Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924)

Originally posted to Facebook on 10/5/2017

Our fourth film from 1924 was Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge, the follow-up to Siegfried, again directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou. It takes place shortly after the previous movie, and stars Margarete Schön as Kriemhild. Most of the other cast also carries over from the previous movie, including Theodor Loos as her brother King Gunther, and Hans Adalbert Schlettow as his advisor Hagen Tronje. One addition to the cast is Attila the Hun, played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge, who also played the title character in Dr. Mabuse. Early in the film Kriemhild agrees to marry Attila, with the intent of using him to seek her revenge. Once in his kingdom, she conspires to invite her brother and his retinue to visit. The conflict escalates once they arrive, and Gunther and Hagen Tronje are eventually besieged, surrounded in a dining hall by Attila's army. This film is much more focused and intense than the previous film -- there are no dragons or subterranean treasure hordes -- and, I think, it is better for that single-mindedness. Schön does not give a particularly varied performance, but she is a strong and forceful presence, unlike the previous film where she largely played a more supporting role to Siegried. It must be said too, that, unlike the previous film, in which Siegfried was represented as more or less heroic, in this film Kriemhild is depicted as obsessed and borderline unbalanced; she is clearly the protagonist, but she is not shown entirely sympathetically.

The movie does, though, have some of the same questionable markers of German nationalism as the previous film. The Huns, for instance, are portrayed as essentially subhuman, which is probably the film's deepest flaw. Klein-Rogge, in fact, wears so much make-up for his depiction of Attila that I did not recognize him until I looked the movie up later on IMDB.

For our next film we return to 1922, for our sixth and final film from that year: When Knighthood was in Flower, our first film starring Marion Davies. We watched this one out of order because it was recently restored using a kickstarter campaign, and did not arrive until we had finished all of the other 1922 films (and the 1923 films as well.) The list, as always, is here: https://bit.ly/2lZtfmT.

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)

Originally posted to Facebook on 9/26/2017

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried was our third film from 1924, and also our third directed by Fritz Lang, written, like his previous films, by his wife Thea von Harbou. We've watched a fair number of German films from the 1920s over the last year, and I think it is not simply a post-hoc observation that their intense and often fantastical tenor reflects to some extent the turmoil in post-war Germany. Still, it is hard to know what to make of the fact that this particular film was a favorite of Hitler's, especially since there are elements of the film where one can understand why that might be the case. Its hero, for instance, physically resembles the Nazi ideal, and the film has a strong strain of German nationalism, and even opens with a title card reading "Dedicated to the German People."

But whatever baggage this film carries, it is the first time in this project that we've seen this kind of high fantasy. It could not be more different than the previous film we saw directed by Lang, 1922's Dr. Mabuse. That film was "modern" and cynical; Siegfried is mythological and largely sincere. Siegfried himself, the protagonist, is played by Paul Richter, who also had a prominent part in Dr. Mabuse. Within the first thirty minutes he slays a dragon, and discovers a strange dwarf-like race who possess a magical treasure hoard. The dragon is especially noteworthy; it is essentially a large puppet -- Henson-ish, but less whimsical. It of course pales beside modern digital effects, but is unlike anything we've seen previously. It noticeably does not move much from its initial location, but otherwise stretches its neck and tail, and bends down to drink. Siegfried attacks it with surprisingly little provocation -- though perhaps dragons were universally recognized as a public health risk. After killing the dragon, and having a few other adventures, Siegfried eventually ends up at the court of King Gunther, where he petitions the king for the hand of his sister, Kriemhild, played by Margarete Schön. Gunther agrees, but only -- in true fantasy RPG fashion -- if Siegfried will help Gunther with another task.

There were a few things that marred the film for me. One of the more prominent was that Siegfried himself is not particularly sympathetic -- he mocks his followers, and threatens people's lives for trivial reasons. Near the end he becomes sympathetic by default as several characters conspire to betray him, at which point Kriemhild, now his wife, endangers his life on at least two occasions by making implausibly stupid mistakes. Given that the second film in the series is entitled Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge, it is probably not a spoiler to reveal that things do not go well for Siegfried as a result.

Next week we will see that second film, marking our fourth film from 1924. This list, as always, is here: https://bit.ly/2lZtfmT