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Die Nibelungen

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Editorial Reviews

siegfried establishes larger than life heroic characters who are defined by tests of valor & rigid codes of honot. kriemhilds revenge begins after the death of siegfried & weaves the treacherous tale of his widows ungodly vengeance upon his murderers. Studio: Kino International Release Date: 11/09/2004 Starring: Paul Ritcher Hanna Ralph Run time: 291 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Fritz Lang

Customer Reviews

An Outstanding Nibelung Legend

Reviewed by G P Padillo, 2009-12-26

No, not Wagner's, Fritz Lang's.

For several days now I've been obsessed overwatching Fritz Lang's two films
comprising his monumental epic "Die Nibelungen." Having spent most of my
life glimpsing bits of "Siegfried," it has been a phenomenal experience
finding KINO's painstakingly restored version of both it and "Kriemhilde's
Revenge."

The film truly is remarkable and must be seen to be believed. All the more
remarkable when one realizes almost (or all?) of it was filmed in a
soundstage. Even the amazing trees in Siegfried were man made!

First off, the story is quite the departure most of us know from Wagner's
epic, though many characters - in name at least - are familiar.

Hagan is the true villain of both films and Hans Adalbert von Schlettow is
a menacing, enormous, nasty Hagan.

The biggest character difference would have to be Brunnhilde who, here, is
a fiery, vindictive man eating warrior. Her castle (on a rocky mountain in
Iceland!) is encircled by a sea of flames. Yet another impressive visual
from Mr. Lang's company. Hannah Ralph's rather butch Brunnhilde can only
be won if Gunther can best her in 3 physical challenges - otherwise he
faces death. This section has its humorous element as Siegfried puts on
the magic tarnhelm and Gunther merely goes through the acts (the jumping
scene is a howler, but still impressive).

Paul Richter is terrific as Siegfried with his bleached blonde chopped mop
of hair. Margarete Schön is Kriemheld the love of his life. Docile and
dutiful, her performance in Siegfried in no way prepares you for the
revenge driven, unrelenting Queen of the Huns, Kriemheld becomes in the
second film "Kriemheld's Revenge" where the eternally grieving Kriemheld
takes up with no less than Attila the Hun, and bears him an heir! Attila
is played as a marvelous grotesque in a searing performance by Rudolf Klein
Rogge.

Siegfried has what must be one of the earliest nude scenes for a general
release motion picture. Paul Richter, the actor portraying Siegfried, had
daily fights with Lang over how he was being shot, etc. Things reached a
head when Richter refused to shoot the pivotal nude scene where the hero is
required to bathe in the blood of the freshly slain dragon to become
invincible. To take a dig at Richter, Lang called in his Attila, the not so
attractive Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Klein-Rogge immediately stripped and
performed the scene as Richter, quite vain about his perfect body, stood
off watching from the corner infuriated audiences would now see Klein-
Rogge's bare tuckus and believe it to be Richter's!

Gottfried Huppertz's score provides an excellent accompaniment to the film
at times recalling some Wagnerian themes, most notably a recurring (and
moving) passage based on the Act III Tristan prelude. At times some themes
are overused a bit and I almost believe complete silence would not have
been a bad idea. (But they didn't ask me, now then, did they?)

Lang works absolute cinema magic in both films. I can't imagine sets and
costumes more exciting or stunning than these. The robes in which he
covers Kriemheld, alone, are absolutely breathtaking; futuristic art deco
patterns over ancient designs. Indeed, the number of jaw dropping visual
moments are countless here. For anyone with an interest in Wagner's Ring,
or fans of early cinema this "Nibelungen" is a definite must see.

AN EPIC WORTHY OF THE TERM

Reviewed by C.K., 2009-03-12

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.

Now you will hear of wonders told...

Reviewed by Sean William Menzies, 2008-09-26

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.

A Fantasy masterpiece closely tied to history

Reviewed by Ralph Ferdingstadt, 2007-05-17

Basically, a film version of the 12th century epic poem, The Nibelungenlied. Film scholar Jan-Christopher Horak, in his essay included on this 2 DVD set, states flatly that Fritz Lang's movie, Die Nibelungen, is "pure propaganda." I must assume he means German Nationalist propaganda, as the movie came out in 1924 and the National Socialist Party was still newly instigated, and not yet in power. In fact, at the time the film was in production, Hitler was in jail for his part in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, writing Mein Kampf, and still virtually unknown to the nation at large. But even then, Germany's Nationalist movement was intent on overturning the Versailles Treaty, which installed the Weimar government, limited Germany's military, as well as her productivity, and left her population to starve paying reparations. If the film is propaganda, it must be for it's take on loyalty.

