Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)
Directed by Fritz Lang

Film Review

Arguably the artistic pinnacle of Fritz Lang's filmmaking career is his ambitious adaptation of Das Nibelungenlied, an epic thirteenth Century Germanic poem of heroism, betrayal and revenge.  The poem, whose author is unknown, was first performed in Austria in around 1200 AD, and is derived from folk legends stretching back to the 6th Century, having its factual basis in the fall of the Royal House of Burgundy in the 5th Century.  It was the inspiration for part of Richard Wagner's celebrated opera of 1876, The Ring, although this differs significantly from the original text.

Fritz Lang's film version of Das Nibelungenlied ran to five hours of screen time, across two films, known together as Die Nibelungen.  The first part, entitled Siegfried , deals with the death of the hero Siegfried; the second part, Kriemhilds Rache, tells the story of Kriemhild's bloody revenge.  It was one of the most expensive productions made by the pre-eminent German film company UFA, requiring a seven month shoot at a time of great economic strain (during Germany's period of hyper-inflation).

The screenplay was written by Thea von Harbou (Lang's wife, a successful author), who co-operated with Lang on many of his early films.  Lang intended the film to be a nationalistic work, promoting German culture.  Unfortunately, the film's nationalistic subtext made it an obvious mascot for the newly formed National Socialist German Workers Party - aka the Nazis - who even borrowed some of the film's design ideas.

Die Nibelungen is both a visually stunning example of German expressionist cinema and an exciting fantasy adventure with wide appeal.   The lavish sets combine a strangely magical Gothic romanticism with a very sinister kind of expressionism - with misty forests, creepy underworld lairs, a forbidding island, and shadowy fairytale castles.

The first of the films features two of most iconic sequences of expressionist cinema.  The first is an animated representation of a dream in which two stylised black eagles attack a white falcon, a portent of Siegfried's death.  The second is where a tree in blossom gradually morphs into in to a skull, a powerful visual metaphor for the brevity of life.

There are also some remarkable special effects, including some very effective and ingenious use of superposition.  The film's highpoint is Siegfried's fight with the dragon.  Even by today's standards, the realisation of the dragon is impressive - a huge full-size mechanical prop, so convincing that in most of the shots it really does look like a living creature.

Strikingly different to Lang's other films of this period, distinguished by its sense of old world poetry, Die Nibelungen is one of the supreme triumphs of the silent era of cinema, a beautiful, compelling and highly imaginative reinterpretation of one of the earliest works in German literature.

Film Synopsis

Having completed his apprenticeship to a blacksmith, Siegfried, son of Siegmund, king of the Netherlands, sets out for the court of King Gunther of Burgundy at Worms.  On the way, he encounters a fearsome dragon, which he slays with his sword.  Bathing in the blood of the dying dragon, Siegfried makes himself invincible - apart from one spot on his back which is covered by a leaf.   The dwarf Alberich leads him to the treasure of the Nibelung people, which he claims for himself, along with Alberich's cloak of invisibility.   Arriving at King Gunther's castle, Siegfried asks for the hand in marriage of Gunther's sister, Kriemhild.  Gunther agrees, providing Siegfried helps him win his bride, Brunhild, the warrior queen of Iceland.   Brunhild will only marry Gunther if he can defeat her in three athletic tests.  This he does, with the help of Siegfried's magical powers.   The royal weddings take place, but shortly afterwards Kriemhild and Brunhild get into a violent argument, with the latter discovering how she was tricked into marrying Gunther.  Enraged, Brunhild persuades her husband that Siegfried must be killed.   Hagen, Gunther's faithful vassal, performs the terrible deed, having tricked Kriemhild into revealing his weak spot.  Over Siegfried's corpse, Kriemhild swears that his death will be avenged...