Siegfried (1924) Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (original title)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Fritz Lang
Thea von Harbou

Release Date:

1924 (Poland)

Genre:

Fantasy | Drama | Adventure

Plot:

Siegfried, son of King Sigmund, hears of the beautiful sister of Gunter, King of Worms, Kriemhild. On his way to Worms...

Plot Keywords:

King | Dragon | Treasure | Sword | Spear

Cast

Gertrud Arnold	...	Koenigin Ute
Margarete Schön	...	Kriemhild
Hanna Ralph	...	Brunhild
Paul Richter	...	Siegfried
Theodor Loos	...	Koenig Gunther
Hans Carl Mueller	...	Gernot
Erwin Biswanger	...	Giselher
Bernhard Goetzke	...	Volker von Alzey
Hans Adalbert Schlettow	...	Hagen Tronje
Hardy von Francois	...	Dankwart
Georg John	...	Mime, der Schmied / Alberich, der Nibelung
Frida Richard	...	Die Runenmagd
Yuri Yurovsky	...	Der Priester (as Georg Jurowski)
Iris Roberts	...	Der Edelknabe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fritz Alberti	...	Dietrich von Bern
Grete Berger	...	Hunnenweib
Hubert Heinrich	...	Werbel
Rudolf Klein-Rogge	...	Koenig Etzel
Georg August Koch	...	Hildebrand
Rudolf Rittner	...	Ruediger von Bechlarn

Directed by
Fritz Lang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Fritz Lang
Thea von Harbou

Produced by
Erich Pommer	....	producer

Original Music by
Gottfried Huppertz

Cinematography by
Carl Hoffmann
Günther Rittau
Walter Ruttmann

Art Direction by
Otto Hunte
Karl Vollbrecht

Set Decoration by
Erich Kettelhut
Karl Vollbrecht

Costume Design by
Paul Gerd Guderian
Aenne Willkomm

Makeup Department
Otto Genath	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Rudi George	....	production manager
Gustav Püttjer	....	production manager

Art Department
Edgar G. Ulmer	....	set designer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Eugen Schüfftan	....	trick photography

Music Department
Hugo Riesenfeld	....	music arranger: Richard Wagner's music (1925)
Frank Strobel	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Decla-Bioscop AG
• Universum Film (UFA)

Distributors

• Oefa-Film Verleih (192?) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Arte (2011) (Germany) (TV) (digitally restored version)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinokuniya (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• LS Video (video)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1925) (USA)

Other Companies

• Hamburger Völkermuseum - Heinrich Umlauff  suit of armour and arms

Also Known As:

"Die Nibelungen: Siegfried" - Germany (original title)
"Die Nibelungen" - USA

Runtime:

Canada:140 min | Germany:143 min (restored integral version) | Germany:97 min | USA:100 min | Belgium:158 min (Belgian Filmmuseum, Brussels)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent | De Forest Phonofilm (US release)

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Berliner Union-Film Studio, Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Decla-Bioscop AG

Trivia:

A music score was recorded using the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. However, this soundtrack version was presented only at the Century Theater in New York City beginning on 30 August 1925.

Goofs:

Plot holes: The tip of the spear Siegfied is killed with exits through the chest. Since Siegfried is invulnerable except at the entry point this should not be possible. The same impossible chest wound is shown later to be the one bleeding when the murderer enters the room.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Deutschland kreuz und quer (1935)

One of the great masterpieces of any generation

I am not especially an aficionado of silent films though I have long loved Lang's 'Metropolis'. Being an opera lover, especially Wagner, it is to my shame that it has taken me decade to get around to watching Lang's masterpiece 'Siegfried'.

Even more than Richard Wagner's 4 Ring operas in 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' Lang's films tie in many of the ancient Nordic and Teutonic legends that contributed to Wagner's monumental creation.

Brunhild is a powerful Icelandic Queen, Siegfried the son of King Siegmund, all this quite different from the operas in that Siegmund was not a king in those. Also, Hagen, the evil deus ex machina is portrayed here as a Wotan like figure, with patched eye and horned helmet. Otherwise, the basic story is the same but more believable as drama than Wagner's highly fantastic story line.

This film is going to last a lifetime with me. And it is especially wonderful that the great musical score by Gottfried Huppertz has been included in the DVD release on Kino films. Its a haunting score and very much its own character. It doesn't try to imitate Wagnerianism but there are what Wagner called leitmotivs to represent the various characters and mood.

Even if you aren't a Wagner fan this film by Fritz Lang displays so many amazing innovations for 1924 that it puts the computerized f/x of our day quite in the shade in terms of novelty and human artistry.

I can't recommend 'Siegfried' highly enough. Haunting and beautiful, even in black and white. The Kino picture is quite clear and the acting superb.