DVD013

Triumph of the Will

Triumph of the Will is much more than a propaganda movie. It is the visual documentary of the birth of a nation and a new ideology captured on film by Leni Riefenstahl one of the most gifted film makers of all time. This is not a movie that you watch but a spiritual event that the audience experiences! Filmed at the Nuremberg NSDAP 1934 Congress where hundreds of thousands of National Socialists came together to celebrate their beliefs and victory over the enemies of the German Volk. Since not everyone in Germany could attend a party congress Hitler commissioned Leni Riefenstahl to make a movie that when played in theaters all over Germany would unify the the volk under National Socialism. When you experience Triumph of the Will you will understand the dynamism of National Socialism.

Deluxe Remastered Edition DVD Special Features

• 2005 Digitally Re-Mastered Windowboxed Transfer From a 35mm Fine Grain Element
• Original German Language with Newly Translated Removable English Subtitles
• The Leni Riefenstahl short film, "Day of Freedom" (17min.)
• Optimal Quality RSDL Dual Layer Edition
• Audio Commentary By Historian Dr. Anthony Santoro

Details: DVD Running time 120 minutes B/W English subtitles.

DVD013 =

$40.00 +s/h

DVD055

Festive Nuremberg

Picking up where Triumph of the Will leaves off, this film features highlights from both the 1936 and 1937 Party Rallies at Nuremberg. An extended aerial sequence, showing Nuremberg in all its Gothic splendor, opens the film; Hitler's airfield arrival and triumphant motorcade into town commence its grand ceremonies. Subsequent scenes at the Zeppelinfeld demonstrate the colossal scale and military precision of National Socialist pageantry, while capturing the escalating quotient of spectacle at Nuremberg over the 1930's. A growing variety of pageantry is also suggested, from mass folk-dance performances in rural costume, to a sensational sequence of Wehrmacht exercises conducted at Zeppelinfeld: parachute drops, cavalry, infantry and Panzer formations, artillery fire and live explosions. Throughout its spectacular sequences - night rallies, torchlit marches, massed throngs and fireworks - the film argues its case for an ever-growing bond between party and nation.

Includes spectacular night rallies, torchlight parades, military exercises, and the adoring public's enthusiastic participation!

DVD055 - Festive Nuremberg

Details: Original German 1930's films, Running time 21 minutes, Black & White German dialogue with English subtitles.

DVD 055 =

$20.00 +s/h

DVD027

Victory of Faith

In September 1933 the Nazi party held its first massive party congress following their legal election to power in 1932.  Hitler commissioned the brilliant and beautiful Leni Riefenstahl to make a full length feature film to be shown to the German public since not everyone could attend.  The leader of the SA (Stormtroopers) Ernst Röhm later plotted a mutiny within the Nazi party.  

Hitler got wind of the plot and had his SS (security service) crush the plotters in what later was called the "Night of the Long Knives"  Because of Röhm's treason to the party and to Hitler the Fuehrer ordered all pictures, postcards, photos and movies containing any  reference to the plotters destroyed.  This, unfortunately, included Leni Riefenstahl's ground breaking film Victory of Faith. 

Fortunately for us, she had been invited to England's most prestigious universities to discuss her innovative filming techniques.  A single copy of this historic masterpiece was left behind where it remained lost to the world until it was recently discovered.  Ironically Leni passed away this September at the age of 101.  As is Olympiad and Triumph of the Will, Victory of Faith is a tribute to this most brilliant film maker. PzG proudly presents Victory of Faith which includes the original trailer and a bonus 1938 film by Fritz Hippler. 

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

DVD028s

Olympia (2 parts)

DVD028s - Olympia (2 parts)

In 1936 Nazi Germany was the host for the International Olympics. No expense was spared for the games. Hitler commissioned Leni Riefenstahl to film the games and create a living testament to the Olympic games of Berlin and Germany's international good will. Using all of her talent and previous experiences to good use Leni was able to produce a film of beauty and grace using artistic talent that would put her head and shoulders above all film makers. To days sports filming is based on the ground breaking in ovations that Leni and her crews developed and invented. Olympia's political statement has been conveniently forgotten. While the victors of WWII hatefully proclaim that Jesse Owens destroyed the myth of Aryan superiority it was the Nazis who treated him and everyone on his team with the utmost respect. Far more in fact than he ever received back home in the USA! The student of National Socialism must study this film to really see how the races of the world were to work and live together in mutual respect and harmony. Surprisingly the USA is championed constantly in the film including their Black athletes!

Olympia comes in 2 parts, both B/W, English subtitles