The first comment on this site identifies this film as "tatty" in comparison to Riefenstahl's Olympia (1938). However setting aside quality constraints such as budget (they do not compare); editing time (Junghans needed to get this to theatre with 3 months Riefenstahl was awarded 2 years); and access (Riefenstahl's was almost unlimited); what has been created is a masterwork of camera-craft and cinematography that created the foundations on which Riefenstahl's more illustrious oeuvre finds its basis.
Cinematographer Sepp Allgeier, responsible for capturing the iconic rally scenes in "Triumph of the Will", and his cameraman Hans Ertl developed slow motion techniques to capture the aesthetic beauty and form of winter events, particularly the ski jump, in a way that had not previously been used. This technique, along with Junghans' reverse editing, was later to be refined by Reifenstahl in the iconic high diving scenes in Olympia, again with Ertl behind the camera.
Junghans and Allgeier used this technique to full advantage, coupled with the complete absence of results and individual competitor names, to create a documentary of the beauty of alpinism rather than evidence of the Olympiad itself, much to the delight, no doubt, of the NSDAP leadership.
Whilst this many not be as high quality film as Riefenstahl's it is in many ways the "pilot" for Olympia's "mini series". Whilst not as refined and as honed, it is perhaps clearer to delineate and understand the influences of Fascism on the cinema of this period. As such it is a vital tool in understanding the make up of the "Fascist Aesthetic" and better understanding the Nazi psyche.
Steve Smith