The two DVD set is beautiful: The transfers are clear and bright, and the cinematography is fantastic. I'd consider this movie worth keeping for both the story, which is a classic tale of love, betrayal and revenge, and the imagery, which hales from an age where film was often treated as fine art, and this film its highest expression. The DVD set is bare bones, though. It has the afore mentioned print documentary and some production stills, but that's about it. Its real appeal is the extra footage, the immaculate transfer, and of course, the epic itself.

My first viewing of Fritz Lang's masterpiece came immediately after reading an English translation of the Twelfth Century epic poem, The Nibelungenlied (or: The Lay of the Nibelung) upon which this movie is based. Both share the same characters and plot line, with the only significant differences being the addition of the dragon slaying scene, only referred to in the book; using Hunnish king Etzel's more recognizable name (to most American audiences, at least) Attila the Hun; and the final scene, which I won't mention for those who have neither read the book, nor seen the movie.

The story is loosely based on real life characters. Both kingdoms did exist. The presence of Attila places the story firmly in the fifth century. The movie adds his departing to sack Rome, and other details of lesser significance, though numerous, not unlike Jackson's treatment of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, only less so. To some, it may be difficult to imagine The Burgundians accepting an invitation to visit Kriemhild after she married Attila, as he was a figure of fear to the Goths, and named by them, "The Scourge of God," but they were honor-bound to do so.

The sense in which Die Nibelungen is propaganda is that Germans were meant to identify with the central figures in it, primarily the traditional national hero, Siegfried, his abused widow, Kriemhild, and the Burgundian King Gunther's henchman, Hagen. The "stab in the back," later referred to by Hitler in reference to the 1918 Versailles Treaty, was intended to conjure up visions of Siegfried being run through by Hagen. And perhaps the German people could see themselves in both Siegfried, and Kriemhild. The parallels are plain: Siegfried and Kriemhild are Germany; the stab in the back was the Versailles Treaty imposed at the end of the first world war; Gunther and Hagen are the Weimar Republic and the League of Nations respectively, and the Huns are the foreign powers from which Germany must enlist aid (Russia, Hungary, et al) to obtain revenge.

It is also possible that Lang and Harbou, the writer(s) of the screenplay, intended the audience to identify with the Hagen character, who is a model of loyalty up to and including his death. No doubt many who did, later followed Hitler. Hagen is depicted by both the book and movie as acting strictly out of loyalty to king and country with no regard to himself, or even morality. And extreme loyalty was vaunted as a high virtue by Hitler's followers, as it was to the story's original medieval audience, who considered utter loyalty by a vassal a virtue. However, the honor accorded Hagen was also due to his prowess as a warrior. But given the medieval mindset, the subtext of his honor must be his loyalty to Gunther, as such was his bond of fealty. Hagen's character was not unlike those who, after World War II, refused the ignoble claim that "I was only following orders" to distance themselves from their Führer. In this light, Hagen was not so much bloodthirsty, as angry at the inevitability of having to die due to an irredeemable set of circumstances. But even if one accepts Hagan as a somewhat sympathetic figure, loyal to his king and unflinching in the face of death, the story's sense of loyalty might be somewhat lost on modern audiences.

The story has two opposing, but ultimately equally disastrously fated central characters; interchangeably protagonist and antagonist: Kreimhild, who could no more refrain from seeking revenge for the murder of her husband and loss of her fortune, than could Hagen be disloyal to his liege lord. This is the principle conflict in Die Nibelungen, and I suppose what gives the story its enduring appeal. But it's hard to tell if these dueling antagonist/protagonist roles were intentionally left in the movie to the end of driving its German audience to action, or as a warning. Frankly I find the coincidences between the fantasy and the ensuing reality more than a little striking. If the movie was meant to be taken as a metaphor for Germany, if she followed in the footsteps of those depicted therein, did her people think they'd somehow escape their fate? Knowing the predicament Germany was in after World War One, and knowing Germans would see their nation in the story, Fritz Lang may have intended Die Nibelungen as a warning. It's high tragedy, and a beautifully done Gothic film, but if the German people failed to see their fate closely tied to that of its central pro/antagonists, the only explanation is that either they were not looking, or simply didn't care.

a triumph

Reviewed by Laurie D. Wheaton, 2006-11-11

Watch this movie, soak in the lush forests and beautiful landscapes. Follow the life of the greatest germanic hero Siegfried as he surrenders the hort to the poor citizens of Worms and cry when he is betrayed and brutally killed - remember that no good deed goes unpunished.

Die Nibelungen, and especially Siegfried, is one of my favorite movies. Some of you may laugh but Lord of the Rings doesn't come close to Fritz Lang's breath taking masterpiece. Truly a story that sparks something wonderful in the dark human soul. You can almost hear the gutteral strains of beerhall songs at oktoberfest and witness the mad nazi propoganda of the 20's and 30's.

Do yourself a favour and purchase this movie.