20 Documentary Movies You Must See Before You Die

10. Triumph Of The Will (1935)

And so it was filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl whom Hitler choose to direct his great Nazi propaganda "masterpiece," Triumph of the Will. Mere utterance of the name of the film, even to this day, is enough to make one shudder, and yet - despite its evil agenda to promote Hitler as a God - Triumph of the Will remains an essential social document.

As a piece of technical filmmaking, it is also something of a masterpiece; Riefenstahl pioneered and innovated many of the techniques that are taken for granted today, such as the crane shot, moving cameras and aerial photography. For that reason alone, Hitler's propaganda film is a notable artefact for cinephiles, but even casual viewers will likely be blown away with the sheer visual look of the movie.

It is a shame, ultimately, that Rienfenstahl's talents were wasted on such ghastly material. And yet Triumph of the Will remains an essential documentary for anyone interested in history and film history. Aside from being plainly interesting, it is the greatest of all propaganda films - and a window into the mind of one of history's most infamous tyrants.