Leni Riefenstahl produced, wrote, and directed Olympia, a dazzling documentary of the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin during the Nazi regime.
From the start, Olympia has been controversial due to its political context and propaganda value, aimed to demonstrate Hitler’s notion of “Aryan Superiority,” the Nazi idea of “Strength Through Joy.”
It’s still a tough watch, raising the questions of Can a film transcend its political origins and goals? Can an overtly propaganda work be judged solely on its artistic merits?
That said, there is no doubt that the techniques that Riefenstahl employed were pioneering and ravishing in making a hymn of praise to athletic prowess, a poetic demonstration of the human body in motion. As such, they were almost universally admired, and had a lasting influence on film and television coverage of sport events.
Origins
The film was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, but it was financed entirely by the government using a company named Olympia Film GmbH. The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda oversaw the production of the film.
Joseph Goebbels first discussed making the film with Riefenstahl in June 1935, after she received an award for Triumph of the Will.
Deeming Riefenstahl as the best person to direct the film, Goebbels and Hitler offered her a considerable budget, which was later increased to meet the requirements of making an epic film, based on 250 hours of stock. Riefenstahl then edited the film over the course of two years.
The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay, devised for the Games by Dr. Carl Diem, the secretary general of the Organizing Committee, is shown in the film.
Many advance, groundbreaking techniques were employed, including unusual camera angles, unusual cuts, extreme close-ups and placing tracking shot rails within the bleachers.
Although restricted to six camera positions on the stadium field, Riefenstahl set up cameras in as many other places as she could, including in the grandstands. She attached automatic cameras to balloons, and she also placed automatic cameras in boats during practice runs.
For some, the greatest innovation in Olympia was the use of an underwater camera, following divers through the air and, when they hit the water, the cameraman dived down with them, while changing focus and aperture.
Premiere and Release:
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 premiere had to be postponed due to the Anschluss. Olympia was finally approved by the censors on April 14, 1938, and then released on April 20, Hitler’s 49th birthday, which was Riefenstahl’s idea.
Riefenstahl toured the U.S,, during which she met with Henry Ford and Walt Disney, in an attempt to distribute the film there. However, Kristallnacht and protests from organizations including the Jewish Labor Committee and Hollywood Anti-Nazi League doomed her efforts. Olympia was given an English-dubbed American release by Excelsior Pictures after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
There had been only a few screenings of Olympia upon its original release. It was re-released in the U.S. in 1948 under the title “Kings of the Olympics,” in a truncated version acquired from Germany by the U.S. Office of Alien Property Custodian and severely edited without Riefenstahl’s involvement.
In 1955, Riefenstahl agreed to remove 3 minutes of Hitler footage for a screening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the same version was also screened on West German TV and in cinemas around the world.
The reaction to the film in Germany was enthusiastic, and it was received with acclaim around the world. Among many kudos, Riefenstahl received the Gold Medal Award in 1948 from the Olympics Committee.
In 1960, Riefenstahl’s peers voted Olympia one of the best films of all time, due to its visually ravishing merits, which surpassed those of Riefenstahl’s previous effort, Triumph of the Will.
