OLYMPIAD
Olympische Spiele

Leni Riefenstahl was commissioned by the Nazis to film the 1936 Olympic Games 'as a song of praise to the ideals of National Socialism'. With typical Nazi efficiency Riefenstahl employed more than 100 cameramen to shoot 1,500,000 feet of film and spent two years in the cutting room to produce what still remains one of the greatest propaganda pieces of all time. The film transcends simple documentary conventions. Each part opens with a montage of superimpositions blending ancient Greek athletes and sites with modern athletes and events. Elsewhere, Slow and reverse motion are used to transform a simple events (The diving sequence for one) into awesome montage sequences.

Directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Script; Leni Riefenstahl. Photo; Hans Ertl and others. Music; Herbert Windt.

OLYMPIA PART 1 FESTIVAL OF THE NATIONS
Features the track events inside the stadium; including discus, hammer, foot races, high jump, javelin and pole vault.
Germany 1938 118m
ISBN: 1-55881-190-7
$19.95

OLYMPIA PART 2 FESTIVAL OF BEAUTY
Features events around the stadium and in the Olympic village. Including hurdles, gymnastics, sailing, Pentathlon, diving, polo and swimming.
Germany 1938 107m
ISBN: 1-55881--191-5
$19.95

THE TRIUMPH OF THE WILL
Der Triumph Des Willens

Leni Riefenstahl's masterful filming of the sixth Nazi Party Congress held September 4-10, 1934 at Nuremberg. Assembling footage from 36 cinematographers (headed by her ace cameraman Sepp Allgeier) Riefenstahl created one of the Third Reich's most effective propaganda pieces. Most noteworthy is that she managed to convey the incredible power of the Nazi machine with very little narration. The opening montage in which the clouds part open and the Fuhrer’s plane descends from the heavens as though he were a god (complete with a halo around him) still leaves audiences in awe. Triumph of the Will is still one of the most hotly debated films of all time---not just for its subject matter or controversial creator and her symbolic imagry---but also because of the film techniques employed. Riefenstahl did, in fact, recreate and restage certain events after the meeting.

Original 113 minute German edition
ISBN: 1-55881-142-7
$29.95

DAY OF FREEDOM

Pure propaganda at its sinister best. Intercut images of a military parade; tanks, troops, individual faces & Hitler. Without any narration, it manages to document the extraordinary power of the Nazi war machine.

ISBN: 1-55881-143-5
Germany 1935 20 min

Currently out of print. A new edition will be available in the future.