“Triumph of the Will”

“Triumph of the Will” at the time of its release was a propaganda film. While it was documenting Nazi rallies at Nuremburg, it was severely biased towards the Nazi party. While most documentaries are by nature biased, This film portrayed Adolf Hitler as a god figure. Shots taken from below him make it seem he is above the rest of the german people, and the use of music makes him appear to be a savior. During the scene where Hitler is at a ceremony, the person introduces him says, "You are Germany! When you act, the nation acts, when you judge, the people judge!" He goes on to say how the people of Germany will be with him through the good and bad, almost like Germany is marrying Hitler. As Hitler is flown in to Nuremburg, there is a shot of him getting off the plane and everybody acts as if he is a superstar. Everybody is going crazy, and it reminded me a lot of Beatlemania where people would go crazy when the Beatles landed in their city. The film obviously was portraying the Nazi party and Hitler as good rather than bad, but to such an extent that it makes the film a propaganda film rather than a documentary. To make this a documentary, Leni Riefenstahl could have shot the scenes without bias. This means filming Hitler in a way that does not make him look like a god, as well as filming the Nazi party in a neutral light, rather than a super positive one. I suspect if Leni Riefenstahl had done these things she would have been killed, so I understand why she filmed the movie as it is.