Der Heilige Berg (aka The Holy Mountain) (1926)

A dancer (Leni Riefenstahl) from the sea inadvertently comes between two best friends (Luis Trenker, Ernst Petersen) from the mountains. This leads to a tragic end in the German Alps. Written and directed by Arnold Fanck, this was the film debut of Riefenstahl as an actress. Visually, this is a beautiful film. The cinematography (its credited to four cameramen) is among the most stunning I've ever seen and captures the breathtaking and frightening beauty of the snow peaked Alps. Serene and beautiful one minute, stormy and threatening the next. There's an extremely lengthy ski competition that's mesmerizing and it's probable that when she turned director, Riefenstahl was influenced by Fanck's imagery. As to the narrative itself, it's full of symbolism that seems rather obvious but it doesn't hamper the scenic creativity that is the movie's ace. With Frida Richard and Friedrich Schneider.