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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD EAN: 0045922700096 Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC Label: Connoisseur Video Languages: Manufacturer: Connoisseur Video Number Of Items: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Publisher: Connoisseur Video Release Date: August 18, 2000 Running Time: 120 minutes Studio: Connoisseur Video Theatrical Release Date: 1935 Editorial Review: Amazon.com essential video: Triumph of the Will is one of the most important films ever made. Not because it documents evil--more watchable examples are being made today. And not as a historical example of blind propaganda--those (much shorter) movies are merely laughable now. No, Riefenstahl's masterpiece--and it is a masterpiece, politics aside--combines the strengths of documentary and propaganda into a single, overwhelmingly powerful visual force. Riefenstahl was hired by the Reich to create an eternal record of the 1934 rally at Nuremberg, and that's exactly what she does. You might not become a Nazi after watching her film, but you will understand too clearly how Germany fell under Hitler's spell. The early crowd scenes remind one of nothing so much as Beatles concert footage (if only their fans were so well behaved!). Like the fascists it monumentalizes, Triumph of the Will overlooks its own weaknesses--at nearly two hours, the speeches tend to drone on, and the repeated visual motifs are a little over-hypnotic, especially for modern viewers. But the occasional iconic vista (banners lining the streets of Nuremberg, Hitler parting a sea of 200,000 party members standing at attention) will electrify anyone into wakefulness. --Grant Balfour Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Ground breaking photographyTriumph of the Will is an absolutley stunning photographic masterpiece. Bearing in mind it was made nearly 80 years ago, Leni Riefenstahl's photgraphic techniques are nothing short of brilliant. It was very interesting to note that many of Adolf Hitler's speeches were fairly bland, but the way he put it over was quite outstanding. In places it nearly had me up on my feet with my arm in the air! It shows how he was able to captivate millions with the power of his oratory. Rating: - Triumph of the WillThis propaganda film of Hitler is worth watching, not because Hitler was good, but because he was evil. Evil can be packaged in such a way to appeal to many, and for that reason, this is a great history lesson. What makes this edition the best is the running commentary throughout the movie, explaining the different scenes and people in it. A great history lesson to go with while watching the film. Rating: - A Mesmerizing Exercise In "Spin"Most people, at least in the Western World, are aware of Triumph of the Will through the notoriety of its connection to the rise of Naziism. But I would bet that most of those same people have never seen it. If you are in that number, then here is your chance to be entranced by this mesmerizing exercise in what today is called "spin". Many things have been said and written about this film and almost anyone who praises it for its quality as art is almost immediately attacked as some sort of ... Read More Rating:  - Creepy but instructional look into a thankfully vanished worldFor most of her life Riefenstahl denied being a Nazi sympathizer, but this movie makes a hard argument against that claim. It's interesting now to see a film where the Nazis are so flatteringly portrayed, and Hitler is displayed with almost god-like status (he descends from the clouds in the beginning, which must have been rare to see in the mid-30s, as few had flown then). The movie sometimes drags as we watch the speeches of minor party officials, but the spectacle never fails to impress and horrify. ... Read More Rating: - Riefenstahl's Powerfully Cinematic Sensibilities Remain Noteworthy Despite the Controversial SubjectBefore her death in 2003 at the age of 101, filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl would have you believe she had no affiliation with the Nazi party when she was asked by Adolf Hitler to document the momentous four days leading to the 1934 Nuremberg rally. However, it's obvious from her concurrently celebrated and reviled 1935 propaganda film that she was mesmerized by Hitler's oratorical skills judging from the dynamic way she has captured his undeniable charisma. She shows a remarkable deftness in editing techniques ... Read More |
