Customer Reviews

Kriemhild's Revenge [VHS]

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I recently bought this(elsewhere), and was disapointed to find that this current version does not contain music to go with the film. To me, a "score" in a silent film is essential to the enjoyment of the movie, whether it fits perfectly or not. I've not seen another version, but this one seems to be edited terribly. I may be wrong about this, but I've seen other Lang films from this era and they did not seem to be as choppy as this one.

This is a must-see for students of Fritz Lang, but lacks the overall entertainment that has survived seven decades in "Metropolis" and "Siegfried," Lang's other silent fantasy epics. My draw to these and later Lang films is first the imagery, and secondly the sense of suspense and paranoia Lang infused in his movies of all genres. In "Kriemhild" the most interesting shots are repeats from "Siegfried," of which this film is a sequel. There are a few large sets and a big fire scene, but in general "Kriemhild" is devoid of fantasy and spectacle, as if it had little to do with the magical world of the preceding film. As for suspense, well, since there are no interesting characters the main suspense has to do with waiting for the end of the film to come.

Fritz Lang's adaptation of Richard Wagner's Rings Of The Niebelung, this episode is the sequel to the more fantastical and visually alluring "Siegfreid," but it's still a great classic silent film. The special effects aren't as dazzling as "Siegfreid," but the plot is much more compelling, as Kriemhild, a woman scorned, seeks her revenge against the carefree Siegfried. Modern viewers might find it hard to get on this film's wavelength, but I think that's largely due to the difference in cinematic vocabularies. For those willing to let go of modern notions of what an action film should be like, this Germanic fairy tale certainly has its charms. Plotwise, some harsh stuff.... and who ever expected themselves to feel sorry for Attila the Hun? (PS - the Kino version, which I saw, does have music on it.)