The film spent six months in the editing suite. The two-hour running time represents approximately 3% of the footage Leni Riefenstahl shot.
Leni Riefenstahl had been given carte blanche by Adolf Hitler in the making of the film: effectively, the party rally was the first produced-for-camera event. However, at the beginning the word hadn't gotten through to officials at the airport and in the parade. Riefenstahl's cameramen were pushed away from the plane carrying Hitler, which is why we see only one out-of-focus shot of him descending from the plane and why the taxiing of the aircraft is repeated and out of sequence. During the parade a shot of the camera car passing the limo carrying Hitler reveals a dirty look from one of the passengers. Riefenstahl spoke to Hitler at the hotel about the way she'd been snubbed and from then on she and her crew had no problems.
Clips from this film were used in an Allied propaganda short, Charles Ridley, edited by [xxxxxx] of the British Ministry of Information, set to the British dance tune "The Lambeth Walk". The legions of marching soldiers, as well as Adolf Hitler giving his Nazi salute, were made to look like wind-up dolls, dancing to the music. Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels is reported to have seen a copy of the short film and was outraged beyond reason, leaving his screening room kicking chairs and screaming profanities.
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