Telling stories about Hitler... trying to get into the head of what made the Third Reich happen... well, it is an 'evil' that too many would see swept under a carpet rather than explored and studied.
Today I had two encounters with the Nazi World, and all without trying.
First, I was opening mail that came to the house and found in a plain brown wrapper that I had been sent a preview copy of Leni Riefenstahl's TRIUMPH OF THE WILL dvd.... Big red swastika against black staring at me. There is something so intrinsically disturbing about opening up a piece of mail and finding yourself holding something with a swastika staring at ya.
Then a bit later I was visiting my P.O. Box and found the latest issue of the UK magazine HOT DOG that the editor of said film mag sent me with the heads up that Verhoeven discusses the latest on HITLER inside. STRANGE DAY...
Now I want it quite clear that I do not embrace what the Nazis did... I don't think it was cool or neat or fun to watch... However, I can't help but be curious how so many followed and carried out something that is so impossible to wrap my brain around. Death Camps, Invasions, Bombings, Genocide and so on...
So I put on TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and sat back in the safety of my house and watched the film that helped create the nationalistic pride and self-confidence in their own righteousness that... well World War II and all the acts carried out therein could be committed.
Talking about TRIUMPH OF THE WILL is a lot like talking about BIRTH OF A NATION... these are two works of cinema of incalculable historical significance, but whose messages are so hard for so many to watch that the films themselves have been rooted in the very cause of hatred and crimes against humanity.
Personally, I have always approached this type of film from a distance. TRIUMPH OF THE WILL is a perfect work of propaganda. A film meant to motivate and inspire the masses. To diefy Adolph Hitler... To show how the Nazi Party was leading Germany out of the despair of depression... And watching the film I am struck on many levels.
First there is power of Leni Riefenstahl's mixture of images and music... Looking at this from the perspective of a German populace that was out of work, desperate to make a living and worried at all times about the future... I can't help but imagine what swelled up inside the chest of the average German in 1934 watching this film.
Next there is just the impact of watching the looks on the faces of the 'regular' citizens that you can not deny absolutely believed and were inspired by their Fuhrer. For me, I can't help, but look at Hitler and think, "Evil Son of a Bitch", but here you see faces and looks that remind of the faces and looks that young British teens had while chasing after the Beatles in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT... Here you see thousands upon thousands of young boys at a national camp outside Nuremberg... playing games, eating well and having the time of their lives... seemingly. Laughing and cheering... Looking at this, ya can't help but think of this Hitler Youth and the part they played in the years that lay ahead... If they lived through it all, did they ever smile again... What do they think of these times here? I mean, four years after this film in the United States my grandfather attended the CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR and the NATIONAL JAMBOREE... and having seen footage from those events... it recalls the same joyful spirit of living and being happy...
The difference is what these images were contributing to... The future that was being manipulated by the power of these images. Riefenstahl's film is the second most powerful work of Propaganda created... The first? Frank Capra's WHY WE FIGHT series which in turn used some of this very same footage to evoke the exact opposite effect. Personally, that's the only wish I had for this excellent DVD... that it had Capra's work on it as well. For me the two have always been married. Capra through further manipulation of the images and editing and sound and music... made what once looked so powerful, seem inept and weak... In Leni's film the Nazis are invincible... the chosen race... In Capra's? Nazis are subhumans and incompetent buffoons... beatable... easily beatable.
Lastly, watching Hitler himself on film... he is charismatic... you can see how his words affected these people in the film. (At least how Leni wanted us to think they affected these people, but given the outcome, I'd say it was accurate.) Hitler on film has such a strange air about him... Watching how he is portrayed in TRIUMPH OF THE WILL... it reminds of how Politicians try to portay themselves on the trail to becoming President. Wrapped up in the symbols of the country... Accepting flowers from the people.... Riding in parades.... Talking to the youth of the country.... The Farmers.... The Military.... Speaking forcefully about the future of their country.... About strong defense and strong military... The anthem of the country... The political rallies... masses of people cheering... All the images that go into creating the image of strong leadership.
Now, this DVD has some extras on it... The print is excellent, it has optional subtitles, a fairly disturbing short film by Leni Riefenstahl called DAY OF FREEDOM... and a very strong audio commentary by Historian, Dr Anthony R Santoro. Also of note, you should know that a portion of the sales of this DVD will be donated to The United States Holocaust memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, on the otherside of the news today is what Verhoeven said about his HITLER project in HOT DOG.... When Verhoeven was asked:
And are you still interested in making a Hitler Biopic?
Well, I've been talking to Ian Kershaw, who wrote two Hitler Books that came out last year, and yes, I am pursuing it. But again to find interest for a project that's so, let's say, controversial, is extremely difficult, especially from an American point of view. Again, partially retreating to Europe would be probably easier for a project like that than in the United States.
Then when further asked, "Which angle would the film come from?"
The original plan was placed on a proposal from Bobby Shriver, Schwarzenegger's brother-in-law. He came to me years ago with a proposal to do something about Hitler, notably the time between 1918 and 1925. The idea would be to show that charisma is not identical with good. So basically you would see how a charismatic person would be able to seduce 50 or 60 million Germans. And I think Bobby was also, of course, looking at American politics, probably at the Reagan period, to make a point through another piece in another time. I think he thought that would be a metaphor for part of American politics.
and lastly, "Are you optimistic about this film happening?"
No.
To read the rest of the interview try and find a copy of HOTDOG... Verhoeven also talks about his 'Cross of Iron' style film he wishes to make... a film about the German vs Russian side of WWII from the German perspective about the period where the Russians were just decimating the German army over a period of a year...
Also in a sidebar there is a note about HOFFMAN, the Dreamworks project where John Cusack plays a young Hitler, when Adolph was an art student under a Jewish Art Teacher.. The script is by Menno Meyjes and Cusack is quoted as saying, "The best script I've read since BEING JOHN MALKOVICH," and it should be noted that I would love to read this script.... LOVE LOVE LOVE to read it!
It's always hard to try and figure out how evil came to be, how horrible acts in history came to pass... But avoiding the history and the telling of these stories can only lead to further problems. I find that it is far more important to study and explore the 'what ifs' and the 'what abouts' regarding these dark chapters of history. Again, it isn't cool or neat or fun... it's important.
