Die Nibelungen
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Movie Reviews of Die Nibelungen
Movie Review: Long Awaited Greatest German National Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Dir. Fritz Lang. Germany. 1924. Total time: 291 mins. B&W. Full-frame (1.33:1) Original 1924 score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Munich Radio Orchestra. This 2-part film is one of the greatest artistic and technical achievements of the German silent cinema. Fritz Lang's adaptation of "Das Nibelungenlied", a medieaval novel from ca. 1190, is a passionate story of love, hate, revenge and fate.
Lang's wife, Thea von Harbou (Metropolis) co-scripted this epic production. Part I, "Siegfried" centres on Siegfried who sets out in order to win the hand of Princess Kriemhild (Margarete Schoen). On the way, he battles a ferocious dragon, bathes in its blood and becomes (almost) invincible. Siegfried (Paul Richter) must also win a bride King Gunther (Theodor Loos), Kiremhild's brother. The result is ominous!!!
Part II "Kriemhild's Revenge" begins after the death of Siegfried, and weaves the treacherous tale of his widow's ungodly vengeance upon his murderer, Hagen.
This edition of Die Nibelungen is more than 100 minutes longer than any version previously available in the U.S. and restores Lang's materwork to its full glory. The original version had been re-edited and most material lost during WWII. In 1986, the film was restored by the Munich Film Museum to the most accurate approximation of the original version. Now after 16 years, this restoration is finally available for perusal and should initiate a massive spate of reappraisals.
Supplemental features:
Footage of Fritz Lang on the set
Production design and special effects sketches by Erich Kettelhut (intercut with scenes from the films)
Comparison of the dragon-slaying scenes from Siegfried and The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Original 1924 score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Munich Radio Orchestra
Essay by film scholar Jan-Christopher Horak
Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer editions
New-and-improved English title translation by Ingrid Scheib-Rothbart
Photo gallery, including rare, behind-the-scenes images
Movie Review: A classic tale brought to the silver screen
Summary: 5 Stars
Die Nibelungen (1924) filmed at UFA ("The UFA Story" ISBN: 0809094835). Director Fritz Lang, the original story "Siegfried's Tod" I have seen it with German subtitles and other versions with English subtitles. Paul Richter (Siegfried) was in 45 other films, from 1921 to 1972.
Siegfried (Paul Richter) is the son of the King of Xnnetn (Sigmund). He forges his own sward so sharp that it cuts chicken feathers.
He is told that near the Rhine at Worms the King of Burgundy (Gunter) and his sister, Kriemhild is at a castle.
Siegfried, "On the hour I leave for Worms to win Kriemhild"..."Show me the way if you want to live!" He falls for the "I know a short-cut" routine.
Die Nibelungen snickers when he is out of earshot;"Your way leads not to Worms, but to Death" Guess who lives in the heart of the forest? Yep it is Fafnir the Dragon.
Poor Fafnir was minding his own business getting a drink when Siegfried gets that "What can I hack" look on his face. The dragon even wags his tail with the approach of Siegfried.
I won't give you the blow by blow. I'll just say that smoking can kill you. Fafnir gets stuck for the drinks and dragon blood drinks allows you to understand the birds. A little birdie tells him that bathing in dragon blood will make him invulnerable.
You guessed it. Cover your eyes. Oops look real quick. "Dragon tail flicks a linden leaf on Siggie's back." Can you say Achilles heel?
Meanwhile back at the castle Volker von Alzey is already singing to Kriemhild of Siegfried' triumph over Fafnir. From here it goes on to deal with treasure, invisibility, and all the stuff that Teutonic mythology holds.
Fritz Lang Epic Collection (Metropolis/Die Nibelungen/Woman in the Moon/Spies)
Movie Review: Now you will hear of wonders told...
Summary: 5 Stars
If Murnau's FAUST is pure dream-like fantasy, never settling on anything solid but dissolving from one mist-filled, wildly imaginative scene to another, Lang's DIE NIBELUNGEN is a fantasy film that has its feet firmly planted on the ground.
