Die Nibelungen (BLU-RAY)

One of the greatest artistic and technical achievements of the German silent cinema, Fritz Lang's DIE NIBELUNGEN is a passionate retelling of Nordic legend, invested with all the resources of the colossal Ufa Studios.

Scripted by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou (who later collaborated on Metropolis), and originally released as two separate features, the saga begins by constructing an enchanted kingdom populated by dragons, magical trolls, and heroic figures defined by rigid codes of honor. In the long-underrated second half, the death of Siegfried causes fantasy to devolve into nightmare, as his beloved Kriemhild enacts a vengeance that contaminates everyone in its path - a vengeance as ferocious and uncompromising as anything the cinema has ever depicted.

This edition is mastered in HD from the extensive 35mm restoration conducted by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, completed in 2012.

NOTE ABOUT THIS RELEASE: This edition of Die Nibelungen has a shorter running time than Kino's previously released edition. There are two reasons for this difference: 1)the new restoration bases on different camera negatives and hence different takes which vary in length compared to the previous restoration; including A-takes whereas the previous restoration bases on a print from a B-negative which even contained outtakes; 2) the running time for the second part is now 22fps (before it was 20 fps).

Germany Color Tinted 1.33:1
SIEGFRIED: 1924 149 Min.
KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE: 1925 131 Min.
1920 x 1080p (blu-ray)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Produced by Erich Pommer Screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou
Photographed by Carl Hoffmann, Gunther Rittau, and Walter Ruttmann
Art Direction by Otto Hunte and Karl Vollbrecht
Original Music Gottfried Huppertz
With Paul Richter, Margerete Schon, Theodor Loos, Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Hanna Ralph, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Georg John

A Film by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation
A Coproduction with Hessischer Rundfunk * ZDF in Cooperation with ARTE Restoration Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation Print Lab PresTech Film Laboratories Ltd., London
Original Music Gottfried Huppertz
Reconstruction and Synchronisation Marco Jovic, Frank Strobel Edition Filmmusik (for ZDF/ARTE) EUROPAISCHE FILMPHILHARMONIE
Digital Mastering Omnimago GmbH, Ingelheim
Recording HR-Sinfonieorchester * Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Music Executive Frank Strobel