VERSUS THE SCARECROW EPISODE 4: DOCUMENTARIES: THE QUEST FOR PEACE. I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
Documentaries are films too and today is a special episode dedicated to them! I’ll be taking a look at some well known documentaries and some superbly controversial ones too as I look at Grey Gardens, Triumph of the Will, and Roger & Me.
Triumph of the Will (1935) Directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Starring: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and Max Amann. IMDB says: “The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.”
It’s always been my understanding that propaganda films are created to spread patriotism for ones country or at least get one excited and supportive of a national cause. Sadly, this film does neither. Now, had I been a German in 1934 and was dealing with their struggles and hardships and looking towards Adolph Hitler for leadership, maybe this film would have succeeded. Maybe. All this film does is show footage of parades, salutes, and a few speeches that give us maybe fifteen minutes total of a ninety-minute film. The film is supposed to show four days of the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremburg, Germany back in 1934. It does that, but comes across as someone shooting his or her summer vacation rather than a documentary or propaganda film. Triumph of the Will starts with cloud covered aerial shots of the city and a massive parade as Hitler salutes and makes his presence known throughout the city. What we see after that is more parades, more saluting, and few speeches. I went in with high hopes thinking that we would see rousing speeches about needing to defeat an enemy or their plans for taking over the world. Instead, we get passionate speeches about togetherness and the need for a unified Germany. Again, I’m sure this was a revelation to those in 1934 Germany, but it doesn’t hold up to those modern viewers who are looking for a controversial ranting aimed at the world.
One thing that kept my intrigue though was how it was shot and the amount of people that would show up to the parades and speeches. There were scenes where over two hundred thousand people were gathered to hear Hitler speak. Every other word was met with salutes and near unison chants. The sheer magnitude of their presence coupled with the pageantry and their rampant symbolism is astonishing to look at and at times it’s near breathtaking. I’d only recommend this film to world history buffs or those in need of research for a school project. Any other viewer would get bored after a while and search for something more stimulating.
Check back tomorrow for my reflection on Roger & Me or read yesterday’s installment where I reviewed Grey Gardens. And if you’re interested in more, you can find the rest of the Versus The Scarecrow series here.