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Back in 1993, Steven Spielberg’s "Schindler’s
List" put the Holocaust at the forefront of public discussion.
Around the same time, a documentary entitled "The Wonderful,
Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl" stirred up some debates of its
own. Leni Riefenstahl was a German actress/director who, during the
period between 1920 and 1950, was involved in the production of
films that either played directly or indirectly into the Nazi
mythologizing ideology. The two most infamous examples of
Riefenstahl’s work are "Triumph of the Will," a documentary about
the 1934 Nuremberg Nazi Party Rally, and "Olympia," a documentary
about the triumph of Germany at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Synapse Films, in association with various organizations, presents
"Triumph of the Will" for the first time on DVD.
What makes
Leni Riefenstahl stand out from a crowd of individuals associated
with National Socialism? Well, for one thing, she is a woman. Do you
praise her for being a female visionary in a field dominated by men,
or do you condemn her outright? Also, no other filmmaker from Nazi
Germany influenced the language of cinema the way she did. Alert
viewers will notice the extraordinary dichotomy inherent in a film
like "Triumph of the Will." At the same time that the techniques
pioneered by Riefenstahl continue to dazzle viewers today (only a
handful of filmmakers have worked on the same level of technical
proficiency as she does), one also feels a sense of loathing and
disgust that Nazi monsters could be portrayed as larger-than-life
heroes. At the same time that it is an apolitical set of cinematic
artifices, "Triumph" is also the product of extremely political
instincts.
Riefenstahl attracted Adolf Hitler’s attention
during the late-‘20s because she had starred in a number of German
"mountain" films (a genre that celebrates man’s athleticism in
conquering Nature). In a sense, these "mountain" films were the
perfect vehicles for a political ideology obsessed with race purity
and dominance. Even before the Nazis figured into European politics,
the Continent was obsessed with social Darwinism and a branch of
science called "eugenics." Therefore, Riefenstahl’s résum?and
striking good looks made her the best candidate to direct a
documentary about a Nazi Party Rally.
The film covers the
Nazi Party Rally of 1934. The event took place between September 4th
and September 10th of that year. Riefenstahl was commissioned to
make a documentary of the Rally that would introduce the leaders of
the Nazi party to the German population. The Nazis gave her
unlimited funding and access to anywhere necessary in order to
obtain the desired camera shots. Part of the reason why the artistry
of the film has been praised to no end lies with the fact that
Riefenstahl’s unprecedented access to the Führer and ability to
envision logistically complicated shots gave the film a
revolutionary feel. From the low-angle shots of Hitler that make him
look like a demigod to the overhead, "omniscient" views of the huge
masses in the Nuremberg stadium, Riefenstahl e
ssentially
gave the film world a new set of vocabulary. When you see "Triumph,"
you will see how, earlier than anyone else, Riefenstahl pioneered
the use of difficult angles and cinematographic artistry to
overwhelm the viewer.
Today, most viewers associate the word
"documentary" with long, boring films narrated by a British voice or
a National Geographic special. However, I hope that you realize that
a documentary can be as incendiary as a fictional narrative. One
classifies "Triumph of the Will" as a documentary mostly because of
its "factual" nature. The Nuremberg Rally did take place, and the
events in the film are very much "real." However, it is the
presentation of these historical events that places "Triumph" in the
gray area. There is an extraordinary manipulation and juxtaposition
of images that heighten the drama and spectacle of Nuremberg. The
emotionalism of the Riefenstahl’s style pushes the film into the
realm of propaganda.
There’s no way to write about the
content other than to describe it objectively. It’s a celebration of
the Nazi party, and you just kind of have to sit there in disbelief
while you watch. The material repeats itself throughout the film.
Marches, speeches, scenes of "Aryans" demonstrating their physical
superiority. Then, more marches, more speeches, more scenes of
"Aryans." Initially, the repetition feels tedious. However, the
device is also meant to seduce the viewer into accepting the Nazi
myth. I’m not sure that the German masses really sat there totally
enthralled by Hitler, but those cutaway shots to fanatical Germans
saluting their leader looks damn frightening, even today. In the
land of Goethe and Beethoven, a cultured nation was swayed by the
demagoguery of an Austrian immigrant. It’s one of those unfortunate
confluences of historical factors that culminated in more tragedy
than anyone could have foreseen at the time.
Just how
influential is this film? Let me use a recent example, a movie that
just won the Oscar for Best Picture of 2000, "Gladiator." On the
commentary track of the "Gladiator" DVD, director Ridley Scott
expresses his bewilderment as to why people compared certain shots
in his film to Leni Riefenstahl’s work. He goes on to say that
people "got it the other way around," that it was the Nazis who
copycatted the Roman glorification of the military as well as the
right-arm-forward salute. I’m sorry, Mr. Scott, but people are not
talking about the Nazis or the Romans, but they are specifically
talking about your filmmaking style. When the camera flies through
the clouds and dives into the streets of Rome to follow Commodus’s
victory procession (Chapter 12), we witness a condensed version of
the opening sequence of "Triumph of the Will." In every one of his
films, Ridley Scott references German Impressionism and, yes,
Riefenstahl. There’s no way that you can talk your way out of this
one, Ridley, ol’ chap.
Normally, I reserve my remarks about
audio commentary tracks for the "extras" portion of my reviews.
However, the commentary on this DVD is an important, even integral,
part of the presentation. Historian Anthony R. Santoro provides an
encyclopedic knowledge of the film and Nazi history in order to
illuminate what’s going on in the movie. You’ll learn so much about
the people, the period, and the production that you’ll be an expert
on "Triumph of the Will," too, after watching this DVD
edition.
In 1993, Riefenstahl was either aged 90 or 91
(apparently, she’s still alive today in 2001). After World War II,
she was never accused of any war crimes, but she could not find any
work as a filmmaker. During the ‘80s and ‘90s, she took photos of
wildlife and indigenous peoples in Africa as well as made films
about underwater life. Very active and very non-apologetic,
Riefenstahl hopes that the world will come to view her films not
through the prism of Nazi baggage but through apolitical esthetics.
It is impossible to gauge her politics and conscience (she never
actually joined the Nazi party), but there is no way, I think, that
one can separate art from life when it comes to Leni Riefenstahl.¡¡
From DVD
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