Olympia; Festival Of The People
600. 0LYMPIA, PART 1 (Festival of the People) (1938-GERMANY). A MASTERPIECE OF cinema dedicated “to the honor and glory of the youth of the world.” A film based on the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. Produced and directed by LENI RIEFENSTAHL, controversial film maker and personal favorite of Hitler. Despite the politics, one of most beautiful films ever conceived. Covering the discus, hammer, foot races of various lengths, high jump, shotput, broad jump, javelin and pole vault events (among others), the film is really a song in praise of sport itself. Filmed by almost 100 cameramen who shot over a million feet of film, Riefenstahl took 1.5 years to complete the editing. Worth every minute! In English. 111 minutes Documentary