TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1935): On the Way to an Archaeological Biography of an Iconic Film

Abstract

TRIUMPH DES WILLENS / TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (TdW) has been analyzed many times; there are a variety of texts on the circumstances of its creation, its aesthetic strategies, its historical contexts and its political relevance. However, one of the most influential of those who have studied it to date, the film historian Martin Loiperdinger, identified two gaps in research back in the 1980s that have not been closed since: the film’s material history, i.e. its different versions, and the dissemination history of TdW, the migration of its images and sounds into countless other film and television productions.