Harald Reinl made a decent movie adaption of the epic of the Nibelung. But if I had to choose (forced by superior dark forces or simply by bad karma) I would, without hesitation, decide to watch Fritz Lang's movies again: despite the fact that his work are silent movies (part one and two) and shot in black and white, but his adaption is just too epic, strong, and the expressionistic approach in acting and producing makes Lang's vision a true piece of art. Anyway, if you don't know Reinl's and Lang's movies, watch them all.
8 Reviews
Colorful adaptation upon known Germany legend with impressive and spectacular scenes
ma-cortes27 February 2023
The legend of Siegfried and Brunhild , loosely based on characters from the Norse sagas and the pre-Christian Germanic heroic motifs outlined in the Nibelungen saga . The picture is based on Germanic mythology ,¨Der Niebelungen¨, a Nordic legend that inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write the Lord of the Ring trilogy . It tells the legend of a hero named Siegfred (Uwe Beyer) , not knowing that he is heir to a conquered kingdom, becomes popular with the Burgunds by slaying their bane , the dragon Fafnir . Siegfred bathes in its blood , exception for a body part where falls a leaf . As the young blacksmith meets the location where is stashed the Niebelungen treasure that's protected by a dwarf and the fabulous dragon . He takes the huge treasure , but Siegfried ignores the curse that lies on the hoard which now seems to endanger his love for beautiful Norse warrior queen Brunhild (Karin Dor , director's wife , Harald Reilm) . Later on , Siegfried marries a princess of Burgundios named Kriemhild (Maria Marlow) , sister of a powerful king , König Gunther (Rolf Henniger) . Along the way , Hagen (Siegfried Wischnewski) will try to take the Niebelungen gold . Some time later , a queen will execute her vengeance , fulfillment a prophecy of rampage , ravage and destruction.
This is a great adventure based about the classic Germanic myths , Siegfried and Nibelungs . This epic movie contains drama , action , thrills , legends , spectacular battles and gorgeous scenarios . The Nibelungs is based on known Germanic legends , even Richard Wagner composed operas about the notorious feats : ¨Gold of Rhin¨ , ¨Walkirias cavalcade¨ and ¨the ring of Nibelungs¨ . Besides , inspiring to J. R. R. Tolkien and his ¨Lord of Rings¨ . Starring Uwe Beyer is pretty good as Siegfried who became invulnerable vanquishing every enemies after numerous battles and confronting many dangers , misfortunes and risks . In the film appears Terence Hill or Mario Girotti , before his duo with Bud Spencer and previously becoming a spaghetti western hero . While Karin Doris is very attractive and enjoyable , along with Maria Marlow as Kriemhil and other German actors , such as : Rolf Henniger, Siegfried Wischnewski , Hans von Borsody, Fred Williams, Samson Burke, Dieter Eppler, among others. The motion picture was well directed by Harald Reilm . German director of commercially successful entertainments, often Heimatfilms, war dramas or crime thrillers . Reinl began in films as a stunt skier for Arnold Fanck in 1930 and then doubled for Leni Riefenstahl in The White Intoxication (1931). A junior ski champion, he managed a French ski school during the 1930s, before taking up full-time directing just prior to World War II . He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1950s and '60s, cleverly anticipating genre trends , especially with his series of Karl May westerns (The Treasure of the Silver Lake , Winnetou I , Winnetou: Last of the Renegades) , Adventures (The Crazy Jungle Adventure, Night on Mont-Blanc , Romarey: operation Mazaref , Bergkristall , Hell Hounds of Alaska , Nibelungs) , Thriller or Euro-spy (Death and Diamonds , Agent X against the red tigers, Jerry Cotton , Fatal Gun Shots on Broadway, Death in a Red Jaguar) and Edgar Wallace Krimis (The Fellowship of the Frog , The Invisible Claws of Dr. Mabuse, The forger of London) . Rating : 6.5/10 . Decently epic movie . Worthwhile watching.
