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Triumph of the Will Blu-ray Detailed
Posted October 7, 2015 04:27 PM by
Independent U.S. distributors Synapse Films have detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935). The release will be available for purchase on December 8.
Synopsis: Leni Riefenstahl's classic piece of historical filmmaking, filmed during the 1934 Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, Germany, is considered by many to be one of the most important films ever made. Realized by Paul Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, this film was created to influence all of Germany to support the power of the Nazi Party.
Historically significant and, at times, a horrifyingly manipulative exercise in propaganda for the Nazi regime, TRIUMPH OF THE WILL continues to be controversial eighty years after its original release and has been banned in Germany for many decades. Until her death in 2003, Riefenstahl was under fire for her personal relationship with Adolph Hitler, spending her life haunted by the shadow of the Nazi Party.
This all-new remastered version of Triumph of the Will is derived from a new 2K scan, digitally corrected and restored under the supervision of film historian and preservationist, Robert A. Harris.
Special Features:
All-new 2015 high-definition 2K remaster of TRIUMPH OF THE WILL from a duplicate 35mm fine grain master
Original German language with all-new on screen identifications and newly translated removable English subtitles for the speeches
Leni Riefenstahl's short film DAY OF FREEDOM (Remastered in 2K HD)
Audio Commentary by Dr. Anthony R. Santoro (Specialist on National Socialist German history)
From "Triumph of the Will" all the way through "Selma", "Lincoln" and "The Butler" of today the use of cinema to send political messages and normalize political points of view to credulous audiences seeking entertainment is a fascinating subject that is little appreciated by most viewers. It's interesting to note, when watching the hyperbolic speeches of Nazi officials in Triumph of the Will, that none of them are saying to the cheering crowds that if their cause is supported that most of the audience will be dead within ten years and the world in ruins. No, all the speeches are about JOBS, GROWTH, PRIDE, PROSPERITY, REBUILDING! One thing is for sure, Joseph Goebbels and Leni Riefenstahl would as film producers and message artists feel right at home in the Hollywood of today.
Funny, I did a double "Yes" seeing this announced the same time as Kabukiman. If I'm remembering correctly, Lloyd Kaufman was friends with Reifenstahl...I think he mentions it in the extras to The Final Countdown.
Glad I saw this on the big screen. Hopeful it will look good in the new 2K scan.
This version has the same specs and extras (and the same high price) as the 2001 DVD release from Synapse. The movie varies in quality between the footage shot by Riefenstahl and a lot of rough "stock" footage shot by others. I wonder just how much Mr. Harris and his magicians have been able to "restore" this stock footage that wasn't that great to begin with.
Everyone should watch this remarkable film at least once to see how a nation could be seduced by spectacle, rhetoric and false promises of peace and prosperity. There is no doubt that Ms. Riefenstahl was a superb filmmaker, and it's a pity she didn't come to America in the 1930s with some of her fellow German directors: the trajectory of her life might have taken a smoother course. If you are as interested in her as I am (I had the occasion to see her in person at the first Telluride Film Festival in 1974, and my interest developed from there), I strongly recommend another documentary, "The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl". Also, I add my voice to the call for a proper restoration of her other masterpice, "Olympia".
Postscript: In addition to the other reasons for seeing "Triumph of the Will", it is a chance to see how the picturesque city of Nuremberg looked before the wartime bombings.
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