Olympia (1938 film)

Olympia
Part 1 poster
Directed by	Leni Riefenstahl
Written by	Leni Riefenstahl
Produced by	Leni Riefenstahl
Cinematography	Paul Holzki
Edited by	Leni Riefenstahl
Music by	Herbert Windt Walter Gronostay Richard Strauss
Production company	Olympia-Film
Distributed by	Tobis
Release date	20 April 1938 (1938-04-20)
Running time	226 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German
Budget	2.8 million ℛ︁ℳ︁

Part of a series on

1936 Summer Olympics Venues Opening ceremony (torch relay) Medal table (medallists, German Olympic Decoration) Organisation (Hans von Tschammer und Osten, Carl Diem) Concerns and controversies In culture: Berlin 36, Charlie Chan at the Olympics, March Violets, Olympia, Olympische Hymne IOC NSRL

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Olympia is a 1938 German documentary film written, directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl, which documented the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin during the Nazi period. The film was released in two parts: Olympia 1. Teil — Fest der Völker (Festival of Nations) (126 minutes) and Olympia 2. Teil — Fest der Schönheit (Festival of Beauty) (100 minutes). The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay, as devised for the Games by the secretary general of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Carl Diem, is shown in the film.

Many advanced motion picture techniques, which later became industry standards but which were groundbreaking at the time, were employed, including unusual camera angles, smash cuts, extreme close-ups and placing tracking shot rails within the bleachers. Although restricted to six camera positions on the stadium field, Riefenstahl set up cameras in as many other places as she could, including in the grandstands. She attached automatic cameras to balloons, including instructions to return the film to her, and she also placed automatic cameras in boats during practice runs. Amateur photography was used to supplement that of the professionals along the course of races. Perhaps the greatest innovation seen in Olympia was the use of an underwater camera. The camera followed divers through the air and, as soon as they hit the water, the cameraman dived down with them, all the while changing focus and aperture.^[1]

While the craft employed are almost universally admired, Olympia is controversial due to its political context and propaganda value. Nevertheless, it appears on many lists of the greatest films of all time, including Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Movies".^[2]