Olympia (1938)
(Olympische Spiele)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 217m
Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Cast: doc.
Synopsis:
Documentary of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, prefaced by idealised sequences of ancient Olympians in action. The film can be found in two parts: Festival of the Nations, and Festival of Beauty.
Review:
There is much here that one can find sublime if one has no interest in sport whatever, or indeed in National Socialism - for out of the skies, like some immortal master of ceremonies, comes the Führer in his aeroplane, in one of Riefenstahl's more blatant pieces of obeisance. For the rest it certainly helps, though the events are so edited and varied that rarely does the imagery pall. The cross-country equestrian event impresses in particular, showing the Teutonic riders' superior knowledge of the course's hidden hazards. Throughout, Riefenstahl's poetic approach is never far away: the closing images are pure abstraction.
(Olympische Spiele)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 217m
Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Cast: doc.
Synopsis:
Documentary of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, prefaced by idealised sequences of ancient Olympians in action. The film can be found in two parts: Festival of the Nations, and Festival of Beauty.
Review:
There is much here that one can find sublime if one has no interest in sport whatever, or indeed in National Socialism - for out of the skies, like some immortal master of ceremonies, comes the Führer in his aeroplane, in one of Riefenstahl's more blatant pieces of obeisance. For the rest it certainly helps, though the events are so edited and varied that rarely does the imagery pall. The cross-country equestrian event impresses in particular, showing the Teutonic riders' superior knowledge of the course's hidden hazards. Throughout, Riefenstahl's poetic approach is never far away: the closing images are pure abstraction.
(Olympische Spiele)
Country: GER
Technical: bw 217m
Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Cast: doc.
Synopsis:
Documentary of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, prefaced by idealised sequences of ancient Olympians in action. The film can be found in two parts: Festival of the Nations, and Festival of Beauty.
Review:
There is much here that one can find sublime if one has no interest in sport whatever, or indeed in National Socialism - for out of the skies, like some immortal master of ceremonies, comes the Führer in his aeroplane, in one of Riefenstahl's more blatant pieces of obeisance. For the rest it certainly helps, though the events are so edited and varied that rarely does the imagery pall. The cross-country equestrian event impresses in particular, showing the Teutonic riders' superior knowledge of the course's hidden hazards. Throughout, Riefenstahl's poetic approach is never far away: the closing images are pure abstraction.