“Die Nibelungen: Siegfried”- Siegfried (Paul Richter) is the son of King Siegmund of Xanten and a blacksmith. He forges a special sword that surpasses the expectations of his teacher, Mime (Georg John). He hears tales of the Kingdom of Burgundy and King Gunther (Theodor Loos). He learns of the King’s beautiful sister, Princess Kriemhild (Margarete Schon). He vows to travel to Burgundy and ask the king for her hand in marriage.
On the way he slays a dragon with his sword. A bird tells him that if he bathes in the blood of the dragon, he would become invincible, safe against sword and spear. Siegfried bathes in the dragon’s blood, but a leaf from a nearby lime tree lands on his shoulder making that one spot vulnerable. He continues on his journey and ends up attacked by Alberich the king of the Dwarves (Georg John). Siegfried bests him. He then wins a treasure and a cap that gives the wearer the ability to make the wearer either invisible or able to take on any form he chooses.
When he arrives in Burgundy, he presents his request. King Gunther is also looking for a bride. He wants to marry Brunhild (Hanna Ralph), the queen of Isenland but to do that he must defeat the queen in three matches. When he sees the beautiful Kriemhild, Siegfried agrees to win the hand of Brunhild for Gunther. With Siegfried’s help, Gunther wins the required matches. They return to Burgundy where they have a double wedding.
When Brunhild learns that Siegfried was responsible for her losing the matches she manipulates Gunther into believing that she was raped by Siegfried and convinces her husband to have him killed. Brunhild is not only a fierce warrior but also a manipulative bitch. Gunther instructs Hagen von Tronje (Hans Adalbert Schlettow) to perform the deed. Kriemhild, who is deeply in love with Siegfried, vows to avenge her husband’s death. Brunhild commits suicide.
“Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild’s Revenge”- While mourning the death of her husband, Kriemhild is approached by an emissary, Rudiger von Bechlarn (Rudolph Rittner) representing King Attila (Rudolf Kelin-Rogge), the king of the Huns. Kriemhild agrees to the match with the plan of using her position to extract her revenge on Hagen, the man who killed her husband. Kriemhild travels to Attila’s castle and the two are wed. Kriemhild bears a son that is named Ortlieb (Iris Roberts). Attila favors Kriemhild by granting her any wish. She asks that her brothers be invited for a banquet. Kriemhild uses the opportunity to try to rain hell down on her enemies.
“Die Nibelungen” was released in 1924 and was directed by Fritz Lang. It is a German fantasy epic and part of the folklore genre. It was based on the poem “Nibelungenlied” or “The Song of the Nibelungs”. The poem was written circa AD 1200. The epic consists of two films, “Die Nibelungen: Siegfried”, which runs about 2 hours and 22 minutes, and “Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild’s Revenge”, which runs about 2 hours and 28 minutes. The films were written by Lang’s then wife, Thea von Harbou.
In Germanic and Scandinavian mythology, Nibelungen is a race of dwarfs or elves dwelling in Nibelheim, a realm of mist or darkness. The title comes from the treasure of the Nibelungens which is one of the main plot points of the film.
I came here for the dragon but stayed for the story. The dragon is an actual full-scale puppet measuring 60 feet long.