Handout 1: Questions for Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl (1934/35)
1. Why does this film begin with a view of the clouds from the cockpit of an airplane? What might this image symbolize?

I believe that the film began with a view of the clouds from the cockpit probably because Hitler was on the plane and it showed that he felt superior to everyone down below, or that he was finally in the midst of completing what he wanted which was to have a perfect Germany under his reign.

2. What impression do you get of Germany from the aerial shots of the city of Nuremberg? What general image does the director Leni Riefenstahl give of Germany as a country?

Most of Germany was extremely supportive of Hitler. I saw this toddler not
The things that truly made it a film is just the fact that all this truly happened, nothing was sugar coated and it wasn’t intended too but it really hits home when you see the Nazi soldiers serving Hitler with pride and it makes you think what feeling could drive them to have the mentality they had.

7. What effects might all the masses of people (especially those dressed in uniform) have on the viewers of this film?

I don’t think that the numbers really have an impression on the people; I believe that you have to see it to believe it. Seeing the great masses of soldiers make you go ‘WOW’ that’s a lot of people. And then you can have the numbers take a big part in it. For example the film said that there was 52.000 working on land to make Germany more fruitful and healthful, when you see all the people it takes you to think about the numbers and has you imagine many more people. The soldiers, they covered so much space and the fact that they were so closely compacted together gives you a visual of how many followers Hitler had.

8. How does the cinematography contribute to the power of the images?

The cinematography makes it more real for me, because if I had seen it in a better version or with better pixels, I probably wouldn’t have paid so much attention to the little details. The cinematography catches everything, despite the black and white colors.

9. Why do you think this propaganda film was so