And what a ground it is: the sets, all full-sized (mostly), the miniatures, the outstanding costume design, the in-camera visual effects, the life-sized dragon that actually blasts Paul Richter with fire, all make up an amazing and economic retelling of the medieval epic, The Nibelungenlied. Gottfried Huppertz's original orchestral score has been reconstructed and recorded for this release and it is so good - Wagnerian but without resorting to Wagner - that I'm surprised it never had a life of its own in the concert hall. It's almost as if the images on the screen are an accompaniment to the music itself, rather than the other way around.
This two disc set is great. The cinematography, sharp and clear and real rather than foggy and fantasy-like, really comes out in this restored print. There is some quick and slightly distracting digital cutting and pasting to clean up certain damaged areas, especially in Part II, but this release is more than good enough until a complete restoration hits the shelves in the future.
An epic tale of how a single lie destroys two kingdoms and lays the land to waste, it is surprising that DIE NIBELUNGEN was so popular with Hitler and his brood. But then, like the characters in Part I, they were fully convinced that what they were doing was right. The codes of honor in Part I become liabilities in Part II, and everything goes straight to hell. It is said that SIEGFRIED was Hitler's favorite film; like most corrupt leaders, he never delved deeper into the rest of the story. And as a result, entire kingdoms were laid waste.
Movie Review: Before LORD OF THE RINGS there was...
Summary: 5 Stars
DIE NIBELUNGEN (The Nibelung Saga). This 1924 epic from Fritz Lang is the Grandaddy of all fantasy epics and now it can be seen as it was first presented with over 100 minutes of footage restored and with the original music that was composed for it by Gottfried Huppertz. With all the attention being given to Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, this is the perfect time to release this film giving us the opportunity to see a silent equivalent of Jackson's great feat.
For those of you familiar with the Wagner RING cycle there are some similarities but in fact it's an entirely different story. The entire running time is close to five hours and is divided into two separate films SIEGFRIED and KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE. The entire story deals with deeds of valor and codes of honor and what happens when they are carried too far. Along the way there are dwarves, magic, blood oaths, ferocious battles and the devastating consequences of raw emotions. The parallels to what would happen in Nazi Germany a few years later are truly startling. Lang showed the world what would happen 20 years before it did.
The outstanding restoration work done by Transit Films coupled with the powerful new soundtrack of the original score from the Munich Radio Orchestra makes viewing and hearing this masterpiece a thrilling experience. From the stylized barbaric sets and astonishing camera effects through the stylized acting and actions, we see more than German silent cinema at its zenith, we are witness to the rebirth of a truly great work of art. The DVD comes loaded with a number of special features that give background on the film and the people responsible for it.
Movie Review: AN EPIC WORTHY OF THE TERM
Summary: 5 Stars
Intricate, intelligent, and charged with emotional intensity, Fritz Lang's cinematic telling of the great German legend is truly magnificent to behold. Made when silent films were at their height of artistic and dramatic expression, DIE NIBELUNGEN puts the CGI blockbusters of today to shame. The film perfectly captures a medieval atmosphere with an authentic feel to the sets and costumes. The performers especially are perfectly in tune to the grandeur this subject matter demands. Everything is in keeping with how epics should be made, and Kino did a splendid job of presenting the film in a fully restored edition that looks glorious. And there's a lot to see - just knowing that the grand sets were actually constructed for the film instead of having the actors popped into computerized backgrounds adds a dimension of reality lacking in most contemporary films of this type. Maturely told, DIE NIBELUNGEN proves that a film doesn't need spoken dialogue to be great. The musical score on Kino's DVD is the original 1924 composition, and it amply provides the appropriate degree of power and passion . Not recommended for those with short attention spans, DIE NIBELUNGEN belongs in the collection of every serious classic film lover.