Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)

Siegfried, son of King Sigmund, hears of the beautiful sister of Gunter, King of Worms, Kriemhild. On his way to Worms, he kills a dragon and finds a treasure, the Hort. He helps Gunther to... See full summary »

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou

Stars:

Paul Richter, Margarete Schön, Theodor Loos

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gertrud Arnold	...	Queen Ute
Margarete Schön	...	Kriemhild
Hanna Ralph	...	Brunhild
Paul Richter	...	Siegfried
Theodor Loos	...	King Gunther
Hans Carl Mueller	...	Gernot
Erwin Biswanger	...	Giselher
Bernhard Goetzke	...	Person from Alzey
Hans Adalbert Schlettow	...	Hagen Tronje
Hardy von Francois	...	Dankwart
Georg John	...	Mime the blacksmith / Alberich the Nibelung
Frida Richard	...	The Runes Maid
Yuri Yurovsky	...	The Priest (as Georg Jurowski)
Iris Roberts	...	The precious boy
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fritz Alberti	...	Dietrich von Bern

Storyline

Siegfried, son of King Sigmund, hears of the beautiful sister of Gunter, King of Worms, Kriemhild. On his way to Worms, he kills a dragon and finds a treasure, the Hort. He helps Gunther to win Krimhild, a mask that makes him invisible proves to be very useful. But because Brunhild is cursing Kriemhild, she tells her what really happened. Now Brunhild wants Siegfried's head. Is Gunther going to do her that favor?

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Plot Keywords:

king | dragon | treasure | sword | spear | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

1924 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Die Nibelungen

Filming Locations:

Berliner Union-Film, Oberlandstraße 26-35, Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Decla-Bioscop AG, Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min 143 min (restored integral) 158 min (Belgian Filmmuseum, Brussels)

Sound Mix:

Silent De Forest Phonofilm (US release)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

When Kriemhild wakes up finding her dead husband, Siegfried's chest visibly rises and falls, indicating breathing.

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Crazy Credits

Karl Vollbrecht receives a credit as "Erbauer des Drachens" -- 'dragon builder'.

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Connections

Version of Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 - Siegfried (1966)

User Reviews

Superb fantasy

I saw this on the big screen with live organ accompaniment (from the original film score) last night and I'm glad I did. Most people don't know Fritz Lang for anything before *Metropolis*, but this is a film which, to my mind, matches the best of what he has done. It's incredible to see what they were able to do with the wild set design. The score was suitably intense at moments. And the story was a pretty touching one about the fall of Siegfried.

The scenes I was amazed by in particular are: the dragon-slaying sequence (which, at first, elicited laughs because of the obvious artificiality of the creature but then got sounds of pity as he lay slain with blood shooting from his torso); Kriemhild's dream sequence, which has to be the earliest example of animation I've seen (the animation and accompanying music are pretty dark and disturbed--they gave me the creeps); and the approach to Brunhilde (with an incredible sea of fire). What I've come away with is even more of an appreciation for what filmmakers were capable of in the silent period. It seems clear after a film like *Siegfried* that silent film was not an infant technology waiting for sound but was an artform of its own.

All in all, I'd say this is a must-see. It's clearly not just preparation for the "great" films of Lang to come (like *Metropolis* and *M*), but is on par with any of the best of his stuff. This and *Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler*, both Lang films which are rarely screened, should be caught if at all possible.