OLYMPIA PART TWO: FESTIVAL OF BEAUTY (Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schonheit) (1938) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Leni Riefenstahl

"Riefenstahl’s second part of her legendary documentary Riefenstahl really does show the majestic Olympics in Nazi ruled Berlin as a work of art and, as the title say, a ‘festival of beauty’. With her careful and poetic photography, most famously of the diving, her portrayal of the sporting event is a magnificent one, where the athletes become gods from the legendary place of Greek mythology Olympus; with that concept in mind, she is able to create a new feeling within the documentary that lets its audience really get lost inside its beauty and fully connect with its significance. Often cited as one of the major works of Hitler’s propaganda, to call it this would be to understate its magnificence and importance, though Riefenstahl certainly may have been one of the few figures to turn propaganda into art."

Documentary, Germany