Siegfried: Die Nibelungen, Part 1 (Fritz Lang, 1924): Germany

Reviewed by Byron Potau.  Viewed on DVD.

As director Fritz Lang continued to make films his projects became more ambitious, culminating in 1924 with Siegfried, the first of his two part epic Die Nibelungen.  Based upon an epic poem, the film continues to impress and is among the great fantasy adventures that the cinema has to offer.

Siegfried (Paul Richter), the son of King Sigmund and apprenticed to a blacksmith, forges a sword able to split a falling feather in two.  When he hears tales of the Princess Kriemhild (Margarete Schon) he is intrigued and convinced he is the one who should win her heart.  Siegfried then sets off on his journey amidst enormous trees and stones shrouded by mist en route to Worms Castle.  Along the way he slays a dragon whose blood he bathes in, making him invincible.  When he finally does reach Worms Castle and asks for Kriemhild’s hand in marriage her brother, King Gunther (Theodor Loos), enlists Siegfried’s help to win the masculine and feisty Brunhild (Hanna Ralph).  Under guise, Siegfried must help King Gunther best Brunhild in three challenges.  Only then will King Gunther let him marry his sister.

The atmosphere of the film is near perfect, assisted by tremendous art direction (Otto Hunte and Karl Vollbrecht) and set decoration (Erich Kettelhut and Karl Vollbrecht) which help bring us convincingly into an eerie landscape and fantasy world.  Mention also must be made of the excellent makeup by Otto Genath, the wonderful and moody lighting and cinematography by Carl Hoffmann, Gunther Rittau, and Walter Ruttman, the inspired costumes by Paul Herd Guderian, and the inventive and impressive visual effects by Eugen Schufftan.  All in all the film is a technical tour de force.

Yet, it still has plenty of story and character which is why the film still holds up today, which is a credit to director Fritz Lang and writer Thea Von Harbou.  Though Paul Richter’s swordsmanship skills leave something to be desired he is still admirable as the charismatic Siegfried.  Hanna Ralph is excellent as the angry, mannish Brunhild, and Hans Adalbert Schlettow as King Gunther’s advisor and main soldier, Hagen Tronje, has a powerful presence. 

The story is expectedly big, with dragons, castles, feats of strength, betrayals, and magic.  Storywise, the only downside is Kriemhild’s stupidity which is near intolerable.  Aside from that there are thrills and awe inspiring visuals, all of which are very satisfying and marvelously weaved together by Lang. 

This film is one of the gems of the silent era and should not be missed by any lover of fantasy adventure films as this is one of the best of them and has, no doubt, been a huge influence on the genre.