Movielogr
Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations (1938)
Directed by Leni Riefenstahl
Overview
Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games’ most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.
Rated NR | Length 127 minutes
Actors
David Albritton | Arvo Askola | Jack Beresford | Erwin Blask | Sulo Bärlund | Ibolya Csák | Glenn Cunningham | Henri de Baillet-Latour | Philip Edwards | Donald Finlay | Tilly Fleischer | Wilhelm Frick | Joseph Goebbels | Hermann Göring | Ernest Harper | Karl Hein | Heinz Herman | Rudolf Heß | Adolf Hitler | Volmari Iso-Hollo | Cornelius Johnson | Matti Järvinen | Elfriede Kaun | King Umberto II | Kalevi Kotkas | Gustaf Alfons Koutonen | Luise Krüger | Maria Kwasniewska | Theodor Lewald | Luz Long | Spiridon Louis | John Lovelock | Gisela Mauermayer | Earle Meadows | Ralph Metcalfe | Paula Mollenhauer | Väinö Muinonen | Seung-yong Nam | Henri Nannen | Yrjö Nikkanen | Shûhei Nishida | Paavo Nurmi | Dorothy Odam | Martinus Osendarp | Jesse Owens | Leni Riefenstahl | Mack Robinson | Ilmari Salminen | Julius Schaub | Kee-chung Sohn | Julius Streicher | Gerhard Stöck | Naoto Tajima | Erkki Tamila | Kalervo Toivonen | Forrest Towns | Werner von Blomberg | August von Mackensen | Hans von Tschammer und Osten | Hans Woellke | Sueo Ôe