This ¨Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy¨ (United States title) or ¨Siegfried¨ had a second part , shot back to back : ¨Die Nibelungen, Teil 2 - Kriemhilds Rache¨ or ¨Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy 2¨ (1967) in which Atila/Herbert Lom is a principal movie character , when he invaded Germany and Galic (France) but was defeated by Aecio in Catalaunicos Fields (452 a.d.) , he suddenly died in the wedding night ; meantime , Brunilda dies and Krimilda will give birth a child and she is married to Atila , King of Huns . Her brothers are invited by Atila to his luxurious palace where'll be developed an epic final battle. It's recently discovered a treasure near from Haelsinburg (Sweden) that's called the Atila gold and it can be the legendary Nibelungos treasure . Addding an Italian retelling : ¨Sigfrido¨ (1957) by Giacomo Gentilomo with Sebastian Fischer , Ilaria Occhini , Rolf Tasna, Katharina Mayberg . And including an erotic softcore rendition ¨The Terrible Swift Sword of Siegfried¨ by Adrian Hoven, David F. Friedman with Raimund Harmstorf , Sybil Danning . There is an acceptable modern adaptation for television ¨Ring of the Nibelungs¨ (2004) by Uli Edel with Benno Furmann , Alicia Witt , Kristana Loken , Julian Sands . A comedic parody of the famous German Nibelungen-Sage titled ¨Sigfried¨ (2005) by Sven Unterwaldt Jr with Tom Gerhardt, Dorkas Kiefer, Volker Büdts . And , of course, the classic silent version (1924) in two parts : ¨Die Nibelungen: Siegfried¨ and ¨Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache¨ , being perfectly directed by Fritz Lang and it is the best considered . Rating : Good , Well worth seeing.
This is a great adventure based about the classic Germanic myths , Siegfried and Nibelungs . This epic movie contains drama , action , thrills , legends , spectacular battles and gorgeous scenarios . The Nibelungs is based on known Germanic legends , even Richard Wagner composed operas about the notorious feats : ¨Gold of Rhin¨ , ¨Walkirias cavalcade¨ and ¨the ring of Nibelungs¨ . Besides , inspiring to J. R. R. Tolkien and his ¨Lord of Rings¨ . Starring Uwe Beyer is pretty good as Siegfried who became invulnerable vanquishing every enemies after numerous battles and confronting many dangers , misfortunes and risks . In the film appears Terence Hill or Mario Girotti , before his duo with Bud Spencer and previously becoming a spaghetti western hero . While Karin Doris is very attractive and enjoyable , along with Maria Marlow as Kriemhil and other German actors , such as : Rolf Henniger, Siegfried Wischnewski , Hans von Borsody, Fred Williams, Samson Burke, Dieter Eppler, among others. The motion picture was well directed by Harald Reilm . German director of commercially successful entertainments, often Heimatfilms, war dramas or crime thrillers . Reinl began in films as a stunt skier for Arnold Fanck in 1930 and then doubled for Leni Riefenstahl in The White Intoxication (1931). A junior ski champion, he managed a French ski school during the 1930s, before taking up full-time directing just prior to World War II . He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1950s and '60s, cleverly anticipating genre trends , especially with his series of Karl May westerns (The Treasure of the Silver Lake , Winnetou I , Winnetou: Last of the Renegades) , Adventures (The Crazy Jungle Adventure, Night on Mont-Blanc , Romarey: operation Mazaref , Bergkristall , Hell Hounds of Alaska , Nibelungs) , Thriller or Euro-spy (Death and Diamonds , Agent X against the red tigers, Jerry Cotton , Fatal Gun Shots on Broadway, Death in a Red Jaguar) and Edgar Wallace Krimis (The Fellowship of the Frog , The Invisible Claws of Dr. Mabuse, The forger of London) . Rating : 6.5/10 . Decently epic movie . Worthwhile watching.
