Titel Kino 1/2002 - German Cinema

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (Teil 1)
SIEGFRIED (PART 1)
Scene from "Siegfried" (photo © Filmmuseum Berlin/Deutsche Kinemathek)
Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of the Nibelungen, is apprenticed to a blacksmith, who helps him forge a
special sword. He then sets off to the court of King Gunther of Worms, seeking the hand of Gunther’s
beautiful young sister, Princess Kriemhild. On the way to Worms, Siegfried encounters and slays a dragon
and bathes in its blood. He also defeats Alberich, the dwarf Lord Treasurer to the Nibelungen dynasty, and
captures the Nibelungen treasure.
Upon arrival at the castle of King Gunther, Siegfried is opposed by Gunther’s half-brother Hagan, who is
jealous of the young and handsome Siegfried. In order to win Kriemhild’s hand in marriage, Siegfried must
help Gunther in likewise winning the hand of Brunhild. Later, during an encounter with Kriemhild,
Brunhild learns how Siegfried and Gunther had deceived her and orders for Siegfried to be killed. Hagan
kills the young hero and Kriemhild vows revenge …
Genre Drama, Fantasy Category Feature Film Cinema
Year of Production 1922-24 Director Fritz Lang
Screenplay Thea von Harbou Directors of
Photography Carl Hoffmann, Günther Rittau Music
by Gottfried Huppertz (1924), Konrad Elfers (1965)
Production Design Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl
Vollbrecht Producer Erich Pommer Production
Company Decla-Bioscop, Berlin Principal Cast Paul
Richter, Margarethe Schön, Hanna Ralph, Theodor Loos,
Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Bernhard Goetzke, Erwin
Biswanger, Georg John, Gertrud Arnold, Hans Carl
Müller, Hardy von François, Frida Richard Special
Effects Walther Ruttmann Studio Shooting Ufa
Atelier, Neubabelsberg Length 143 min, 3210 m
Format 35 mm, b&w, 1:1.37 Original Version silent
with German intertitles Intertitled Version English
German Distributor Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-
Foundation, Wiesbaden
World Sales:
Transit Film GmbH · Loy W. Arnold, Mark Grünthal
Dachauer Str. 35 · D-80335 Munich
phone +49-89-5 99 88 50 · fax +49-89-59 98 85 20
email: transitfilm@compuserve.com
Kino 1/2002
Fritz Lang, born in 1890 in Vienna, was more than just a
great director. He was a man who staged himself and his life,
who created the legend of his person, who wanted his private
life to remain invisible in order to further launch his desired
public image. He celebrated his first success during the
Weimar Republic, reacting to the massive political and social
changes of the time and integrating them into his work. He left
Germany in 1933, emigrating via France to the United States in
1934, where he continued to tie political aspects into his work.
His best known films from his work in Germany include:
Spiders (Die Spinnen, 1919), Plague in Florence
(Die Pest in Florenz, 1919), Madame Butterfly
(Harakiri, 1919), The Wandering Image (Das wandernde
Bild, 1920), Kämpfende Herzen (1920/21),
Destiny (Der müde Tod, 1921), The Indian Tomb
(Das indische Grabmal, 1921), Dr. Mabuse, The
Gambler (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler, 1922), Metropolis
(1925/26), Spies (Spione, 1927/28), Woman in
the Moon (Frau im Mond, 1928/29) and many more.
37
THE 100 MOST SIGNIFICANT GERMAN FILMS – 19