Die Nibelungen

Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen—originally released in 1924 in two separate, feature-length parts—is a magnificent silent spectacle, a blood-and-thunder myth of warriors, dragons, brotherhood, and betrayal, based on the epic 12th-century German poem that inspired Wagner's Ring cycle. In Part One, Siegfried, the titular warrior prince (Paul Richter) sets out on a journey, intent on winning the hand of Princess Kriemhild of Burgundy. Embodying the mythic Aryan ideal, Siegfried faces death-defying physical challenges before finally reaching Burgundy and marrying Kriemhild. But a series of betrayals leads to his death, which becomes the springboard for Part Two: Kriemhild's Revenge, an enormous and devastating epic in which two kingdoms are nearly destroyed in a literal conflagration. The production boasts mythic landscapes of ancient forests, fairy-tale waterfalls, lakes of fire, and caves and crevices hewn out of earth and rock—all entirely built in Germany's Ufa Studios. While Die Nibelungen was edited for re-release over the years and some of the original footage was lost, this restoration from the Murnau Institute is the closest that viewers will come to seeing the film as Lang intended. Not only a wonderful cinematic landmark, Die Nibelungen is also a foundational work in a genre that would later include Excalibur, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones (not to mention Lang's own Metropolis). Kino presents the complete two-part version with a new recording of the original orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz. Extras include a retrospective documentary, and newsreel footage of Lang on the movie set. Awesome in every sense, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)