Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker (1938)

Director:

Leni Riefenstahl

Writer:

Leni Riefenstahl (writer)

Release Date:

8 March 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin, orchestrated as Nazi propaganda.

Plot Keywords:

Propaganda | Nudity | Nude Dance | Female Nudity | Narration

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

David Albritton	...	Himself (high jump, USA) (uncredited)
Jack Beresford	...	Himself (carries British flag) (uncredited)
Henri de Baillet-Latour	...	Himself (IOC, stands with Hitler, with hurdlers) (uncredited)
Philip Edwards	...	Himself (800 metres, Canada) (uncredited)
Donald Finlay	...	Himself (110m hurdles, GB) (uncredited)
Wilhelm Frick	...	Himself (spectator) (uncredited)
Josef Goebbels	...	Himself (spectator) (uncredited)
Hermann Göring	...	Himself (spectator) (uncredited)
Ernest Harper	...	Himself (marathon, GB) (uncredited)
Rudolf Hess	...	Himself (stands with Hitler) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (declares Games open) (uncredited)
Cornelius Johnson	...	Himself (high jump, USA) (uncredited)
King Umberto II	...	Himself (stands with Hitler, salutes Italian team) (uncredited)
Theodor Lewald	...	Himself (German Olympic Committee, stands with Hitler) (uncredited)
Luz Long	...	Himself (long jump, Germany) (uncredited)
Spiridon Louis	...	Himself (walks behind Greek flag, in Greek costume) (uncredited)
John Lovelock	...	Himself (1500 metres, NZ) (uncredited)
Ralph Metcalfe	...	Himself (sprinter, USA) (uncredited)
Seung-yong Nam	...	Himself (marathon, Japan) (uncredited)
Henri Nannen	...	Announcer (uncredited)
Dorothy Odam	...	Herself (high jump, GB) (uncredited)
Martinus Osendarp	...	Himself (100 metres, Holland) (uncredited)
Jesse Owens	...	Himself (sprinter, USA) (uncredited)
Leni Riefenstahl	...	Nude dancer (prologue) (uncredited)
Mack Robinson	...	Himself (second, after Owens) (uncredited)
Julius Schaub	...	Himself (spectator, with glasses, behind Hitler) (uncredited)
Kee-chung Sohn	...	Himself (marathon, Japan) (uncredited)
Julius Streicher	...	Himself (spectator) (uncredited)
Forrest Towns	...	Himself (110m hurdles, USA) (uncredited)
Werner von Blomberg	...	Himself (spectator) (uncredited)
August von Mackensen	...	Himself (spectator) (uncredited)
Hans von Tschammer und Osten	...	Himself (spectator, in white suit) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

Also Known As:

Olympia - Fest der Völker - Erster Film von den olympischen Spielen Berlin 1936 (Germany) (poster title)
Olympia 1. Teil - Götter des Stadions
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (International: English title) (literal title)
Olympia: The Film of the XI. Olympic Games Berlin, 1936 (UK)
The Olympiad (USA)

Runtime:

Sweden:121 min | USA:111 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English | Italian | French | Japanese | Portuguese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Avus race track, Berlin, Germany

Company:

International Olympic Committee

Trivia:

Leni Riefenstahl first contacted the biggest German film studio, Ufa, in order for them to finance the film. Friedrich A. Mainz, the studio head refused because of cost, so she contacted Tobis-Filmkunst who agreed to finance the film and put up ½ million Reichmarks upfront (three times the cost of a standard film at the time). The contract was only signed in December 1936, four months after the end of the Olympic Games.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Wixxer, Der (2004)

Soundtrack:

Olympische Hymnne

Comment on gbheron Review

As you nicely pointed out the NFL footages that you watch today, and those of Olympia that were shot some 60+ years are the same. Which means that NFL is still using techniques that Leni Riefenstahl explored long time ago, which further means that she's 60+ years ahead of her time. When you denounce something you have to look at it from the historical context. This was groundbreaking at time, and every sport event coverage since borrowed from it. Leni Riefenstahl actually wanted to be catapulted with a camera to give an incredible feel of one of a kind sports event, but this could not be carried out. NFL ought to try some of this innovation that Leni considered long time ago, we're much more technologically advanced now...