Director: Fritz Lang
Country: Germany
Award: none
Movement: German Expressionism
Die Nibelungen ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part German series of silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge. The scenarios for both films were co-written by Lang's then-wife Thea von Harbou, based upon the epic poem Nibelungenlied written around AD 1200. Die Nibelungen received its UK premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where it played for 40 performances between 29 April and 20 June 1924. Siegfried was released in the United States on 23 August 1925, premiering at the Century Theatre in New York City in the short-lived Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Kriemhild's Revenge was released in the U.S. in 1928. Part 1, Siegfried This lushly produced UFA production from Fritz Lang was adapted from the Norse sagas, and also from the Wagner operas Siegfried, Gotterdaemmerung, and Lohengrin. There is also a sequel -- Kremhilde's Revenge (Kriemhild's Rache). Siegfried (Paul Richter), son of King Siegmund, masters the art of forging a sword at the shop of Mime (George John). On his journey home, he hears tales of Kriemhild, the princess of Burgundy (Margarete Schoen). En route to Burgundy, Siegfried slays the dragon Fafnir, and bathes in his blood. This mades him invulnerable to attack -- except for one spot on his shoulder blade which he has missed. After finding the treasure of the dwarfs, Siegfried arrives in Bergundy. He meets the beautiful Kriemhild and accompanies King Gunther (Theodor Loos) to Iceland. The king wins the powerful Brunhilde (Hanna Ralph) as his wife, and Siegfried weds Kriemhild. Brunhilde plots to have Siegfried killed and makes up lies about him to the King. Gunther's uncle, Hagen Tronje (Hans Schlettow), finds Siegfried's weak spot and pierces it with a spear. After confessing that she made up stories about Siegfried, Brunhilde kills herself. An interesting side note: Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels both claimed this film as one of their favorites. Part 2, Kriemhilde's Revenge The second portion of German director Fritz Lang's two-part silent epic Die Nibelungen (part one was 1924's Siegfried), Kriemhild's Revenge opens with mythical heroine Kriemhild (Margarethe Schoen) vowing to avenge the murder of her husband Siegfried. Realizing that her brother, King Gunther (Theodor Loos), is too weak-willed to bring the culprit--her villainous half-brother Hagen Tronje (Hans Adalbert Von Schlettow)--to justice, Kriemhild plots her own private vengeance. Later, Kriemhild is obliged to participate in a "marriage of state" to Burgundian King Etzel (Rudolph Klein-Rogge, who later played Rottwang in Lang's Metropolis). At the wedding festival, she takes the Burgundian revellers hostage, promising to free them if they'll kill Hagen Tronje, who is one of the guests. Their refusal leads to the film's climactic bloodfest, during which Kriemhild metes out justice with Siegfried's magic sword. An astonishingly elaborate and expensive effort (much more so than any American film of 1924), Kriemhild's Revenge is admittedly rough sledding until its lively finale, especially when shown in its original 140 minute length.
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