In September 1934, the second year after Hitler came to power, the German Nazis held a party congress in Nuremberg. Riefenstahl was ordered by the Reich Propaganda Department to record the imperial congress. The film was titled "Triumph of the Will".
Unlimited funding, a film crew of more than 100 people, countless spotlights, 16 first-class photographers, 30 cameras, 22 chauffeured cars and uniformed mobile police officers at Riefenstahl's command . This makes Riefenstahl's camera in the sky, omnipotent, just as much as he can to create the image on the screen, which is almost perfect and full of infinite tension. The most dream of a director is that he can display his talents without any worries or worries.
The beginning of the film. Hitler came by plane through the clouds, and the deified identity of a dictator was established at the beginning of the film; it coincided with the mythological plot of the director when he was young, and deeply imprinted the shadow of the director's thinking; the head of state who turned out like an eagle Foreshadowing and "resonance" with the Nazi eagle that keeps appearing throughout the film; the audience's adoration is ignited at the beginning of the film: without the slightest respite, the savior of the German nation has come to the world and will lead the way His nation "made history". The speeches of many leaders in different styles at the venue were a clever gesture and a luxurious contrast. So many valiant and heroic leaders were overshadowed by Hitler's appearance, which gave people a long-awaited feeling. of suspense.
In the technique of shooting, Riefenstahl's style reveals the camera that is always in motion, which brings vitality to this lack of diversity of gathering activities, and keeps the picture in a state of elegance and fluidity. Shooting standing soldiers, waiting crowds, although the subject does not move, the constantly moving camera makes the audience's vision begin to move and change. And this point is most effective when filming Hitler's speeches, people unconsciously immerse themselves in his eloquent speeches without feeling tired.
The constant movement of the camera brings a strong sense of rhythm to the film, which, together with the equally rhythmic music, makes the picture dynamic and the image full of tension. A large part of this sense of rhythm comes from the emotions of the crowd. The moving pictures echo the constantly sublimating spiritual emotions, which fit the audience's heart rhythm and form the unique cathartic rhythm of the film.
In order to make a single content have a variety of forms, Riefenstahl also makes the long and boring political ceremony a penetrating visual shock through the constant change of shooting angles, scenes and cross-editing of shots. During the filming of Hitler's meeting with his subjects, the images of the people and Hitler's images were frequently edited together—the excited, expectant and slightly timid expressions of the people filled the frame with close-up shots: There is an innocent little girl Chewing happiness, there is a boy climbing up the stairs looking forward to tiptoe, there is a child with his head sticking out between the guards with hopeful eyes, and there is a youthful intoxication drawn from the corner of the mouth. All the expressions and actions that make us warm in the world are captured and magnified by Riefenstahl, and when these seemingly ordinary close-ups are edited with Hitler's interview footage, they not only reflect the masses' love and admiration for the Führer, but also have took on another extraordinary meaning: as if all their happiness was bound up with Hitler.
Long speeches that most easily fall into tediousness become, in Riefenstahl's hands, passages that demonstrate her extraordinary abilities. When he was impassioned, Hitler was always photographed from the top, and the shooting angles and scenes were constantly switched: sometimes the big vision made him stand tall in the vast ocean of the people; We are forced to watch the speaker in close-up rather than listening to his eloquent eloquence, and the visual impact makes up for the aesthetic fatigue of hearing. When people watch it now, it is easy to weaken their disgust and hatred for Nazi ideology unconsciously.
The ingenuity of the film's composition is also a must. Riefenstahl boldly used the overhead shot and the big vision to construct an impressive visual map for Hitler-a neat and huge square array is distributed on both sides of the picture in a symmetrical pattern, and the middle extends on the spacious avenue. Hitler and his Two of his subordinates slowly marched toward the flag platform. Three-quarters of the picture is a regular rectangle, but the amazing thing is that the viewer's visual center unconsciously falls on the three moving characters who are almost black dots. Hitler seems to be the core of the crowd. It wants to tell people: "Our head of state is destined to be the focus of the world even if it is not close-up." Hitler did it too. He is like an atom with a small body, but it has the energy to destroy the world in an instant. Riefenstahl's good intentions are evident.