This ¨Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy¨ (United States title) or ¨Siegfried¨ had a second part , shot back to back : ¨Die Nibelungen, Teil 2 - Kriemhilds Rache¨ or ¨Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy 2¨ (1967) in which Atila/Herbert Lom is a principal movie character , when he invaded Germany and Galic (France) but was defeated by Aecio in Catalaunicos Fields (452 a.d.) , he suddenly died in the wedding night ; meantime , Brunilda dies and Krimilda will give birth a child and she is married to Atila , King of Huns . Her brothers are invited by Atila to his luxurious palace where'll be developed an epic final battle. It's recently discovered a treasure near from Haelsinburg (Sweden) that's called the Atila gold and it can be the legendary Nibelungos treasure . Addding an Italian retelling : ¨Sigfrido¨ (1957) by Giacomo Gentilomo with Sebastian Fischer , Ilaria Occhini , Rolf Tasna, Katharina Mayberg . And including an erotic softcore rendition ¨The Terrible Swift Sword of Siegfried¨ by Adrian Hoven, David F. Friedman with Raimund Harmstorf , Sybil Danning . There is an acceptable modern adaptation for television ¨Ring of the Nibelungs¨ (2004) by Uli Edel with Benno Furmann , Alicia Witt , Kristana Loken , Julian Sands . A comedic parody of the famous German Nibelungen-Sage titled ¨Sigfried¨ (2005) by Sven Unterwaldt Jr with Tom Gerhardt, Dorkas Kiefer, Volker Büdts . And , of course, the classic silent version (1924) in two parts : ¨Die Nibelungen: Siegfried¨ and ¨Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache¨ , being perfectly directed by Fritz Lang and it is the best considered . Rating : Good , Well worth seeing.
Epic fantasy storytelling from Harald Reinl
Leofwine_draca16 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
WHOM THE GODS WISH TO DESTROY is the first in a two-part retelling of the epic 'Die Nibelungen' folklore tale of the romance between Siegfried and Brunhilde. Originally this was a two-film silent epic made by Fritz Lang in the 1920s. Back in the 1960s, there had already been a vogue for German directors remaking Lang movies - the decade saw the resurgence of Dr Mabuse as a film character, for instance - so it was only natural that populist director Harald Reinl would be the man to tackle this fantasy epic.
Reinl was by this stage of his career an experienced director with the WINNETOU series of films and he goes out of his way to make WHOM THE GODS WISH TO DESTROY a fine-looking movie. It's an epic fantasy romp, with lots of action and big storytelling to recommend it. What I particularly liked was the combination of political intrigue and old-fashioned heroism, which makes this feel like an old peplum flick.
The stand-out performance here is from Uwe Beyer playing Siegfried. Siegfried has a great little storyline, I won't spoil it only to say it works very well in the classic tradition. Beyer was a former athlete and he certainly acquits himself well in a physical part. The ubiquitous Karin Dor plays in support, and there are minor parts for Skip Martin (THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH) and later western star Terence Hill. My favourite parts are the trip to Iceland, the encounter with the dragon, and the volcano.
Reinl was by this stage of his career an experienced director with the WINNETOU series of films and he goes out of his way to make WHOM THE GODS WISH TO DESTROY a fine-looking movie. It's an epic fantasy romp, with lots of action and big storytelling to recommend it. What I particularly liked was the combination of political intrigue and old-fashioned heroism, which makes this feel like an old peplum flick.
The stand-out performance here is from Uwe Beyer playing Siegfried. Siegfried has a great little storyline, I won't spoil it only to say it works very well in the classic tradition. Beyer was a former athlete and he certainly acquits himself well in a physical part. The ubiquitous Karin Dor plays in support, and there are minor parts for Skip Martin (THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH) and later western star Terence Hill. My favourite parts are the trip to Iceland, the encounter with the dragon, and the volcano.
Recalling having seen the film in 1966 in a UK cinema (key plot points discussed).
cgw_imdb8 March 2002
I remember seeing this when it was on release in the UK. I'm sure the UK version was released as "Those Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy" and might have been a combination of both Teil 1 and Teil 2 edited together.
It must have been dubbed as it had an English soundtrack. I think the film poster had the film title carved out of a rock face a bit like the Ben Hur poster.
