with Hitler, Purity Of Race speech, sits on Hitler's left near podium, nods in agreement with Hitler)
Fritz Todt	...	Himself (Autobahn speech)
Werner von Blomberg	...	Himself (reviews Army units with Hitler and Göring)
Hans Georg von Friedeburg	...	Himself (salutes SA parade when Göring sighted)
Gerd von Rundstedt	...	Himself (behind Raeder as he salutes, views Army parade with officers) (unconfirmed)
Baldur von Schirach	...	Himself (in car, arrives at stadium with Hitler, Selfless Youth speech to HJ, views SS parade, listens to Hitler)
Adolf Wagner	...	Himself (reads Hitler's proclamation, views parade of SA in short pants, sits beside Schwarz, listens to Hitler)

Also Known As:

Das Dokument vom Reichsparteitag 1934 (Germany) (subtitle)
Triumph of the Will (USA)

Runtime:

114 min | USA:110 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Australia:G | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:(Banned) | Sweden:Btl | UK:E | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Leni Riefenstahl-Produktion

Trivia:

Only one scene, the review of the German cavalry, actually involved the German military. The other formations were party organizations that were not considered part of the military.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Opening crawl: On September 5, 1934, 20 years after the outbreak of the World War, 16 years after Germany's Suffering, 19 months after the beginning of the German Rebirth, Adolf Hitler again flew to Nuremberg to review the assembly of his faithful followers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Richard III (1995)

Soundtrack:

Wir Marschieren Durch Grösseres Berlin (We March Through Greater Berlin)

View as a historical document, just maybe not an accurate one.

The friendly face of German fascism, brought to you live from the fairy-tale town of Nuremberg.

This film has been described as horrible, disgusting, infamous and what have you. The interesting thing is that it's horrible only because everyone knows what followed, and because we have learned to look at images of swastika flags with revulsion. This film is really about some blokes enjoying themselves on a field, with lots of silly parades, speeches about how Germany's suffering has made its people special, and other diverse alarums. There are one or two remarks about 'racial purity', but for instance Jews are not mentioned even once.

But there is also a vague reference (the main culprit calls it "a dark shadow" in one of his speeches) to what happened several months earlier, when, in June, Hitler ordered the SA leadership murdered in cold blood. This act was condoned by most of the German people, and these are the same people we see waving and cheering and saluting. With that in mind, yes, the film takes on an added, horrible subtext, a feeling that something was definitely rotten in the republic of Germany.

Riefenstahl has always maintained that her point of view was an apolitical one, and that the work should be regarded as a work of art. I am not well-versed enough in the history of cinema to have an opinion on the artistic and technical merits of this film (aside from the tedious marching music) but I can easily imagine that back then it was quite an achievement, both as a work of art and as a relentless piece of propaganda aimed at this specific 1935 audience. I can also imagine that Riefenstahl was too caught up in what she did, to actually realize what was happening around her. She was not the only artist who, with 20/20 hindsight, should have known better.

View this film as a historical document, just maybe not an accurate one. And try to see the excellent documentary 'The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl' for some context.