KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE isn't as captivating as the first film in Lang's DIE NIBELUNGEN series, mainly because, as user Snow Leopard observes, the relationships between the characters are far less interesting or ambiguous this time around. Much of the film is focused on batllefield action and to be honest, it got tiresome after twenty minutes. However, the film has two major strengths.
The first of these strengths is inherited from the first movie: a gorgeous stylized aesthetic. From the staunch geometric sets to the costumes, both films in the NIBELUNGEN series look amazing, bringing to life a sense of myth that naturalism would only destroy.
The second is unique to KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE and that is Margarete Schon as the vengeful Kriemhild herself. She has marvelous command of her body and face. She often expresses a stiffness that illustrates both her regal bearing and barely controlled rage, making it all the more unsettling when she does lash out. It is genuinely heartbreaking to see her transformation from a loving, honorable woman in the first movie into a revenge-obsessed monster unable to love anyone. I read one other user on here claim this portrayal is sexist, but I disagree: Kriemhild is tragic, betrayed by her family and denied justice for the man she loved. She is trying to gain power the only way she can in a male-dominated world: through marriage and manipulation.
In this movie, there are no heroes to speak of. Everyone is corrupt, bloodthirsty, and beyond compromising. The whole thing ends in an apocalyptic bloodbath, as though without Siegfried no goodness can exist in this universe.
All in all, I was highly impressed with DIE NIBELUNGEN as a whole. While the first half is stronger than the second, both movies are essential viewing for silent movie geeks. They rather remind me of John Boorman's EXCALIBUR in that they evoke the feeling one gets when reading old myths and legends. Everything is epic and grand rather than intimate and small-- emotions are expressed through large gestures, characters are larger than life.
The first of these strengths is inherited from the first movie: a gorgeous stylized aesthetic. From the staunch geometric sets to the costumes, both films in the NIBELUNGEN series look amazing, bringing to life a sense of myth that naturalism would only destroy.
The second is unique to KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE and that is Margarete Schon as the vengeful Kriemhild herself. She has marvelous command of her body and face. She often expresses a stiffness that illustrates both her regal bearing and barely controlled rage, making it all the more unsettling when she does lash out. It is genuinely heartbreaking to see her transformation from a loving, honorable woman in the first movie into a revenge-obsessed monster unable to love anyone. I read one other user on here claim this portrayal is sexist, but I disagree: Kriemhild is tragic, betrayed by her family and denied justice for the man she loved. She is trying to gain power the only way she can in a male-dominated world: through marriage and manipulation.
In this movie, there are no heroes to speak of. Everyone is corrupt, bloodthirsty, and beyond compromising. The whole thing ends in an apocalyptic bloodbath, as though without Siegfried no goodness can exist in this universe.
All in all, I was highly impressed with DIE NIBELUNGEN as a whole. While the first half is stronger than the second, both movies are essential viewing for silent movie geeks. They rather remind me of John Boorman's EXCALIBUR in that they evoke the feeling one gets when reading old myths and legends. Everything is epic and grand rather than intimate and small-- emotions are expressed through large gestures, characters are larger than life.