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

Colour:

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:

The film spent 6 months in the editing suite. The two hours running time represents approximately 3% of the footage Riefenstahl shot.

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 The Great Dictator (1940)

Soundtrack:

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

Thought-provoking, and scary

This is the thinking person's horror film. Zombies? Ghosts? Lunatics with hockey masks and chainsaws generating gallons of fake blood? Not a tiny bit as scary as thousands upon thousands of people lined up in squares, gleefully losing their individual identities and glorifying in the group, willing to perform some of the most evil deeds imaginable for the perceived benefit of that whole.

If this film was done badly, it would be something to laugh at or study as a historical artifact, a relic of a past we left behind. However, its power, and why it can disturb to this very day, is the fact that it was done beautifully. Anyone who talks about equating "truth and beauty" should think about this film. It is certainly beautiful, but it is also in the service of a lie, and an evil one at that.

Sadly, I suspect that the types who make modern political propaganda and advertising get on their knees at night and pray for some of the inspiration that made this film. Stars? This film defies a star rating.