Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

This film depicts the epic story of the rise and fall of the great German hero, Siegfried. It follows the classic pattern of the young hero who overcomes one challenge after another, only to be defeated in the end through his own weakness. Siegfried's early adventure, where he fights and slays the dragon, is masterfully filmed, with a special-effects monster that is amazingly sophisticated for its era. Further tests of his valour and cunning are required before he can marry the Burgundian princess, Kriemhilde; chief among these are assisting his future brother-in-law, Gunther, the King of Burgundy, to win the hand of the Amazon queen, Brunhild. Aided by a cloak of invisibility, Siegfried fixes the contests between Gunther and Brunhild to defeat the imperious queen and delivers her unwillingly to Gunther. This service ultimately leads to his downfall, however, as he eventually confides in Kriemhilde his duplicity and she betrays his secret to the outraged Brunhild, who then seeks his death. Despite being made in the midst of the Expressionist era of filmmaking in Germany, this movie is largely naturalistic in its sets and acting. The Burgundian court, as befits its artificial and ceremonious atmosphere, is depicted through angular and stiff sets and costumes, somewhat reminiscent of the expressionist style, but there are not the disturbing distortions seen in such classic films as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari".