The German population started going to the cinemas in increasing numbers during the 1930s due to the Weimar Republic bringing prosperity to the country. People watched film as a way of escapism as well as way of being informed about current news events. Advancements in technology and the level of craftsmanship in film created an excitement amongst the population. “Triumph of the Will” was revolutionary in the film industry, however; Riefenstahl’s impartiality is questionable when she produced the film. This is evident by her choice of camera angles and film techniques. The camera angles she used had rarely been seen before and she used hazy images as opposed to images that were visually clear. “Editing also disorients the viewer, making him lose perspective by sudden shifts of angle or from close-up to long shot.” Ken Kelman suggests that Riefenstahl’s editing alters the motives of the film from a documentary that is a simple account of events, to something that is more persuasive to the Nazi way of life.
Throughout the film, Riefenstahl constantly draws attention to the Fürhrer as the saviour of the Germanic people. For many of the years before Hitler’s election Germany had been in a state of national depression, due to the loss of World War One and the institutionalisation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler had promised a greater Germany and a more prosperous Germany. Near the start of the film (45:45-46:24) Riefenstahl captures the clouds with such grace and beauty. This could be interpreted as Riefenstahl drawing a link between Hitler and God; Hitler descending from heaven for the saviour of the Germans. Further examples of this are at (49:25) where Riefenstahl has shots of the statues, the angles of the scene again convey Hitler as a saviour, a God, a great figure in the German Empire. In the film Riefenstahl always had the camera aimed up at Adolf Hitler. She rarely filmed Hitler at head height or from an aerial view. She applied the same concept of “aiming upwards” to many of the Nazi symbols such as flags, swastikas or eagles.
On the rare account that the camera was at head height or higher, Riefenstahl ensured there were happy and adoring people in the background (50:45) to show the joy that Herr Hitler had brought to the people. An example of this is at (49:36) where the youth portray the Nazi ideology that Hitler will create a better future for the youth. The flags (50:51) show the sense of unity and pride Hitler has revitalised in the German people. The people in the background(48:32), depict the joy Hitler brought to many. The happy people are included to represent a change in Germany, Riefenstahl captures this moment to depict the new Germany, a united Germany under the jurisdiction of Adolf Hitler. How could the film be a mere documentary as Riefenstahl often states and not propaganda, when the Nuremberg rally itself, was to promote the Nazi authority? It is best pointed out by Richard Taylor who states that “Triumph of the Will” is "At the same time a superb example of documentary cinema art - and a masterpiece of film propaganda.” Although Taylor was not a biographer of Leni, or a Historian he is man that has a lot of experience in the film industry and therefore can be seen as a valid source.
“Triumph of the Will” was manufactured to give hope to the German people and put faith into the Nazi rule. The film captured the Nuremberg rally in a light that clouded many peoples proper opinions. It was a magnificent film, but at the same time an exceptional acquisition for Nazi propaganda. In the film Riefenstahl used many film techniques that were “unheard” of at the time and she revolutionised the film industry in this way. She composed an exemplarily film, on behalf of the Nazi’s, that brought hope to many Germans who had been disheartened and lost their sense of nationalistic pride, however it also blinded many to what the Nazi’s were truly capable of. The Nazi party utilised the increasing numbers, who were going too see films, to escape the melancholia that had surrounded the German people for the past 15 years to push the Nazi propaganda to more people then ever before.