It was some long time after seeing the film that I found out it was part of a series of traditional German Folklore tales. I can recall the scene where Siegfried kills a somewhat cardboard looking dragon and bathes in its blood. Unfortunately a leaf gets stuck to his back and the only part of him not bathed in dragon blood is where the leaf was stuck. Everywhere he was covered in blood makes him impervious to any weapon. He subsequently walks through a fire and only gets burned where the leaf was stuck, leaving him with a leaf shaped scar on his back. Later on during some subterfuge, someone (his wife I think) sews a patch onto the back of his tunic where the leaf had been stuck and the villain is then able to aim a spear at the only place where he can be wounded and killed.
That happens about halfway through and its that which makes me think the UK release was edited from both films. I'd certainly like to see this again but so far I've not ever seen it available on video.
It must have been dubbed as it had an English soundtrack. I think the film poster had the film title carved out of a rock face a bit like the Ben Hur poster.
It was some long time after seeing the film that I found out it was part of a series of traditional German Folklore tales. I can recall the scene where Siegfried kills a somewhat cardboard looking dragon and bathes in its blood. Unfortunately a leaf gets stuck to his back and the only part of him not bathed in dragon blood is where the leaf was stuck. Everywhere he was covered in blood makes him impervious to any weapon. He subsequently walks through a fire and only gets burned where the leaf was stuck, leaving him with a leaf shaped scar on his back. Later on during some subterfuge, someone (his wife I think) sews a patch onto the back of his tunic where the leaf had been stuck and the villain is then able to aim a spear at the only place where he can be wounded and killed.
That happens about halfway through and its that which makes me think the UK release was edited from both films. I'd certainly like to see this again but so far I've not ever seen it available on video.
Decent film about the famous saga
Horst_In_Translation4 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 - Siegfried" is a 1966 movie by Academy Award nominated director Harald Reinl about a topic which is frequently dealt with in German lessons at school as well. Reinl and writer Petersson also worked together on several "Winnetou" films. I enjoyed parts of it, even if I still believe Fritz Lang's approach is superior. If you don't like silent black&white films, however, Reinl may be the way to go. The film is basically carried by Uwe Beyer, a very successful athlete in the 1960s and a complete newbie to acting. However, he made a decent job with Siegfried portraying him as a heroic naive beau. Most of the other characters were played convincingly too: Kriemhild, Brunhilde, Hagen etc. Beyer died very early because of heart failure by the way and it is assumed this may be due to his longtime abuse of doping substances.
The famous dragon fight sequence was a bit short, but we get all the other important scenes too. The final murder scene, the Alberich fight, Siegfried's encounter with Brunhilde, her betrayal and many more. Terence Hill (before his Spencer collaborations) plays one of the supporting characters and is still credited with his real name here, Mario Girotti. The movie won a Golden Screen (an award for films that lured the most visitors into German cinemas) and rightfully so. It must have been quite a spectacle on the Big Screen.
As a whole, it is not worse than most American films from the 1960s and certainly worth a watch, especially if you are interested in mythology or just films about heroic sagas in general. You will probably enjoy this film even more if you are not too familiar with the story as the plot is really not easy to predict. There is also a sequel (just like Lang's and another 1960's Nibelungen production, this has 2 parts) that deals with Kriemhilde's fate and revenge, but I thought this was not so great like the first film. The cast is not too known, especially abroad, except Karin Dor, who you may have seen in a Bond movie. But that does not hurt the overall picture at all. Recommended.
The famous dragon fight sequence was a bit short, but we get all the other important scenes too. The final murder scene, the Alberich fight, Siegfried's encounter with Brunhilde, her betrayal and many more. Terence Hill (before his Spencer collaborations) plays one of the supporting characters and is still credited with his real name here, Mario Girotti. The movie won a Golden Screen (an award for films that lured the most visitors into German cinemas) and rightfully so. It must have been quite a spectacle on the Big Screen.
As a whole, it is not worse than most American films from the 1960s and certainly worth a watch, especially if you are interested in mythology or just films about heroic sagas in general. You will probably enjoy this film even more if you are not too familiar with the story as the plot is really not easy to predict. There is also a sequel (just like Lang's and another 1960's Nibelungen production, this has 2 parts) that deals with Kriemhilde's fate and revenge, but I thought this was not so great like the first film. The cast is not too known, especially abroad, except Karin Dor, who you may have seen in a Bond movie. But that does not hurt the overall picture at all. Recommended.
