For more than seventy years, the most sought-after movie made in the Third Reich was the Holy Grail of collectors who searched the world for just one print without success. In July, 1934, every, last copy of “Sieg des Glaubens” was confiscated and destroyed by the German authorities who had commissioned “The Victory of Faith”, and proudly showed it throughout the country for the previous nine months as a cinematic showcase of the new regime. It documented the first National Socialist Congress after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, on 30 January 1933, featuring the Movement’s top men, including the Chief of the Stormtroopers (the S.A., or Sturmabteilungen), Ernst Roehm.

While he did not found the organization and had been preceded by several other leaders, Roehm was an early follower and participated in the Nazi Party’s failed 1923 “Putsch”, after which a warrant was issued for his arrest. Escaping to South America, he enlisted in the Brazilian Army, rose swiftly through its ranks, and looked forward to his eventual retirement as an artillery officer. In what was undoubtedly the worst mistake the Fuehrer ever made, Hitler implored the ex-patriot to return to Germany and assume his post of S.A. leader. Reluctantly, Roehm did as he was asked, transforming the Brownshirt bodyguard into a Stormtrooper army.

Success went to his head, however, and he conspired with both anti-Nazi generals in the German armed forces and the French government to forcibly replace the Hitler government with himself. His conspiracy was discovered in time, he was arrested and executed, all memory of him expunged from German consciousness. Although his few scenes in “Sieg des Glaubens” are brief, they were enough to earn its condemnation.

Some months before, its producer, Leni Riefenstahl, was in England, where the film was shown to some cinematographers. Return to Germany, she left it behind in England, where it was lost until accidentally found around the turn of the 21st Century. As such, its reappearance after so many years represents a discovery of truly historic significance.

Viewers will naturally compare it with her far more famous “Triumph of the Will”, but the two films are quite different. While “Sieg des Glaubens” can stand on its own as a wonderful work, it inadvertently turned out to be a prototype for the director’s more renowned masterpiece. This in no way detracts from her 1933 film, which shines with many dramatic highlights.

Among the most impressive is a long, overhead traveling-shot of Hitler walking alone to the speaker’s stand. The awed reaction of his followers, as they make way for him, captures something of the personal impact this man made wherever he went.

Mussolini’s personal representative makes a surprising, spirited speech at the rally’s opening ceremonies, introduced by a dynamic Rudolf Hess.

Many viewers have commented on the Hitler Youth rally featured in “Sieg des Glaubens” as its real highlight. As thousands of children gather on a very windy day, judging by the difficulty some have in holding on to their flags, the largest aircraft ever made looms close overhead, its enormous engines murmuring. Thus, the “Hindenburg” makes one of the most dramatic entrances in the movies or anyplace else. Its appearance makes such an impression on the youngsters, even Hitler has a hard time calming them down.

While “The Victory of Belief” may be relatively less refined than its better known successor, it is nonetheless a truly great achievement, well worth the long wait for its 21st Century debut.

Bonus material includes interesting, additional footage of the Nuremberg Congress, with modern soundtrack of “Die Grossen Zapferstreich” martial music added to the original silent version.

A wonderful short, “Wort und Tat”, or “Word and Deed”, from 1938, features punchy orations by the Fuehrer and Hermann Goering comparing their Revolution with the Weimar democracy it replaced.

- Marc Roland