Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Various (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 16, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Dancing Ferret
• ASIN: B000EF5N8A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,522 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist

"The only thing that our story has in common with the Wagner opera is that we used some of the same material from the Volsung Saga. This story is about 1,500 years old. It was passed down verbally from generation to generation over hundreds of years until it was written down in the 13th century. In the past hundred years, it has been retold in various ways, and in many different versions, but my story focuses on the relationship between Siegfried, the dragon-slayer, his tragic love for Brunhild, the powerful Queen of Iceland, and the lovesick Princess of Burgund, Kriemhild." -- director, Uli Edel.

"Brunhild’s journey is beautifully tragic, and Uli has a great visual eye and a wonderful way of giving you an end result. I had the blessing of having so many different places to go within myself that I played the whole gamut of emotions." -- Kristanna Loken

"When I read the script I was a little nervous because it was so challenging and so emotional. It’s difficult and painful to put that much out on a full set." -- Alicia Witt

About the Artist

Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King is the film version of The Ring of the Nibelungs. It’s the story of a magic ring, once guarded by a fierce dragon, that is unleashed upon the world. Great armies mass to fight for the ring even as fearsome spirit creatures hunt for it. A simple commoner is revealed to be the heir to a forgotten kingdom, and his love for a distant and foreign queen threatens to destroy them both. Will the ring’s curse bring doom to the hero and his companions?

The plot may sound familiar. That’s because The Ring of the Nibelungs is regarded by many critics to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s "The Lord of the Rings" saga. Some Tolkien fans may downplay the connection, in part due to the dubious political connections of another Nibelungs fan, Richard Wagner. Wagner’s epic "Ring" opera, written in the mid-1870s, drew heavily from the story of the Nibelungs. However, most scholars concede that both men borrowed from common historical sources.

Following the massive international success of the film version of The Lord of the Rings, there was a surge of interest in bringing the Nibelungs story to the big screen. A well-written script and ambitious production plans led to an impressive $25-million budget, and attracted a cast including Kristanna Loken (well-remembered for her role as the icy terminatrix in Terminator 3), Alicia Witt (Vanilla Sky, The Upside of Anger), Julian Sands (Warlock, Leaving Las Vegas) Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist, Minority Report) and German TV star Benno Fuermann. The Academy Award-winning visual effects team from Independence Day and Godzilla was responsible for the film’s stunning special effects.

Shot on location in South Africa, Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King was first shown on German broadcast television as a two-part miniseries. The award-winning film set a ratings record, helped by glowing press reviews that praised the film’s production values and amazing visuals.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting soundtrack for Nibelungen, June 1, 2006

By 

John R. Harford (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King Soundtrack (Audio CD)

I and my partner Blackfeather were pleased to be asked to DJ the US premier party of Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King. We are both interested in norse myth and history, medievalism, and underground music. So it wasn't even a question as to whether or not we would spin for the event.

The only question was, what were we going to play? We hadn't yet gotten a copy of the official soundtrack from Dancing Ferret. But to our amazement, most of the acts chosen for the project were exactly what we had in mind. Great minds, and all that...

Now that I've given the soundtrack a number of good listens I can say it serves two functions: gives a fantastic back drop for the classic tale of Nibelungen (the prototype for nearly all 'fantasy' stories that follow) and introduces American audiences to some of our favorite European medieval acts.

The expected hilights are there: the beautiful and dreamy Qntal, the rowdy Corvus Corax, the mystical and fae Faun. But you will also see Das Ich, E Nomine and several other electronic acts I would not have necessarily thought of, but feel fit perfectly with the sonic mood and Teutonic roots of Dark Kingdom.

I also was pleased to see favorites like Therion Estampie, Dreamside, Blackmore's Night, and Schandmaul make appearances.

If you enjoyed the movie or else just want a sampling of some of the best of medieval/electronic music out there, then take a listen to this sound track. It is a perfect record for any event which evokes the dark and ancient.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Are these songs even in the movie? Where is the score?, February 27, 2008

By 

Ian P. Riutta (Kirkland, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King Soundtrack (Audio CD)

I bought this soundtrack a while ago based on the high reviews and tried to listen to it once all the way through. I was thoroughly unimpressed. There are exactly two orchestral score pieces on this soundtrack and 17 songs that are lyrical. They are ok at best and I have never picked up and listened to this soundtrack since then.

Last night, I finally watched the movie for the first time. It was decent if you have ancestry in the realms of the story, but it has many flaws. There are a lot of things that rock about this movie, mainly the Icelandic queen (and not just for her looks), and the score as I recall was great. So I gave the soundtrack another chance and again I was disappointed. The only two pieces of score were some of the more quiet ones and had none of the passion I heard while watching the movie. As for the other 17 lyrical songs, aside from the cool last track by Katie Knight Adamas, they were alien to me. Were these songs even in the movie? I watched the US dvd version which I hear has 50 mins cut out of it, so maybe these songs were in those 50 mins, or maybe they were in the worldwide non-US versions, but I honestly do not remember hearing any of these other songs. I cannot judge these songs on thier own merit as I am unfamiliar with the styles, but I was expecting to hear somgs and scores that I recognized FROM THE FILM.

So in summation,
1. THIS IS NOT THE SCORE, if you are looking for that then don't bother with this one.
2. If you watched the US version of the DVD you may not even recognize more than a few of the songs from the movie.
3. Listen to the clips above for each song and see if you like this kind of music before you buy this.
4. This is a review of the soundtrack and NOT the movie.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!!!, May 8, 2008

By 

Colleen Masterson (Lancaster PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King Soundtrack (Audio CD)

This is an amazing cd!! I felt like I was transported back in time to the era of the Norse gods!!!