German cinema was starting to take off in the early 20s after the success of the highly artistic and groundbreaking "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" from 1920. Money and talent flowed to the cinema and after the mass murder of the first world war madness, people both needed some "entertainment" to get by, while the artists wanted to express their frustrations with corrupt society by expressing their emotions in art - a movement called expressionism. Expressionism had been lurking since before the war but went mainstream in the years after the war. The avantgarde would soon go towards dadaism and surrealism to stay ahead, but cinema had found a new tool that fit the format formidably and have since become a label for this era. I may note that this review is for the first part of the movie known as "Siegfried". The second part is of the same length and in total the epic is around 4,5 hours long.
One thing though, that is puzzling about the new expressionist movement is, that often the script-writers and directors would draw on fantasy, even Gothic inspirations. Fritz Lang takes the prize in my book for the most complex artist in this regard which shows most notably in Metropolis a few years later. This epic fantasy is based on the mediaval song or poem and it is basically a fairly true to word presentation of the plot as far as I can gather (I am certainly not knowledgeable about this story). It is a traditional fantasy story of the young and handsome youth-ling discovering his destiny and lineage and then going on an adventure to win big battles, lots of riches, slay the dragon and marry the princess.
What sets this movie apart from others of its kind is it´s very strict adherence to form and expression. The hero is extremely stereotypical, but he sticks to the form, so we accept his eccentric behavior. The landscapes and locations are exaggerated in size or grandeur, but it is also consistent so that it becomes reasonable in its own premise. The gestures are not as exaggerated as it may be other works (by lang), and i think it does not need to be since we already know the story and the emotional depth (or lack thereof) of the characters.
The strict form that Lang adheres to is, in the end, what makes it for me. The plot is pretty predictable or at least it follows the well know fantasy format seen so many times over and over again since then. But the artistic expression is very strict and Lang manages to pull it off. The sets are massive, but not overblown in the fashion of other bombastic movies of the time. In stead there is allowed to be room and space for the characters to both shine but also give a more suttle sense of grandiosity. The clothes is designed with a specific style in mind and very strongly expressionist in it need to be expressively symbolic rather than looking like a baroque nobility. I know this is supposed to be mideval, but filmmakers were not always that true to history as Lang is here at least in principle artistic form.
I particularly like the scene where he meets the dwarfking Alberich which is classic fantasy expression that fits so well with the expressionist feeling of the director. I can really imagine how Lang enjoyed creating and playing out this scene. The way that Alberich almost crawls hunchbacked in front of Siegfried is a memorable vision. The interiors of the burgundy castle is very strictly designed. Grand rooms, but with simplistically decorated exactly to the point. Windows and arches serves as effective tools to give the settings shape and harmony, rarely seen in similar films. The actors are well chosen and do their job to the point, not too exaggerated, but still within the expression of the fantasy world they are a part of. A hard balance to strike. You may think that the obvious choice eould be to use Wagners music as the score. But wisely Lang chose a standalone score by the fantastic Hupperts. He would later also compose the score for Metropolis, and for what goes for silent era scores, Hupperts is up there with the best. It is grand but stil emotional and supportive of the acting. There are themes inside, that sticks to certain characters and landscapes. Brilliantly rerecorded for this edition and a big part of the charm of the general movie experience.
All in all it is a memorable experience. It does slow down a bit in the middle act, when the female intrigues kicks in (the script was written by Thea von Harbou), but again a bit of change of pace is needed. I did think that the slaying of the dragon looked a bit too stiff, even for 1924, and i would have preferred a focus on the visualization of him conquering 12 kingdoms. This is only added to the story as a side note. This movie is to be seen for its artistic design and the fact that Lang actually made a fantasy movie that can stand on its own feet now, nearly a century later, is impressive.
I may add that the 2 part movie has been released as a 2 disc bluray set by Eureka Masters of Cinema series and the remastering and recreation is fantastic. the first time since its original showing, that it has been "reassembled" as far as i can understand. A highly recommendable buy:
https://www.eurekavideo.co.uk/moc/die-nibelungen#(images linked. Courtesy eurekafilms)
Rating: 7/10