Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations

• Cast: David Albritton, Arvo Askola, Jack Beresford, Erwin Blask, Sulo Bärlund
• Duration: 127 minutes
• Genre: Documentary
• Rating: 6.886/10
• Release Date: 1938-04-21

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.