L'anneau sacré

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 narrates the legend of a hero named Siegfred (Benno Furmann) who, not knowing that he is heir to a conquered kingdom, becomes popular with the Burgunds . As the young blacksmith meets the location where is stashed the Niebelungen treasure that's protected by a dwarf and a giant dragon . Siegfred slain and kills the dragon and he bathes in its blood (exception a body part where falls a leaf) . He'll become invulnerable vanquishing every enemies after numerous battles and confronting many dangers , misfortunes and risks. He marries a princess of Burgundios named Kriemhild (Alicia Witt) by means of a potion and then the Queen of Island Brunnhild (Kristinna Loken) will execute her vengeance , fulfillment a prophecy of rampage , ravage and destruction . In addition , Hagen (Julian Sands ) will try to take the Niebelungen gold .

This mythological , dark , epic, brooding film is plenty of archetypal personages and were jingoist tributes , in fact the Niebelungen heroes were even loved by the same Hitler. The movie is adapted from Germanic legends , even Richard Wagner made Operas about these deeds as ¨ Gold of Rhin¨ , ¨Cavalcade of Walkirias and ¨Ring of Niebelungen¨ . Besides , it inspired to J.R.R. Tolkien and his ¨Lord Of the Rings¨ . It has recently discovered a treasure next to Haelsinburg (Sweden) that's called ¨the Atila gold¨ and can be the legendary Niebelungen treasure . There are other versions about these epic facts , such as the 1967 movie featured by Terence Hill , Karin Door , Herbert Lom and directed by Harald Reilm which is considered average and of course the classic silent adaptation directed by Fritz Lang that is the best deemed . This modern rendition for television is spectacular and colorful and its narration is quite well . The flick will appeal to historical epic buffs and legendary heroes fans. Rating : good and well worth seeing.

Short of producing 2+ hour versions of each of the 4 operas in the Ring Cycle, this is simply excellent storytelling. Truly entertaining and worthy of viewing.

Given the obvious production and time constraints common to almost all television productions, the writers, director and cast have made a quite enjoyable film based on the Norse legends. They know they can't hope to surpass more traditional Wagner opera productions or the cinematic spectaculars like Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia and they don't try. They simply succeed brilliantly at presenting a quite entertaining and enjoyable film variation of the well known tale.

Kudos!!

The blacksmith Siegfried (Benno Fürmann) meets the Queen of Island Brunhild (Kristanna Loken) in the crater of a fallen meteoroid and defeats her in an ax battle. They fall in love for each other and Kriemhild promises to wait for him in her kingdom. Siefried forges a sword using the strange ore; he slays a dragon and baths in its blood to become invincible and wealthy with the Treasure of the Nibelungen. Then he fights and defeats the dwarf Alberich (Sean Riggs) from the Realm of the Nibelungen and gets his magic helmet that makes the user take whatever form he wishes. When Siegfried meets Kriemhild (Alicia Witt), she drops a magic love potion in his wine and he immediately falls in love for her and forgets Brunhild. When Siegfried asks the hand of Kriemhild to her brother King of Burgundy Gunther (Samuel West), he advises that he would accept if Siegfried helps him to win the strong Queen of Iceland Brunhild. Siegfried uses his helmet to defeat Brunhild pretending that he is Gunther and Brunhild accepts to marry him. When the jealous Kriemhild discloses the truth to Brunhild, she leads Siegfried and her kingdom to a tragedy.

The saga of Siegfried is certainly one of the most beautiful tales of the old times of pagan gods. In 1924, Fritz Lang released the masterpiece "Die Nibelungen: Siegfried", an impressive movie ahead of time and one of the most beautiful fantasies ever. The made for TV "Ring of the Nibelungs" was a great surprise for me, since it is another wonderful version of the saga of Sirgfried. The story is engaging, developed in a perfect pace and using decent special effects. The cast has great performances, and includes the gorgeous Alicia Witt and Kristanna Loken in the role of the sweet Kriemhild and the strong Brunhild. In the end, this delightful movie is not so powerful as Fritz Lang's masterpiece, but it is a great family entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição do Anel" ("The Curse of the Ring")

I've watched both parts and they entertained me very well. The second part was better, because the role of Kristanna Loken ("T3") was bigger and the fightscenes looked much better! This is a very good TV movie and Benno Fürmann ("The Order"), Max von Sydow ("Minority Report") and Alicia Witt ("Vanilla Sky") did a great job. Julian Sands ("Warlock") was very cool as the bad guy ;)

The story was different to the original German saga, but it was enjoyable. The effects were also very exciting for this budget! (23 Mio.)

First part: 6/10 Second part: 8/10

Based on the myth that influenced Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, The Ring of the Nibelungs shares many similarities with the great man's work.

Although limited I thought the special effects were excellent particularly the dragon. Siegfrid's accent was off putting but no less so than the posh English accents that many of the cast had considering this is meant to be set in Scandinava.

If you like fantasy and Lord of the Rings you will enjoy this. The soundtrack is very haunting and compliments the film very well. Kristanna Loken is gorgeous and although her acting isn't up to scratch, she does look great on screen ;)