"Now I have just seen it again and am stunned that I praised it. It is one of the most historically important documentaries ever made, yes, but one of the best? It is a terrible film, paralyzingly dull, simpleminded, overlong and not even 'manipulative,' because it is too clumsy to manipulate anyone but a true believer. It is not a 'great movie' in the sense that the other films in this group are great, but it is 'great' in the reputation it has and the shadow it casts."

Wow, I'm stunned at how honest Roger Ebert was about reviewing this famous of a film. Personally I thought the film was decent and had some great visuals but was ultimately fairly uninteresting.

Some of the editing is fantastic. The use of audio, also, is extremely well done.

That being said, I got really tired of watching parades about halfway through. I spent the first 20-30 minutes just marveling at the amount of resources that must have gone into flag and sculpture (not to mention pins, hats, shirts, patches, etc.) production in 30's Germany.Then I spent some time wondering how tired Hitler's arm must have gotten during that week, and whether he had done any special exercises or training to be able to salute more often and longer for the occasion.

After that, I struggled to get through the rest of the film.

I thought it started out good as an interesting historical document depicting the magnetism of the nazi leaders, partly explaining why so many Germans were taken in by their ideology, but in the last half of the film I think it became tedious. It is way too long. If this movie was edited down to 45 minutes, then it would be one of the greatest documentaries ever.