Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 - Siegfried (1966)

Director:

Harald Reinl

Writers:

Harald G. Petersson (writer) and
Harald Reinl (writer) ...

Release Date:

13 December 1966 (West Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy

Plot:

Volker von Alzey, the royal bard of the Burgunds (far greater then modern Burgundy), ruled by the Christian...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Epic | Remake

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Uwe Beyer	...	Siegfried
Rolf Henniger	...	König Gunther
Siegfried Wischnewski	...	Hagen
Maria Marlow	...	Kriemhild
Hans von Borsody	...	Volker von Alzey
Terence Hill	...	Giselher (as Mario Girotti)
Fred Williams	...	Gernot
Dieter Eppler	...	Rüdiger von Bechlarn
Samson Burke	...	Blo-Edin
Skip Martin	...	Alberich
Hilde Weissner	...	Königin Ute
Barbara Bold	...	Hildegunt
Ingrid Lotarius	...	Gudrun
Maria Hofen	...	Frigga
Djordje Nenadovic	...	Slaodel (as George Heston)

Also Known As:

Siegfried (International: English title) (short title)
Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

Germany:91 min

Country:

West Germany | Yugoslavia

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | West Germany:6 (w)

Filming Locations:

CCC-Atelier, Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Avala Film

Movie Connections:

Version of Ring of the Nibelungs (2004) (TV)

Recalling having seen the film in 1966 in a UK cinema (key plot points discussed).

I remember seeing this when it was on release in the UK. I'm sure the UK version was released as "Those Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy" and might have been a combination of both Teil 1 and Teil 2 edited together.

It must have been dubbed as it had an English soundtrack. I think the film poster had the film title carved out of a rock face a bit like the Ben Hur poster.

It was some long time after seeing the film that I found out it was part of a series of traditional German Folklore tales. I can recall the scene where Siegfried kills a somewhat cardboard looking dragon and bathes in its blood. Unfortunately a leaf gets stuck to his back and the only part of him not bathed in dragon blood is where the leaf was stuck. Everywhere he was covered in blood makes him impervious to any weapon. He subsequently walks through a fire and only gets burned where the leaf was stuck, leaving him with a leaf shaped scar on his back. Later on during some subterfuge, someone (his wife I think) sews a patch onto the back of his tunic where the leaf had been stuck and the villain is then able to aim a spear at the only place where he can be wounded and killed.

That happens about halfway through and its that which makes me think the UK release was edited from both films. I'd certainly like to see this again but so far I've not ever seen it available on video.