Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit (1938)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Leni Riefenstahl

Writer:

Leni Riefenstahl (writer)

Release Date:

29 March 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Olympics | Propaganda | Soccer | Decathlon | Gymnastics

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jack Beresford	...	Himself (rower, Britain)
Ralf Berzsenyi	...	Himself (small-bore rifle, Hungary)
Ferenc Csík	...	Himself (swimmer, Hungary)
Richard Degener	...	Himself (springboard diver, USA)
Willemijntje den Ouden	...	Herself (swimmer, Holland)
Charles des Jammonières	...	Himself (free pistol, France)
Velma Dunn	...	Herself (platfom diver, USA)
Konrad Frey	...	Himself (gymnastics, Germany)
Marjorie Gestring	...	Herself (springboard diver, USA)
Albert Greene	...	Himself (springboard diver, USA)
Tetsuo Hamuro	...	Himself (1st place, 200m breaststroke, Japan)
Josef Hasenöhrl	...	Himself (single sculls rower, Austria)
Heinz Hax	...	Himself (rapid-fire pistol, Germany)
Alois Hudec	...	Himself (gymnastics, Czechoslovakia)
Cornelius Johnson	...	Himself (high jump winner)
Adolph Kiefer	...	Himself (swimmer, USA)
Masaji Kiyokawa	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)
Käthe Köhler	...	Herself (platform diver, Germany)
Reizo Koike	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)
Erich Krempel	...	Himself (free pistol, Germany)
Eugen Mack	...	Himself (gymnastics, Switzerland)
Shozo Makino	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)
Rie Mastenbroek	...	Herself (swimmer, Holland)
Jack Medica	...	Himself (swimmer, USA)
Glenn Morris	...	Himself (decathlon, USA)
Dorothy Poynton	...	Herself (diver, USA) (as Dorothy Poynton Hill)
Katherine Rawls	...	Herself (springboard diver, USA)
Michael Reusch	...	Himself (gymnastics, Switzerland)
Willy Rögeberg	...	Himself (small-bore rifle, Norway)
Elbert Root	...	Himself (platform diver, USA)
Aleksanteri Saavala	...	Himself (gymastics, Finland)
Gustav Schäfer	...	Himself (single sculls rower, Germany)
Alfred Schwarzmann	...	Himself (gymnastics compeditor, Germany)
Johanna Selbach	...	Herself (swimmer, Holland)
Neda Senff	...	Herself (swimmer, Holland)
Arai Sheigo	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)
Uto Shumpei	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)
Erwin Sietas	...	Himself (swimmer, Germany)
Herman Stork	...	Himself (platform diver, USA)
Leon Stukelji	...	Himself (gymnastics, Yugoslavia)
Noboru Terada	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)
Torsten Ullman	...	Himself (shooting compeditor, Sweden)
Albert van den Weghe	...	Himself (swimmer, USA)
Cornelius van Oyen	...	Himself (rapid-fire pistol, Germany)
Matthias Volz	...	Himself (gymnastics, Germany)
Conrad von Wangenheim	...	Himself (steeplechase, Germany)
Catherina Wagner	...	Herself (swimmer, Holland)
Josef Walter	...	Himself (gymnastics, Switzerland)
Marshall Wayne	...	Himself (diver, USA)
Rolf Wernicke	...	Narrator
Masanori Yusa	...	Himself (swimmer, Japan)

Also Known As:

Olympia - Fest der Schönheit - Zweiter Film von den olympischen Spielen Berlin 1936 (Germany) (poster title)
Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (International: English title) (literal title)
Olympia: The Film of the XI. Olympic Games, Part II (UK)

Runtime:

Sweden:96 min | USA:90 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

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:

Referenced in Das Goebbels-Experiment (2005)

Almost As Good As the First Film

This is a fairly good companion piece to the first film. Even though it doesn't have the emotional impact of Jesse Owens exploits you did get to see some of the great performances that took place during "Hitler's Games". This film and the first film will always be remembered as two of the greatest sports documentaries every produced.