Portal:Film/Selected article February 2006

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Triumph of the Will is a documentary-style propaganda film by the German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl chronicling the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. It features footage of uniformed Nazi party members marching and drilling to melodious major-keyed classical music, as well as excerpts from speeches given by various Nazi Leaders at the Congress, including portions of Adolf Hitler's own speeches. Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer. Triumph of the Will was released in 1935 and rapidly became the best-known example of propaganda in the history of the cinema. Riefenstahl's innovative techniques and revolutionary approach to the use of music and cinematography have earned Triumph recognition as one of the greatest films in history, although it is also considered controversial for its glorification of the Nazi regime. The film has continued to influence movies, documentaries, and commercials to this day, even as it raises the question over the dividing line between "art and morality."