Triumph of the Will (1935)

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

Director:

Leni Riefenstahl

Writers:

Leni Riefenstahl, Walter Ruttmann

Stars:

Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Max Amann

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited 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
Joseph Goebbels	...	Himself - Arrives by Plane with Hitler, Bright Flame Speech, at HJ Rally, Views RAD Parade, Listens to Hitler (as Josef Goebbels)
Jakob Grimminger	...	Blood Flag Bearer
Hermann Göring	...	Himself - Listens to Hess, Reviews Army, Parades in SA Uniform Then Joins Hitler, Listens to Hitler, Stands and Nods Agreement
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

Storyline

A legendary propaganda/documentary of the Third Reich's 1934 Nuremberg Party Rally. Featuring a cast of thousands as well as, of course, Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Hess, Goering and other top party officials.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | nuremberg | nazi | propaganda | hitler | 

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Taglines:

The infamous propaganda film.

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

28 March 1935 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Triumph of the Will

Filming Locations:

Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 280,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leni Riefenstahl-Produktion,Reichspropagandaleitung der NSDAP

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leni Riefenstahl had been given carte blanche by Adolf Hitler in the making of the film: effectively, the party rally was the first produced-for-camera event. However, at the beginning the word hadn't gotten through to officials at the airport and in the parade. Riefenstahl's cameramen were pushed away from the plane carrying Hitler, which is why we see only one out-of-focus shot of him descending from the plane and why the taxiing of the aircraft is repeated and out of sequence. During the parade a shot of the camera car passing the limo carrying Hitler reveals a dirty look from one of the passengers. Riefenstahl spoke to Hitler at the hotel about the way she'd been snubbed and from then on she and her crew had no problems.

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Quotes

[first lines]
subtitle: The documentary of the Reich Party Congress, 1934 - Produced by order of the Führer.
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.
crowd: [for more than 20 minutes, there is only one discernible word:] Heil! Heil! Heil!...
Rudolf Hess: I open the sixth Party Congress in respectful memory of he who has passed...

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Connections

Referenced in Hitler, ein Film aus Deutschland (1977)

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Soundtracks

Wir Sind Arbeit-Soldaten (We Are Work-Soldiers)

User Reviews

One for the film historians...

This film can only be judged or analyzed in any meaningful way only by those who can envision Germany and its people with the hindsight of the decade following its defeat in WWI and the ensuing economic chaos of the 1920s. For those of us who can objectively remove ourselves from our time and revisit the year in which it was filmed, 1934, and then compare it only with all other films made during that early part of the 20th Century can we locate the single word describing it … astonishing.

We are called to objectivity when commenting on a book or film, a piece of art, or product. Only when that is accomplished does a comment have any enduring and meaningful value. Another thing I have found astonishing about this film and its creator is the seemingly unique inability of those commenting on it to be objective. It is seen in the overwhelming number of cases, not from the time in which it was made but with the hindsight of decades of history that had not yet taken place.