A great film for the big screen
mcarrara6 March 2005
Saw this film when it came out in Mexico city, around Christmass of 1967. the tittle was "Whom the Gods Wishes to Destroy", subtitle "Los Nibelungos" (Spanish for "Die Nibelungen). If the first part was 91 minutes and the second part was 110, that makes 201 minutes. The complete version I saw was 195 minutes. I don't know how nearly 6 minutes of can damages any film, specially in the sixties when a film of tree hours or more was a norm. Also, the film opened at the Cine Manacar, one of those wonderful movie palaces of the era now long go, in a superb 70mm print, with 6 tracks stereophonic sound. and asset that i'm afraid no DVD or the best Home Theatre will cant match today. Yes the film is must for moviegoers. It's a pity not to see it the way was originally shown.
A Masterpiece!
liderc13 May 2002
This movie is really great! Great directing, photography (just watch the scenes in Iceland), sets, score (get the double-cd release of the scores for both films on Cobra Records if you are fond of this score), acting (I can't take my eyes of Karin Dor as Brünhild...) and script (I love the way they changed the story to address some of the ambiguities of the material, like the reason why Siegfried and Brünhild already know each other, but still retain the feeling of the original Nibelungenlied) make this movie together with it's second part "Kriemhilds Rache" a masterpiece. But avoid the version that cut together the two parts "Siegfried" and "Kriemhilds Rache" to "Das Schwert der Nibelungen" aka "Those who carry the seed of destruction" (or something like that), it really doesn't show this masterpiece in all it's glory, and might give you the wrong ideas about this two movies. These are two movies just screaming for a DVD release!
Spectacular and magic!
Catharina_Sweden14 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I loved this movie, despite of its flaws. Because there ARE many flaws: for instance to make Brünhilde's fiery prison A VOLCANO IN ICELAND, and to cut film sequences from a documentary about a volcano eruption, and mix these with sequences with the actors staring, supposedly at the volcano, was... ORIGINAL, to say the least! :-) To have the Norwegian king Harald Hårfagre (who actually existed) present a wedding gift to the daughter of Wotan was also... a "little" mixed-up in time and space, maybe..? :-) Also, the technical effects are of course deficient if you are used to today's movies. The attempt to make it look as if Brünhilde is riding through the air, to mention only one instance of this, is very clumsy - almost an object for laughter if you are in a derisive mood.
This movie is not for those who want a movie to heed faithfully to an original text. (Although in this case there is of course no ONE text either - the story of Siegfried and Brünhilde - or Sigurd and Brynhild as we call them in the Scandinavian countries - exists in very many shapes.)
To me, however, the flaws and oddities did not matter a bit! Because this is a wonderful, beautiful movie with wonderful, beautiful actors, set in a medieval fantasy world - sometimes interspersed with pictures from the barren landscape of Iceland. There is love, adventure, heroes, and human feelings that we all can still relate to: envy, jealousy, passion, love, hate, lust for revenge...
And there are so many beautiful details to look at, in clothes, jewels, horses, weaponry, castles, churches... all the strong and beautiful colours, and all the gold! This movie is rich and lavish and opens up a fantastic, magic, fantasy world for you. I recommend it strongly!
This movie is not for those who want a movie to heed faithfully to an original text. (Although in this case there is of course no ONE text either - the story of Siegfried and Brünhilde - or Sigurd and Brynhild as we call them in the Scandinavian countries - exists in very many shapes.)
To me, however, the flaws and oddities did not matter a bit! Because this is a wonderful, beautiful movie with wonderful, beautiful actors, set in a medieval fantasy world - sometimes interspersed with pictures from the barren landscape of Iceland. There is love, adventure, heroes, and human feelings that we all can still relate to: envy, jealousy, passion, love, hate, lust for revenge...
And there are so many beautiful details to look at, in clothes, jewels, horses, weaponry, castles, churches... all the strong and beautiful colours, and all the gold! This movie is rich and lavish and opens up a fantastic, magic, fantasy world for you. I recommend it strongly!
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