In 1936, Berlin hosted the Olympics and Hitler asked director Leni Riefenstahl to film them. The result was a cinematic coup, but with sinister overtones

'The English attack, but the Germans are still in the lead," says the commentator as two Olympic rowing fours skim over the rippling water. "The English raise the tempo … They want to win again. But Germany is stronger. Germany wins!" The victorious boat glides past the spectator stands, and the four German athletes stick their arms out straight, just above head-height, in a proud Nazi salute.

This was the Berlin Olympics of 1936, immortalised in two films by the controversial director Leni Riefenstahl. Olympia Part I: Festival of the Nations and Part II: Festival of Beauty, both released in 1938, represent a tremendous aesthetic and technical cinematic achievement.

But they also represent something far more sinister. As Londoners obliged to pay extra taxes for the 2012 Games have been repeatedly told,...