Controversial Documentary

Like American director David Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, Triumph of the Will has been criticized for using spectacular imagery to promote an immoral system. It was considered Nazi propaganda after World War II, and its broadcast was restricted under denazification laws, except for educational use. Riefenstahl defended her naive understanding of Nazism at the time and did not understand Hitler's policies of genocide and anti-Semitism. She also points out that "Triumph of the Will" has "not a single word of anti-Semitism" in it, but it does include a speech by Julius Streicher (Jewish persecutor, sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials) ): "A people that does not maintain its racial purity will perish". American film critic Roger Ebert argued that the lack of anti-Semitic discourse in the film was deliberate and deliberate to make the film more effective.

Riefenstahl has repeatedly defended accusations of being a Nazi propagandist, saying the film focuses on images rather than opinions and should be seen as a whole of art (Gesamtkunstwerk). In 1964, she said: "If you watch the film today, you can be sure that it has no posing. Everything is real, and there are no slanted comments in the film. It's history, It's a real historical film... it's a real film (film-vérité). It reflects the historical reality of 1934. So it's a documentary, not a propaganda film. Oh! I know a lot about propaganda films. That This kind of film has scenes that are staged to express a certain point of view, or connect certain events according to their importance. I feel that I always pay attention to a specific time and place when facing an event, and my film is also the It was filmed on such a principle."

Riefenstahl actively participated in the Nuremberg rally, but later she consciously downplayed her influence significantly, saying: "I just observed and tried to shoot it well, thinking that I would help The idea of ​​planning this rally is utterly absurd." Roger Ebert considers "Triumph of the Will" to be one of the best documentaries out there." Bringing up "the classic question between art and morality: is there pure art, or does all art express political opinions?" He mentioned the film on another occasion "the public opinion is that the film is great And Evil", and argues that its clumsy, dull propaganda techniques cannot manipulate most people.

Brian Winston, in his article, refuted Sontag's point of view that there was nothing moving about the film, and that the Nazi-planned image scene (Mise en scène) itself was impressive and ready-made. The material can be shot by any director, especially given the opportunity to be involved in the set. Formally, parades and speeches alternate in the film, which Winston considers unimaginative and monotonous.

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