Olympia (1938)

Original title

Olympia - Fest der Völker

Directed by

Leni Riefenstahl

Genre

documentary film, propaganda film

Country

German Reich

Runtime

3h 46m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 123 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This two-part documentary captures the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It shows athletes competing and the torch relay that was created for those games.

visually lushcelebratorytriumphantathleticmonumentalcontrolledstatelychoreographed

What happens

Olympia is a 1938 German propaganda and documentary film written, directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl, which documented the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin during the Nazi period. The film was released in two parts: Olympia 1. Teil — Fest der Völker (Festival of Nations) (126 minutes) and Olympia 2. Teil — Fest der Schönheit (Festival of Beauty) (100 minutes). The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay, as devised for the Games by the secretary general of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Carl Diem, is shown in the film. Olympia is controversial due to its political context and propaganda value. However, the techniques Riefenstahl employed are almost universally admired and had a lasting influence on film and television coverage of sport events. Olympia appears on many lists of the greatest films of all time, including Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Movies". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (1938)
• Triumph of the Will (1935)
• Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (1938)
• Wort und Tat (1938)
• Jugend der Welt. Der Film von den IV. Olympischen Winterspielen in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936)
• Weltstadt am Wasser (1937)
• Spreehafen Berlin (1937)
• Gestern und heute (1938)