---
title: "Triumph of the Will"
year: 1935
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/triumph-of-the-will"
fi1m_id: "triumph-of-the-will"
imdb_id: "tt0025913"
tmdb_id: 39266
wikidata_id: "Q156497"
fi1m_score: 64
critics_score: 63
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-25T02:02:25.752544+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-25T02:03:11.908758+00:00"
region: "HR"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Triumph of the Will (1935)

Directed by Leni Riefenstahl · 1h 54m · Documentary

## Identity

Triumph of the Will

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/triumph-of-the-will
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** triumph-of-the-will
- **IMDb ID:** tt0025913
- **TMDB ID:** 39266
- **Wikidata ID:** Q156497
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025913/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/39266, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q156497

**Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 63 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* All that ceremony, and nobody is expected to have a question

> Leni Riefenstahl’s documentary is accomplished, exhausting and repellent in its treatment of obedience as a public pleasure. We recommend it for critical study, with no pretence that its handling of light and ceremony can be separated from its politics.

## Synopsis

Adolf Hitler appears as himself at the Nuremberg rallies, where organised pageantry places him at the centre of a collective public display. Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels also appear as themselves in Leni Riefenstahl’s documentary. Political symbols, ceremonial movement and the figure of Hitler supply its subjects, as the film presents a movement united around its leader. The aim is to make his authority seem natural and unchallenged. The emphasis stays on what the gathering can show an audience: belonging, discipline and allegiance, with the assembled participants supplying a public demonstration of support.

## Review

*Triumph of the Will* is worth studying, though we would hesitate to call it a rewarding evening’s viewing. Leni Riefenstahl’s documentary gives Adolf Hitler and the Nuremberg rallies a disciplined, forceful presentation, and the discipline becomes exhausting. Its skill is plain, and that skill serves Nazi propaganda. We come away with a better understanding of how a leader can be made to look unquestionable, and a strong desire to question the choices the film has made.

The director concentrates on the public display of allegiance. Political symbols and rhythmic ceremony make the gathered people appear to have one feeling and one wish, with Adolf Hitler at the centre of both. That is a claim about the crowd, however smoothly the images encourage us to accept it. Against the basic documentary expectation that we might learn something about people by watching them, this is a constricting approach: the people matter chiefly because they agree.

The cinematography is credited to a large team, including Sepp Allgeier, Walter Frentz and Werner Bohne, so assigning the achievement to one pair of eyes would be careless. The use of light gives the pageantry force, while the prominence of political symbols keeps its meaning insistently clear. We can see where our attention is meant to settle, and there is little difficulty in grasping what we are meant to feel. The photography works persuasively even when we resist what it is asking us to accept.

As editor, Leni Riefenstahl makes the rhythm of the pageantry do much of the persuading. Movement, ceremony and emphasis seem to confirm one another, until an awkward interruption feels almost unimaginable. Herbert Windt’s music helps sustain that directed response, though we find the insistence wearing. The effects are controlled enough to make each display feel like further proof of the same proposition. Over 114 minutes, the lack of room for another response becomes a serious limitation.

We were repelled by the reassurance offered by the organised spectacle. What did it was the treatment of collective obedience as something to take pleasure in looking at, with the lighting and ceremonial rhythm encouraging that pleasure. The crowd’s appearance of agreement is asked to settle questions that a documentary ought to leave us free to ask. It is disturbing to watch a film work so hard at making our own judgement seem unnecessary.

There are stretches when we feel the film has already made its case and is merely making it again. The director can organise a spectacle, but she offers little variation in what we are supposed to take from it. The repeated assurance of unity grows deadening, and technical fluency cannot keep repetition interesting for nearly two hours. We are left waiting for some change in emphasis, and the film offers too little of it.

For anyone studying political cinema, there is plenty to scrutinise here in the handling of collective feeling. We cannot recommend setting its purpose aside to enjoy the photography, since that photography is being used to glorify Adolf Hitler. Treating the people on screen as evidence of unanimous belief is precisely the habit we should resist. Choose it for that examination, and allow time afterwards to discuss what it has left out.

*Fi1m score 64, published 25 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean towards recognition of the film’s technical achievement, with praise concentrated on Riefenstahl’s control of images, spectacle and pageantry. Several critics stress the persuasive force of its propaganda, describing carefully orchestrated presentation rather than treating the images as a neutral record. The visceral portrayal of the Nuremberg rallies, the use of light and symbols, and the visual rhythms draw particular attention. Admiration for the filmmaking does not amount to endorsement of its politics.

The division concerns how far that craft can sustain a favourable judgement. Three reviews are positive and three mixed, with none wholly negative. Empire makes the reservation explicit: the film’s artistic brilliance cannot be separated from its glorification of Hitler. The disagreement is therefore less about technical accomplishment than about how to weigh it against the political purpose it serves.

