Olympia

Also known as Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations, Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty

1938 black-and-white Nazi propaganda documentary film, written, directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl, about the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin

Film · TMDB

6.9

Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.

Released: 1938-04-21127 minDir: Leni RiefenstahlDocumentaryBudget: $550,000Part of: Olympia Collection

Stream on: Criterion Channel, FlixFling

Cast

David Albritton as Self - High Jump, USA (uncredited)
Arvo Askola as Self - 10000 Metres, Finland (uncredited)
Jack Beresford as Self - Carries British Flag (uncredited)
Erwin Blask as Self - Hammer Throw, Germany (uncredited)
Sulo Bärlund as Self - Shot Put, Finland (uncredited)
Ibolya Csák as Self - High Jump, Hungary (uncredited)

Themes

~7 min read

Article

Olympia is a 1938 German propaganda and 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.

Olympia is controversial due to its political context and propaganda value. However, the techniques Riefenstahl employed are almost universally admired and had a lasting influence on film and television coverage of sport events. Olympia appears on many lists of the greatest films of all time, including Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Movies".