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Was “Triumph of the Will” a documentary or propaganda
more people than the book ever could. Riefenstahl claimed in The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl that it was "Not a documentary but a work of art, [there was] no commentary in the normal sense of the word. There's no commentator to explain everything. That's the way it differs from a documentary or a propaganda film. If it were propaganda, as many say, they'd be a commentator to explain the significance and value of the occasion. This wasn't the case."
In contrast, Susan Sontag in ‘Fascinating Fascism’ claims that it is the “most successful, most purely propagandistic film ever made, whose very conception negates the possibility of the film-makers having an aesthetic or visual concept independent of propaganda.”
Just as there are critics who argue that “Triumph of the Will” is the filming of an actual event and, as such, is a documentary, there are others who speak of the sensationalist and propagandist techniques used to promote the event in the film. Images such as the opening scenes, where Hitler’s plane is flying through the clouds, giving a sense of divinity and being “above it all”, and the clever filming of the crowds watching Hitler’s procession on the streets which give the impression that every street Hitler drove on was packed with adoring people illustrate the use of these techniques and indicate more suspicious aspirations from the director.
Of course, there are critics who choose a point of neutrality, favouring each side of the argument equally. They argue that propaganda is a part of all film. Paul Rotha (a famous writer and director of Riefenstahl’s time) said, “In one form or another, directly or indirectly, all films are propagandist. The general public is influenced by every film it sees. The dual physio-psychological appeal of pictorial movement and sound is so strong that if it is made with imagination and skill, the film can stir the emotions of any audience.” Or as Robert Flaherty (often proclaimed as one of the founding fathers of documentary film) so eloquently declared, “Sometimes you have to lie. One often has to distort a thing to catch its true spirit.”
Many can argue the different options regarding “Triumph of the Will”, saying it is a documentary, it is propaganda, or it became propaganda unintentionally. However, three points which cannot be refuted indicate that Leni Riefenstahl intentionally made the film propaganda. The fact that she was chosen and funded by Hitler to make the event “appeal to the masses” would immediately let her know that she needed to produce a film which gave the people the impression Hitler wanted. The angles of Hitler above the adoring crowd as he speaks and the scenes of his plane coming out of the clouds are obvious propagandist techniques to elevate and deify Hitler. Finally, the camera angle manipulation in the film, which made the crowds seem even larger than they were, would not be present in a true documentary which sought to produce the facts. This is obvious evidence of conscious propaganda on [next page]