Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Movie Review

Springtime for Hitler.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 29, 2015

It probably goes without saying that there’s no rational explanation for the horrors Adolf Hitler visited on the world. The individual madness of Hitler in and of itself nevertheless can’t explain how influential he became to first a relatively small band of followers and then to the German people as a supposedly homogenous whole. It might be convenient in a way to lay at least part of the “blame” for Hitler’s rise in popularity to Leni Riefenstahl’s legendary Triumph of the Will, but that would ignore the fact that Riefenstahl’s 1935 opus only helped to solidify both Nazi and Hitler iconography and popularity, not create them. Riefenstahl’s film details a nation already well under the thrall of Hitler and Nazism, offering the Führer’s “beloved” status as a (to mismatch European languages) fait accompli. As a piece of political propaganda, Triumph of the Will has probably never been matched even to this day, a lasting impact that is due at least in part to the fact that the many innovative techniques Riefenstahl used to lionize Hitler have been so thoroughly analyzed that they can’t be surreptitiously reintroduced to a naïve audience. Riefenstahl of course insisted that Triumph of the Will actually wasn’t (or at least wasn’t meant to be) propaganda, arguing instead that it was a cinema verité accounting of several days of festivities undertaken by Hitler and the Nazis in 1934. That argument of course ignores the entire subtext of Triumph of the Will, one which elevates Hitler to the status of a demigod before an adoring public while also very subtly introducing central Nazi concepts which would later be used to justify genocide and the many other horrors Germany inflicted upon the planet during World War II.

The hagiography of Hitler is on display from virtually the first moment of Triumph of the Will, with Riefenstahl positing an unseen but inescapable Hitler descending through heavenly clouds, and with a not so coincidental fly by of some church spires. There’s an undeniable religious element to much of the film, including overt references to both churches (as in buildings) and Church (as in an institution, as evidenced by the appearance of a Bishop). But probably even more importantly, Nazism itself is offered as a religion, with Hitler the “Celebrant,” offering an unusual sacrament consisting of such elements (no pun intended) as a “blood banner” (i.e., a flag Hitler utilizes in a kind of peculiar but deadly serious ritual).

If the quasi-religious aspect of Triumph of the Will ping pongs between the overt and the almost subliminal, another element is unexpectedly subtle throughout the film. Notice the huge aggregations of what would appear to be soldiers throughout the film, many times marching in formation and often in groups of almost overwhelming size and intense discipline. Only—where are their weapons? Instead of shouldering rifles, we see hordes of military types hoisting hoes or shovels. This is Riefenstahl obviously courting an international audience which was keeping an eye on what was supposed to be Germany’s limited access to weapons and armed forces, while also providing home grown audiences with a pseudo-militaristic display that was sure to raise “rah rah” jingoistic tendencies.

Audiences raised on glitzier propaganda or quasi-propagandistic efforts may find much of Triumph of the Will almost quaint, despite the obviously disturbing subtext of it all. The German people seem like innocent naïfs, evidently sweet folks who dress in ethnic costumes or who frolic in what for all intents and purposes looks like a Boy Scout jamboree. There’s still some barely hidden discord peeking out from beneath the picture perfect surface, though, as evidenced by one of Hitler’s speeches in the film. The more historically minded will probably already know that Triumph of the Will appeared in the wake of one of the bloodier purges of Hitler’s still nascent government, and Hitler addresses the controversy at least in passing, insisting that the “movement” (as he refers to it) is unified and unassailable.

What may occur to many as they watch Triumph of the Will is just how (apparently) accessible Hitler was in these relatively early days. He’s surrounded by throngs at virtually every turn and several scenes find Riefenstahl’s battery of cameras following the Führer in an open air car as he passes through untold thousands, many of whom loom out of windows from the upper stories of the surrounding buildings. Unfortunately for the world, there was no German version of Lee Harvey Oswald lying in wait in this particular instance.

Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Triumph of the Will is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Synapse Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.20:1 (our specs at the time of this review going live don't yet support this aspect ratio, but will be updated soon). Assessing the video quality of this release is a bit of a double edged sword, courtesy of the decision to offer unremovable "identifier" subtitles sprinkled throughout the offering, which, in concert with a recurrent "bug" logo in the lower right hand corner of the image, serve to act as a kind of copyright enforcer for this film which is in the public domain. Two of the subtitles can be seen in screenshots 9 and 16, with the first seeming positively gratuitous and the second bearing an embarrassing spelling error. Considering the fact that there is a "bug" watermark (seen in screenshot 3), making these subtitles forced may have been a marketing error, at least as evidenced by some of the visceral responses this release has received on our forum and across the internet. Interestingly, the umbrage evidenced by some consumers or potential consumers surrounding this decision was largely absent in a couple of other WWII themed releases which also used a "bug" watermark to protect a PD source, Periscope Films' releases of Victory at Sea and The Memphis Belle: A Story of A Flying Fortress, but those releases also didn't feature forced "identifier" or descriptive subtitles.

Those issues aside, the multi-year restoration done on this piece is often astounding. Robert A. Harris and Greg Kimble have gone on record detailing some of the obstacles faced by the team attempting this restoration, and given those obstacles, the results are largely very commendable. There are still a lot of minor nicks and scratches and the like, as well as variable density, contrast and overall sharpness and clarity, but comparing this release to previous DVD releases (including Synapse's own DVD) shows just what an uptick in most of the areas we address in our reviews this new version has attained. While grain is also variable at times, generally speaking this is an excellently organic and natural looking effort, albeit one that's a bit on the heterogeneous side due to various fluctuations. Had the subs been removable this would have easily gotten at least a 4.0 for video. Some may feel that docking this release a "mere" half a point for the subtitle issue might be overly generous.

Update: I've received an email from Synapse Films' Donald May, Jr., and at his request and with his permission am including his clarification about the subtitles here:

All aspects of the video transfer, including the new on-screen identifiers, new subtitle corrections, new framing, film scan, timing, aspect ratio, etc. were all done by, and under the supervision of, Robert A. Harris. Synapse Films is the distributor of the master that Robert supplied, and we did not supervise the transfer. We thought that was made clear on the back of the Blu-ray sleeve (as well as mentioning the new on- screen identifications being included), but it evidently wasn't clear enough for some. Robert put in the new on-screen identifiers, to protect his film element for copyright purposes.

Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Triumph of the Will features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track that can only do so much with the limitations of the source stems. The track has been cleaned up rather remarkably, with very little in the way of pops and/or cracks, but there's an unavoidable thinness to much of the sound, including the orchestral cues that Riefenstahl utilizes to create such a monolithic view of Hitler and Nazism. The speeches ring with some force, but are still quite shallow sounding at times.

Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Dr. Anthony Santoro. Santoro was also responsible for the "identifying" subtitles which are burnt into this release (and which have created quite a bit of controversy), and he tends to simply offer many of the same sorts of identifications throughout the film.


• Day of Freedom (1080p; 17:02) is Riefenstahl's 1935 follow up to Triumph of the Will, one exploiting Germany's military prowess more than the earlier documentary did.

Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Triumph of the Will is one of those "must see" films that any serious cineaste should visit at least once in their filmgoing lives. The public domain provenance of the film has meant substandard releases for years, and the basic restoration work done here is largely superb. Those efforts may have gotten steamrolled by the decision to burn in subtitles, some of which at least seem unnecessary and intrusive. Those with an aversion to "extraneous" content like those subs will probably want to carefully consider whether or not to spring for this version. Those who aren't bothered by this issue, and especially those who have never seen this iconic piece of propaganda, will find this a worthwhile release. With caveats noted, Recommended.