Watch The Victory of Faith For Free

Let's be realistic.

Excellent but underrated film

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

One gets a sense of déjà vu all the way through this trial run for 'Triumph des Willens', as so many of its images were deliberately recreated by Leni Riefenstahl a year later for the more famous film, which also reuses Herbert Windt's music; although sadly there is no zeppelin in 'Triumph des Willens'.In addition to being almost exactly half the running time of the interminable 'Triumph', it's the mismatches and the occasional moments of spontaneity that makes 'Der Sieg des Glaubens' the more endurable of the two films. The presence throughout of Ernst Röhm is naturally the most remarkable feature; usually at Hitler's side but otherwise not unduly prominent (the film overall contains mercifully far less speeches - and marching - although there do seem to be more rather more shots of Goebbels this time round).  After years of being accustomed to seeing the aerial view of the threesome of Hitler, Himmler and Lutze (Röhm's tame replacement as head of the SA) approaching the Ehrenhalle in 'Triumph', the sight of just Hitler and Röhm giving the salute comes as a jolt. The presence of Vice-Chancellor Papen (soon to be sidelined by the Führer until collared by the Allies in 1945 and brought back to Nuremberg as one of the defendants) reminds us that this is still very early days for the New Order, and Riefenstahl occasionally cuts to a suitably overwhelmed looking Italian delegation.Two amusing moments depicting the Führer caught slightly off-guard are early on when he immediately thrusts a bouquet of flowers two little girls have just presented to him in Rudolf Hess's direction; and the unaccustomed slouching posture he adopts while the leader of the Hitler Youth, Baldur von Schirach, attempts to quieten them down so that he can begin his address.

I love archive.org and learned about the site from IMDb. After all, many of the public domain films on the site have links on IMDb...and I followed the links to the site so I could download the pictures for free. In this case, however, there is no link on IMDb and I found "Victory of the Faith" by looking about archive.org. It's certainly NOT a typical film for the site and the story behind it is listed here on IMDb. This is apparently Leni Riefenstahl's first propaganda movie she made for the Nazi party and she would later go on to make the notorious pictures "Triumph of the Will" and "Olympia"...and effectively curtailed her career because she appeared to be a Hitler-lover. Sure, she later went on to make some small films but her days as a mover and shaker in the industry were gone after the war. Plus, no matter what she later said, she certainly did seem to admire Hitler and did her best to show him and the party in the best possible light! I've seen just about all her other films (including the two others I mentioned) but until I recently found this one, I assumed "Victory of the Faith" was a lost film. Read the IMDb trivia to find out how it became 'unlost'! After reading, you'll understand why this copy is a bit poor as well as how historically significant it is.What follows is a long and relatively dull film showing the Nazis at their rally at Nuremburg, just after Hitler and the Nazis assumed power over Germany. You'll see a veritable smorgasbord of evil Nazis, though for some reason Heinrich Himler is absent. Additionally, a delegation of Italian Fascists are on hand to sing the praises of Hitler. And, of course, there's Hitler doing what he does best--whipping up the crowds. Much of the film is essentially silent with added martial music. According to the film's intro, Riefenstahl didn't film the events herself but pieced together footage from the German press. Regardless, it's effective propaganda by some evil folks that is mostly of interest to historians or those who are intrigued by Rieenstahl and her sad legacy. Hard to rate...but interesting.

"Der Sieg des Glaubens" or "Victory of the Faith" is Leni Riefenstahl's second directorial effort (after "Das blaue Licht") and her first documentary about the Reichsparteitage of the German Nazi Party. She was roughly 30 when she made this one here. It is basically a less refined and less popular "Triumph of the Will". Propaganda movies were still a really new thing and you could see how this one still lacked the qualities of Riefenstahl's later works. It is also not as "epic" somehow. I think these films are interesting documents of their time nonetheless in terms of the historical context. Yes the contents are despicable and demagogic, but these films are still a chance to learn about history and understand what was going on, as absurd as it may be. All in all, I thought this was nonetheless not a particularly interesting watch. The only good thing is that it only ran for roughly an hour, considerably shorter than "Triumph of the Will" and that's perfectly fine in my opinion.

Like all of Ms. Riefenstahl's work this is a disturbingly effective piece of propaganda. When I look at the low scores that some people have given this film I understand. If you are looking for meaning and social redemption, then this film deserves less than a one. However, Ms. Riefenstahl shows us here, as in her later propaganda, how Hitler and his brownshirts seduced the German people. Hitler was elected by the German people who sought a solution to the Great Depression, reparations, and the slight they felt after an ignominious defeat in World War One. When we see the effectiveness of modern spin machines at shaping public policy we must look at this documentary with eyes wide open. Here Hitler is neither a clown nor a caricature but a messianic messenger that is freely embraced. Look closely and feel the seductive embrace of fascism. Look again and look at yourself in the mirror. The spell is seductive and mesmerizing. The German people lost and were butchered as surely as they butchered their victims. The world may not survive another conflagration like World Word II. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are above the mesmerizing spell of the roaring crowd. Ask yourself if you are willing to defy the crowd.