I've known about this movie for years, but just this Tuesday it became available for instant streaming on Netflix, which is great. For those who don't know, this is director Leni Riefenstahl's documentary about the rise of Adolf Hitler to Fuhrer, and the stirring up of the Nazi Party in Germany. It was hand-selected by Hitler himself to be used for the purposes of propaganda. Until her death in 2003, at the age of 101, Riefenstahl continued to deny that she had made the film for the purposes of propaganda. Indeed, she admits that she made the documentary because she was so impressed by Hitler's oratory abilities, but was mortified when it was used as a tool to further the support of racial purity.
Some of my thoughts:
1. I had to remember that this documentary is completely different from everything else I've seen or read or heard. It changes from "So everyone thought Hitler was this great guy, but..." to "So everyone thought Hitler was this great guy, and..."
2.Riefenstahl's direction is superb. It is immediately clear from the beginning, as she has cameras mounted to aircraft and is rewarded with beautiful shots of Nuremberg from the air, that her techniques were revolutionary.
3. The palpable indoctrination of people of all ages and the near frenzy that everyone finds themselves whipped into when Hitler speaks (or, even is present) is scary.
4. I wish my students listened to me this well.
5. The precision and uniformity of the marchers and youth workers was scary.
This makes the third documentary I've watched, and they've all been markedly different, though this picture is so different from anything I've ever seen that there's no basis for comparison. Riefenstahl's capture of the spirit of the German nation and Hitler in 1934 is both fascinating and horrifying. Because we of course know what would happen five years later.
It almost feels wrong to do this, but
Score: 9.5/10
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