Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty

1938
7.7| 1h40m| en
Details

The Second part of Olympia, a documentary about the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin by German Director Leni Riefenstahl. The film played in theaters in 1938 and again in 1952 after the fall of the Nazi Regime.

Director

Producted By

Olympia-Film GmbH

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Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) The 80-year-old, 90-minute "Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit" or "Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty" is centenarian Leni Riefenstahl's sequel to "Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker" and this one here focuses more on beauty as the title already says. However, that did not keep Riefenstahl from adding sports such as rowing. Oh well, some may even find this beautiful from an aesthetic perspective. But seriously, stuff like high diving included here justifies the title, even if there are certainly better ways to categorize what is in the first film and what is in here. The choice that makes probably the most sense is that athletics were in the first film and everything else is in here, such as cycling, fencing, football and a lot more. And just like with the first, it is once again a fairly neutral documentary, no propaganda like some of the films Riefenstahl made before the Olympic Games of 1936. French, British and American winners are shown. And this film is also after Riefenstahl's acting career. She had been Hitler's favorite filmmaker for a while already when she made this film. I must say I enjoyed this sequel, but not as much as the first. The closing ceremony at the end of the first film seemed like decent closure to the subject, but yes there is another film. It runs roughly 30 minutes shorter than the first though. But I guess it is okay, justice done to the winners and competitors that weren't show in the first film. Overall, this is an inferior sequel as it maybe tries to include too many sports in too little runtime and lacks further elaboration on the champions and contests, something I really liked about the first. Nonetheless, this was a really good watch and I recommend checking it out. Also one of the most defining sports documentaries in history. Thumbs up.
Boba_Fett1138 This is an even more beautiful looking documentary than was the case with the first Riefenstahl 1936 Olympics documentary "Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker". Perhaps it's because this movie focuses more on the more gracious looking sports, than was the case in the first movie, which focused purely on the sports being played within the Olympic stadium. Or perhaps it's also because the Netherlands actually won some gold medals in this part ;). This movie mostly focuses on all of the other sport being played outside of the stadium, indoors and outdoors. Sports such as fencing, boxing, swimming, hockey and everything else you can expect during the Olympics. Most sports are still featured now days at the Olympics. It's of course great seeing all those rs and how they were being played back then in 1936. Some things (for the better) have really changed.Because of the more wide diversity of sports, the documentary also seems like it's going faster as well. Basically every 5 minutes we get to see a completely different sport, being set also at a totally different location again. It also perhaps makes all more exciting to watch as well.Just like "Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker" it's a beautifully shot documentary, that set the standards for future documentary making. Leni Riefenstahl was a real pioneer in documentary making, regardless of what you think of her motives. Many of the used techniques are now common to the filming of sports.This movie also definitely feels less propaganda like than was still the case with "Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker". It still remains a weird sight though, seeing German officers helping out the athletes, as Olympic officials. This of course got very all well organized and planned out by Nazi authorities, which basically used the 1936 as one big piece of propaganda. At least it doesn't show as much of Hitler (actually no Hitler at all) and Nazi flag waving as was the case in the first part.A great and important achievement in the filming of sport and documentary making in particular, from Leni Riefenstahl.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
wfgwilliams This is basically part 2 of Leni Riefenstahl's coverage of the 1936 Olympic Games. It has a very different feel and approach in comparison to the first film and very easily stands on its own apart from that film.For one thing the propaganda in this film is very much less than in the first film. I spotted one swastika and I was looking for them. The political figures of the Third Reich, who make their presence obvious in the first film are absent in this one.Where the first film covered many of the traditional track and field events in the stadium of the Olympics, this one covers gymnastics and many non track and field events.Events covered include yacht races, rowing, a bicycle race, field hockey, soccer, the decathlon, some specifically military events, and men and women's diving. Additionally there are some equestrian events that I found particularly interesting.Most of the events are accompanied with on the scene commentary and followed by announcing or presenting the medal winners. The exception to this comes near the end with the men's diving competition. This is presented to music and edited so that it looks more like aerial ballet than a sporting event.I highly recommend this film.
Grand Rarely -- perhaps never before or since -- has the sheer beauty of the human body and the joy in its perfection been as well captured as in in "Olympia, Festival of Beauty". Watching this is film is to capture some sense of what the Ancient Greeks meant when they discussed _arete_ -- the "virtue" of being "beautiful" in body and soul. The great Humanists of the Renaissance would have been honored to count Miss Riefenstahl among their number had they been able, by some miracle, to see this canvas of Beauty in motion. As art, this film ranks with the works of Michaelangelo, Donatello, Phidias, and others who have scaled the empyrean heights and seen Humanity looking back at them. Poignant is the dolorous thought that within a few years so many of these paragons of _arete_ would be killed in the War. It is no wonder that Joseph Goebbels was said to have disliked Riefenstahl -- while she (even in "Triumph of the Will") held a mirror to the beauty of humanity and its highest aspirations, he dredged up the most noxious evils of the soul and twisted them into images of fear & horror; while she emphasized unity and camaraderie, he stressed division & distrust in order to secure his own vile position under the Fuhrer whom they both viewed so differently. Miss Riefenstahl portrayed people of all races and nations at the most sublime pinnacle of their own perfection, while a few years later Walt Disney and the Warner Brothers gave us buck-toothed Japanese midgets and paunchy German robots as The Inhuman Enemy. Today, however, it is SHE who is reviled. The more things change ... the more they remain the same