Watching the gears turn in Tag der Freiheit

Is it worth your time?

Look, if you’re into the history of film techniques, maybe. If you’re just looking for a casual watch, skip it. It’s for people who want to see how propaganda functions as a machine, not for anyone looking for a story. If you hate slow, rhythmic, highly repetitive imagery, you are going to absolutely despise this.

It’s weird watching something that is clearly trying to hypnotize you. Riefenstahl was a master at turning people into patterns.

You’re staring at lines of soldiers that stretch out until they’re just pixels of grey. It’s almost nauseatingly perfect. Every rifle is angled at the exact same degree. Every boot hits the mud at the exact same millisecond.

There is this one sequence where the camera just tracks along a row of faces. They aren't people anymore. They are just extensions of the uniform.

The rhythm of it all

The pacing is entirely dictated by the music and the stomp of feet. It’s like a metronome that never stops. It doesn't have the narrative flow of something like The Love Waltz, obviously. It’s just... rhythm. Constant, heavy, thumping rhythm.

You can tell the generals were happy with this one. It’s all about showing off the gear. The tanks look like toys, moving in these strange, blocky formations that feel so dated now. Everything feels so heavy.

I caught myself counting the number of times a certain type of field gun was shown. It’s a lot. More than you’d ever need to see.

• The sky is always that flat, ominous grey.
• The way the light hits the helmets is so deliberate it hurts.
• You can almost smell the exhaust from the trucks.
• Nobody ever looks like they’re having a good time.

It’s strange how much effort went into making them look like a single, unthinking organism. It’s not just a movie; it’s a terrifying display of ego. Riefenstahl knew exactly how to use a lens to make a small thing look like a god.

I found myself thinking about how thin the line is between this and a really well-made music video, if you strip away the context. But the context is everything, isn't it? It’s hard to watch it without feeling that sinking dread in your stomach. It’s a cold, calculated piece of work. There isn’t a single accidental frame in the entire run time. Everything is pointed, pushed, and polished until it shines.

I think I need a break from stuff like this for a while. It’s exhausting to watch people march in circles.