- Architecture of Doom 1989

As bat-shit crazy as they were, you have to admit the Nazi party definitely had a handle on aesthetics. Hitler, an artist in his own right, oversaw the look and presentation of the Third Reich, which obviously played a key role in their influence over the people of Germany and their staying power in modern popular culture. Director Peter Cohen explores the ‘Nazi philosophy of beauty through violence’ in his film The Architecture of Doom, an informative yet somewhat dry look at the Nazi aesthetic. Cohen’s filmmaking style is comparable to a slightly less glossy Ken Burns’, relying on collages of stock footage and still photography accompanied by some somewhat austere narration. The information presented is quite dense and the film itself isn’t particularly cinematic or ‘entertaining’, but I don’t think that’s really the goal. It’s a history lesson on Hitler’s obsession with art and how it influenced his regime. One particularly interesting section deals with the Nazi propaganda films of the era, as overseen by Joseph Goebbels. A very interesting perspective on the Nazi party.