Triumph of the Will

• Main
• YMMV
• Wikipedia
• All Subpages
• Create New

Like American filmmaker D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, Triumph of the Will has been criticized as a use of spectacular filmmaking to promote a profoundly unethical system. —Wikipedia

Triumph of the Will is 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.

Tropes used in Triumph of the Will include:

• Adolf Hitler: Obviously.
• Balcony Speech: Given by Hitler.
• Eye Candy: Generally everything.
• Intended Audience Reaction: See Propaganda Machine.
• Low-Angle Shot: Possibly the Trope Codifier, though it's actually used rather sparingly. The actual trope was used in films prior, but made famous by its depiction in this one.
• 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: Specifically, produced for Nazi Germany as propaganda for her vigor and strength under said regime.
• Patriotic Fervor: Of the worst sort. Ironically, its probably one of the least odious works of propaganda the Nazis made, mostly due to lack of negative racial commentary about the Jews they tried to cram into every other propaganda piece they could find an excuse for.
• 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: Again, the whole point, as a glorification of the German martial spirit.
• 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.
  • According to the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, this was nigh certainly intentional. The flim was to be a feel good movie emphasizing ther vigor and determination of the Germans under the Nazis, thus it was intended to show off her strengths and virtues.
• World of Ham