Compare and Contrast Triumph of the Will (1935) and A Film Unfinished (2010)
Both Triumph of the Will (1935) and A Film Unfinished (2010) are remarkably unique documentary films about the Nazis. Triumph des Willens is a German film by German film director, Leni Riefenstahl, in which 6th Nazi Party Congress that took place in Numberg in 1934 has been chronicled. On the other hand, A Film Unfinished, a film by Israeli film director, Yael Hersonski, cannot itself be called a propaganda film. It is actually, an in-depth examination of Das Ghetto (The Ghetto), a German propaganda film produced by the Nazis in 1942 about the Warsaw Ghetto.
As far as propaganda films are concerned, Triumph of the Will is definitely one of the best ones ever made in cinematic history. Hilter himself had commissioned Riefenstahl to make this film and watching it can really make viewers temporarily forget the crimes committed by Hitler for the moment. After all, that is what propaganda is all about. A Film Unfinished, on the other hand is a documentary of the propaganda film Das Ghetto. Hersonski not only critically analyzes Das Ghetto but even prevents the Nazi-produced film from accomplishing its true goal, i.e. falsifying history, by reminding viewers of the nightmare that was the Holocaust.
Apart from the fact that the two films are primarily about Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, and they revolve around them, there is very little that is common between the two films. Triumph of the Will can become slightly boring because of dragging at times while A Film Unfinished remains engrossing and riveting till the very end. If these two films are to be contrasted, it would not be wrong to say that one is purely a propaganda film that tries to influence the audience, showing them the power he held but disguising the atrocities he committed, while the other is a debunking of a propaganda film.
Works Cited
Riefenstahl, Leni, dir. Triumph of the Will. 1935. Film. 10 Dec 2012.
Hersonski, Yael, dir. A Film Unfinished. 2010. Film. 10 Dec 2012.