The realism of documentaries is not only shown through pictures, but also reflected in the combination of sound and picture. The film is faithful to reality, and a large number of simultaneous recordings are used. The lively voices set off the boiling sea of people, Hitler's highly infectious voice intonation, the music of the military parade, and the noise of the crowd brought a strong sense of presence and reality. Let the audience be in it, and the mind has to follow this terrible belief.
Hitler in Riefenstahl's lens is neither cruel nor arrogant, but some are just the image of the sky and the majestic declaration. Hitler's army was not domineering, but became pure and innocent, and its loyalty to the leader and the country was evident.
And what's great about it is what's scary about it. It tells us that any poison, cleverly packaged, can be turned into a delicious candy.
The biggest feature of this film also includes its narration without any commentary, from which we can also see Riefenstahl's confidence in his own film's sound and picture and his harshness to the film's aesthetics. Just like the ancient Chinese saying, "Silence is better than sound at this time", this unexplained narration is the director's whispering singing, and it is a potent and chronic poison that poisons your soul from the core of the human heart. It is in this way that the director hides his own attitudes and opinions, puts on a posture that "seems" to be commented on and is loyal to reality, kidnapping our thoughts and beliefs, and her "neutral" attitude makes us feel free to be captured. Kidnapping, but also convinced that the director must stand by our side. Regardless of the films in which the pictures are out of touch with the commentary, and the mood of the film is completely maintained by proclamation, the classic business card of commentary like "Common Fascism" "liberates the audience's mind" and allows them to choose their own attitudes and thus arouse deep resonance for the film. It is still slightly inferior to "Triumph of the Will". Riefenstahl knows well that a twisted melon is not sweet, and he also knows the truth that if you want to get it, you must give it first: while giving you an attitude of independent choice, he asks for all your favor and outrageous imagination about the film. You are just a devout believer under the halo of her faith.
It is precisely because of this feature that many subsequent anti-war and anti-fascist films have selected clips from "The Triumph of the Will" as the material (I wonder if this talented female director had expected it at the time). Without commentary and attitude, when the film is placed in another historical background and ideology, the emotions and beliefs derived from the audience are no longer bound by Riefenstahl. When watching these clips again, it still shocks us with its powerful picture and sound. The same as the belief in the terrible myths, the repentance of one's crimes is now so deep; the fear of Nazi propaganda at the time is so deep, the indignation at its monstrous atrocities is now so deep. The "will" of that year has become a scar that has been wiped out by reality, and it is this "Victory of the Will" that hides the director's point of view and does not add commentary that brings such earth-shaking power. The audience's right to choose their own attitudes and thoughts is completely liberated.
Riefenstahl has an innate fondness for mythology, which is reflected in the triumph of the will. , is the depiction of Hitler's apotheosis and the construction of the religiousization of the Nazi belief.
Beliefs and myths themselves are not terrible, but the whitewashing of the ruthless dictator and the dehumanizing party army is extremely terrifying. Hitler constructed a terrifying Nazi nightmare, and "Triumph of the Will" turned this nightmare into a terrifying myth. On the surface, it was Hitler who was deified: he was the father of Germany, the savior, and he reigned over the world. However, everything about Hitler in the movie was created by the female director Riefenstahl, and the real great and terrible god is herself. The terrible creator of the real myth is not Hitler, but the genius female director behind the scenes - Riefenstahl. In the film, she used her hand to dedicate the Savior to the world. It was she who created the idol worshipped by Germany. When she praised Hitler, she was actually praising herself! In the film, except for Hitler who existed as an independent individual, his subjects had no one. One is not presented as a group portrait with a neat, mechanically unified behavior and a turbulent heart. At the same time, such a binary opposition has also been skillfully used to set off the myth of Hitler. The shaping of group portraits inevitably means the lack of individuality. The display of the lack of individuality in the whole country was the most powerful proof of the propaganda effect of Nazi propaganda tools at that time.
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