## Straight answers

**Is Triumph of the Will worth watching?**

*Triumph of the Will* is worth watching for critical study of political cinema, rather than an evening’s entertainment; we score it 64 out of 100. Its lighting and ceremonial rhythms skilfully glorify Hitler and collective obedience, but the repetition becomes exhausting. We recommend examining how it persuades, not setting its Nazi propaganda aside to admire the photography.

**How long is Triumph of the Will, and what is it rated?**

*Triumph of the Will* runs 1h 54m. It is a documentary film.

**Where can I watch Triumph of the Will in Croatia?**

*Triumph of the Will* is not on any streaming or rental service in Croatia at the moment. Availability is checked daily.

**How does Triumph of the Will compare to Night and Fog?**

*Triumph of the Will* glorifies Hitler through organised spectacle, while [*Night and Fog*](https://film.one/film/night-and-fog) directs attention to the victims that propaganda excludes; we recommend the latter more strongly. Riefenstahl’s repetitive pageantry rewards critical scrutiny, but Resnais’s short, unsparing documentary offers a clearer, harder confrontation with the camps. They belong beside one another for that difference, not as interchangeable history lessons.

**What should I watch after Triumph of the Will?**

After *Triumph of the Will*, try [*Night and Fog*](https://film.one/film/night-and-fog) (1956, Fi1m 91): A short, unsparing documentary that demands attention to the victims propaganda excludes. Then [*The Act of Killing*](https://film.one/film/the-act-of-killing) (2012, Fi1m 88): Perpetrators stage their own memories, with results that make spectacle deeply troubling.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (4/5): The critic describes the film as one of the most potent propaganda works ever made. The review praises Riefenstahl’s mastery of the film’s presentation. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-i71l8b/triumph-of-the-will/)
- **The New York Times** (75/100, inferred): The headline presents the film as a lasting cinematic achievement despite its contentious legacy. The page text available here does not reveal what specific aspect the critic praises. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/16/movies/review-film-after-50-years-on-the-defensive-still-a-cinema-master.html)
- **Time Out** (75/100, inferred): The description calls the film ideologically repugnant but praises it as cinematic propaganda of the highest order. It singles out the documentary’s visceral portrait of the Nuremberg Rallies. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/triumph-of-the-will)
- **Empire**, David Parkinson (50/100, inferred): Parkinson calls the film technically and artistically astounding, but says its brilliance cannot be separated from its hideous political meaning. He singles out its striking use of light, symbols and rhythmic pageantry, while condemning its propagandistic glorification of Hitler. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/triumph-will-review/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (50/100, inferred): The film is presented as a formidable work of propaganda rather than an endorsement of its politics. Its carefully orchestrated images and spectacle are singled out for their persuasive force. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-triumph-of-the-will-1935)
- **Variety**, Eddie Cockrell (50/100, inferred): Cockrell concludes the film remains both art and propaganda, with disturbing consequences. He praises its influential visual technique but faults the DVD commentary for offering little artistic insight. [Read](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/triumph-of-the-will-1200467599/)

## Details

- **Director:** Leni Riefenstahl
- **Director:** Leni Riefenstahl
- **Screenplay:** Leni Riefenstahl, Walter Ruttmann, Eberhard Taubert
- **Cinematography:** Sepp Allgeier, Karl Attenberger, Werner Bohne, Walter Frentz, Hans Gottschalk, Werner Hundhausen, Herbert Kebelmann, Albert Kling, Franz Koch, Herbert Kutschbach, Paul Lieberenz, Vlada Majić, Richard Nickel, Walter Riml, Arthur Schwertfeger, Károly Vass, Franz Weihmayr, Siegfried Weimann, Karl Wellert, Willy Zielke
- **Editor:** Leni Riefenstahl
- **Music:** Herbert Windt
- **Producer:** Leni Riefenstahl
- **Cast:** Adolf Hitler as Self; Max Amann as Self; Hermann Göring as Self; Martin Bormann as Self; Hans Frank as Self; Sepp Dietrich as Self; Joseph Goebbels as Self; Erich Raeder as Self
- **Runtime:** 1h 54m
- **First release (Germany):** 28 March 1935
- **Genres:** Documentary

## Where to watch in Croatia

Not streaming, renting or buying in Croatia at the last check.

## If you liked this

- *Night and Fog* (1956), Fi1m 91: A short, unsparing documentary that demands attention to the victims propaganda excludes. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/night-and-fog.md)
- *The Sorrow and the Pity* (1969): Interviews expose the evasions that survive long after an occupying regime.
- *The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On* (1987): A veteran’s investigation makes military obedience look anything but reassuring.
- *The Act of Killing* (2012), Fi1m 88: Perpetrators stage their own memories, with results that make spectacle deeply troubling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-act-of-killing.md)
- *State Funeral* (2019): Mass mourning becomes a careful study of ceremony, obedience and political power.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/triumph-of-the-will