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Olympia (1938 film)

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Olympia is a famous documentary film about the 1936 Summer Olympics. This movie shows the great athletes competing in Berlin. It was made by a director named Leni Riefenstahl. The film was released in two long parts. The first part is called "Festival of Nations." The second part is named "Festival of Beauty."

People still talk about this film today. It is on many lists of the best movies ever made. One famous list is from Time magazine. It is admired for how it shows the beauty of sport.

To make this film, Riefenstahl used many new ideas. These ideas changed how we watch sports on TV now. She used unusual camera angles to see the action. She also used extreme close-ups to see faces clearly. Some cameras were even placed on balloons to fly high. She put automatic cameras in boats during practice runs.

One of her best ideas was an underwater camera. This camera followed divers as they jumped into the water. It showed the movement of the water and the divers.

The history of the film is quite complicated. The Nazi government paid for the whole project. They used a company called Olympia Film GmbH. They wanted to use the film as propaganda. Propaganda is a way to spread a specific message. Joseph Goebbels was a leader who helped plan the film. He talked with Riefenstahl about it in 1935.

The budget for the film grew quite large. It started at 1.5 million RM. It eventually reached 2.35 million RM.

Many specific details help us understand the production. The film was approved by censors in April 1938. It was released on April 20, which was Adolf Hitler's 49th birthday. The film was very successful and made a profit. By 1943, it had made 114,066.45 RM.

Riefenstahl worked on editing the film for two years. She even tried to show it in the United States. She met people like Walt Disney during her travels. However, many protests stopped her from showing it there.

Even though the film is controversial, its art lives on. Many people look at the way it shows movement. For example, the diving scenes look like beautiful patterns. The film also shows the heroics of athletes like Jesse Owens.

In 1960, other filmmakers voted it one of the ten best films ever. It even won an Olympic Gold Medal in 1939. Today, you might see its influence in modern sports movies. Even music videos sometimes use clips from this old film.

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