Triumph of the Will



A 1936 film directed by Leni Riefenstahl and funded by the German government. It was shown once year for propaganda purposes in every German cinema until 1945.

The movie is officially not public domain, but since it also has no owners, it's available on Youtube. Viewer discretion required, as well as not living in Germany.


 * Adolf Hitler: Obviously.
 * Balcony Speech
 * Eye Candy: Generally everything.
 * Intended Audience Reaction: See Propaganda Machine.
 * Low-Angle Shot: Possibly the Trope Maker, though it's actually used rather sparingly.
 * Milking the Giant Cow: The Fuhrer's bombastic gesticulating during his big speech is truly a sight to behold.
 * Million Mook March: Numerous scenes, particularly the mourning of former President Hindenburg
 * Nazi Germany
 * Patriotic Fervor: Of the worst sort.
 * Propaganda Machine: The film itself.
 * A few American propaganda pieces just showed the marching and translated parts of the speeches into English, letting the mere fact it was meant to be inspirational for the Germans speak for itself. The Why We Fight series did this a lot.
 * Putting on the Reich
 * Rousing Speech: Well, they certainly seem roused. And ready to kill on command.
 * Those Wacky Nazis: The Movie. This trope is largely a product of perspective. The Nazis try to portray themselves as sane and reasonable, but we the audience now know that what they said and what they meant often conflicted with each other, and so all the many speeches in the film sound wholly ludicrous.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Riefenstahl managed to make a feature-length Nazi propaganda film that made zero references to Jews.
 * World of Ham