Commissioned by Hitler, Leni Riefenstahl’s film of the 1936 Berlin Olympics remains nearly as controversial as her earlier Triumph of the Will. Some characterize the film as a tainted paean to Nazism and to Aryan perfection, citing proof in the form of the beaming Fuhrer’s many on-camera appearances. Others see Riefenstahl as subverting Hitler’s racist credo by means of her splendid footage of America’s black runner Jesse Owens, and defend her obsessive aesthetic commitment to beauty as bearing no relation to Nazi views on race, creed, and religion. Despite these opposing opinions, there is little argument that the most mesmerizing footage ever made of athletes in action abounds in Olympia.