Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

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Leaburn O The quality of production for 1938 is unquestionably excellent. What surprised me was the reasonably fair coverage of Jesse Owens. There was some standard bias towards Germany but overall it was a pretty impressive document of the competitive action spliced with some fascinating historical insights. Really interesting watch this. Watched on YouTube. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/18/24 Full Review William L Maybe Germany was so hard on Poland because they were really pushing their luck in the women's discus back in '36. Calling something the best propaganda film of all time is like heralding some piece of work as the greatest of all snuff films. Good for you, but you can really only appreciate it for its role in film history and technical capability; with that in mind, Olympia's opening is legendary both for its technical capability in depicting the human form in motion and its interweaving of nationalist messaging, and is undeniably aesthetically great. Keep in mind though, after the first fifteen minutes or so the rest of the film is simply actual depictions of the Olympic events themselves, though neatly edited for easy viewing. Worth a watch just to see the casual promotion of Nazism in the prewar years, the casual perspectives of the athletes in such a geopolitically important event, and the emotional reactions of fans. One of the earliest successful female directors in Riefenstahl, and she's making Nazi propaganda? (2.5/5) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/28/20 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. A exemplary documentary of the olympics held in Berlin. It was beautiful, compelling and meticulous despite the pro-German sentiment. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Leni Riefenstahl's documentary on the 1936 Olympics-- parts one and two-- are a remarkable exercise in highlighting the athleticism and beauty of the human body. Subtly, it highlights the Nazi outlook, but doesn't shy away from the amazing performance of Jesse Owens or Japanese athletes who succeed as well. Really a fascinating film to watch. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member I went into this film being slightly wary of Nazi propaganda and there are some of those nationalistic type images of Berlin in 1936. However, in this documentary Hitler takes a back seat for the most part and the focus is instead of the games. Interestingly enough, Riefenstahl does not try and hide the success of Jesse Owens who easily blows the rest of his competition out of the water. It was almost comical to watch but is wonderful that it is documented for us to witness so many years later. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Still regarded as perhaps the single most important sports documentary ever made, as well as one of the most innovative and trend setting films of the genre in general, in the first part, Leni Riefenstahl chronicles the gathering of the nations of the world in Berlin for the 1936 Olympics around the time of Nazi occupation, that is perfectly organised and looks most disciplined as the host nation. A masterpiece of propaganda cinema that goes beyond the barriers such a definition would imply and can be admired by anyone regardless of their political beliefs. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

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