Directed and Produced by Leni Riefenstahl
Written by Leni Riefenstahl and Walter Ruttmann
Original music by Herbert Windt
Cinematography by Sepp Allgeier and Karl Attenberger and Werner Bohne

Leni Riefenstahl's real name was Berta Helene Amalie Riefenstahl, born August 22, 1902, in Berlin. "Leni Riefenstahl's showbiz experience began with "an experiment." She wanted to know what it felt like to dance on the stage. Success as a dancer gave way to film acting when she attracted the attention of film director Arnold Fanck subsequently starring in some of Fanck's "mountaineering" pictures. With Fanck as her mentor, Riefenstahl began directing films. Her penchant for artistic work earned her acclaim, and her films awards, across Europe. It was her work on "Triumph of the Will", a documentary about Adolf Hitler, that would come back to haunt her after the atrocities of WWII. Despite her protests to the contrary, Riefenstahl was considered an intricate part of the Third Reich's propaganda machine. Castigated, she has not made a movie in the past 50 years." (Mini biography from IMDB)

Links:

• The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl film interview by Ray Muller released on DVD
• Film credits from IMDB for the film title Triumph des Willens
• Film clip 1 from Das Volk - Translation: "In you is also that which we ... hope from Germany. We want to be one people (ein Volk), and you, young people, are to be that Volk."
• Film clip 2 from the World War II Electronic Archives at George Washington University
• Film clip 3 and 4 from The Arts - Leni Riefenstahl

Leni Riefenstahl made films for Hitler, but claimed not to have been a Nazi

Dutch poster protesting 1936 Olympics

Triumph of the Will scene shows huge banners designed by Albert Speer