3. Triumph of the Will
Films don't get anymore controversial than Leni Riefenstahl's 1935 Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will. Like Birth of a Nation, film historians widely regard Triumph of the Will as one of the most innovative films ever made. Riefenstahl employed revolutionary cinematic techniques such as aerial photography and the use of wide angle lenses to distort perspective to capture the pomp of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. Although the film's technical merits are indisputable, remaining a major influence on filmmaking today, Riefenstahl's film remains a cautionary example of how cinema can be manipulated to obtain abhorrent ends.