Triumph of the Will (German: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 propaganda
film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl.
It
chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, which was attended
by more than 700,000 Nazi supporters. The film contains excerpts from
speeches given by Nazi leaders at the Congress, including Adolf Hitler,
Rudolf Hess and Julius Streicher, interspersed with footage of massed
Sturmabteilung and Schutzstaffel troops and public reaction. Hitler
commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer;
his name appearing in the opening titles. The film's overriding theme is
the return of Germany as a great power, with Hitler as the leader who
will bring glory to the nation. Because the film was made after the 1934
Night of the Long Knives (on June 30) many prominent Sturmabteilung
(SA) members are absent since they were murdered in that Party purge
organized and orchestrated by Hitler to replace the SA with the
Schutzstaffeln (SS) as his main paramilitary force.
Triumph of the Will was released in 1935 and became a prominent example
of propaganda in film history. Riefenstahl's techniques—such as moving
cameras, aerial photography, the use of long focus lenses to create a
distorted perspective, and the revolutionary approach to the use of
music and cinematography—have earned Triumph of the Will recognition as
one of the greatest propaganda films in history. Riefenstahl helped to
stage the scenes, directing and rehearsing some of them at least fifty
times. Riefenstahl won several awards, not only in Germany but also in
the United States, France, Sweden, and other countries. The film was
popular in the Third Reich, and has continued to influence movies,
documentaries, and commercials to this day. However, it is banned from
showing in Germany owing to its support for Nazism and its numerous
portrayals of the swastika.
An earlier film by Riefenstahl—Der Sieg des Glaubens—showed Hitler and
SA leader Ernst Röhm together at the 1933 Nazi party congress. After
Röhm's murder, the party attempted the destruction of all copies,
leaving only one known to have survived in Britain. This can be viewed
at the Internet Archive. The direction and sequencing of images is
almost the same as that Riefenstahl used in Triumph of the Will a year
later.
From King Curtis and Champion Jack Dupree Live from Montreux June 17th
1971 with Cornell Dupree on guitar, Jerry Jemmott on bass and Oliver
Jackson on drums. Filmed two months before King Curtis' tragic death.