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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Sword of Xanten is a visually impressive historical adventure based on the same Germanic and Norse legends that inspired Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle operas and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Produced for German television (and shot in South Africa), the film stars Benno Furmann as Siegfried, a prince whose family is slaughtered by a pair of evil kings; raised by a blacksmith (Max Von Sydow, still commanding as ever), he meets and falls for Valkyrie queen Brunhild (Kristanna Loken from Terminator 3) and slays the dragon Fafnir for King Gunther (Samuel West), which in turn, involves him in treachery, war, and separation from his beloved Brunhild. Well directed by Uli Edel (Last Exit to Brooklyn, The Mists of Avalon), The Sword of Xanten occasionally suffers from exceedingly purple dialogue, but the performances, action, and special effects combine to make for a rousing fantasy-drama. --Paul Gaita
DVD Description
In a dark age long passed, young Siegfried witnesses the horrible murder of his father, King Siegmund of the Netherlands. Vowing to take back one day what is rightfully his, Siegfried is granted refuge at an allied royal court. Under the watchful eye of his spell-casting mother, Hjordis, Siegfried rigorously trains for his big day of revenge, becoming a powerful warrior. Acquiring a magical sword forged from a fallen star, he sets out to rid the land from the brutal reign of the dragon Fafnir and to gain control over the gold Fafnir stole from the mythical Nibelungs. Victorious, Siegfried baths in the dragon's blood, making him invincible. His merriment is quickly tarnished, however, when the Nibelungs appear, wanting their gold back. Frustrated that they will not even negotiate their fair share, Siegfried, leaves the a portion, but takes for himself The Ring--the beautiful core piece of the Nibelung treasure. He unwisely chooses to ignore the Nibelung curse: he who possesses the Ring will never be able to hold onto true love.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
89 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film is a well crafted melding of the early Nordic Volsunga saga and the later high German tale of the Nibelungenlied. The amalgamation brings out a heroic myth with a universal appeal that is beautifully rendered by the film makers and the cast.
The legend itself has so many elements that it is impossible to encapsulate everything in a 3 hour film (Wagner takes around 15 hours to tell the tale in Der Ring des Nibelungen), but if you know the story you may be pleasantly surprised at how many of the lesser elements the filmmakers have managed to include indirectly. An example of this would be where in the Norse legend Brunhild is imprisoned by Odin behind a wall of fire on top of mount Hindarfjall in the Alps, and cursed to sleep until rescued by a hero. This is obliquely played out in a dream/astral projection sequence in the film.
The whole cast has been well chosen and play their parts with feeling. Benno Furmann makes a solid Siegfied though I must say that Kristanna Løken surpasses even my over-developed imagination in her portrayal of Brunhild, the beautiful Valkyrie queen of Isenland (Iceland). She manages to convincingly combine the strength of the indefatigable warrior queen with a captivating vulnerability. Alicia Witt is wonderfully skillful in presenting a sympathetic portrayal of the beautiful princess Kriemhild of Burgund. There is also great support from Max Von Sydow, Samuel West and Julian Sands.
Despite the budget constraints, the film production is excellent with stunning special effects and a strong, moving musical score. It is a bit of a shame that the soundtrack doesn’t seem to be released on CD, as is so beautiful and well performed.
If you love epic myth, then add this to your basket now. You won’t be disappointed.
56 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
As a huge follower of Wagner's 'Ring' operas and Norse myth in general, I was very excited to see this production of the magnificent 'Nibelunglied' - the story of course used by Wagner (and Tolkien too), first written down in the medieval period but telling the story of the great Norse hero Sigurd/Siegfried from roughly 1000 years earlier. This has to be the first serious filmed version since a couple of German features from the 60s, 'Siegfried von Xanten' & 'Kreimhild's Rache' which were very well done, but are now probably so rare it's not even funny. (You can still find Fritz Lang's silent 'Siegfried' from the 1920s if you're interested, however).
Anyway, on to the DVD. Mercifully the film takes itself pretty seriously, without pandering too much to the kind of juvenile dumbing-down a modern audience might expect. But it doesn't prevent younger viewers from enjoying the spectacle (though note the '12' rating), and there's plenty to keep the attention of adults too - even ones who know the story! If you don't know the story I shan't spoil it for you. But it has magic swords, a dragon, a stern heroine, an exceedingly brave hero, and a dark and tragic love story which continues to enthrall us down through the centuries. There's no histrionic acting, scenery-chewing performances or moments of daftness. The acting, scenery, effects, camerawork and soundtrack are uniformly excellent - if only we could see more 'fantasy' films made like this. It seems that it takes the Europeans to show Hollywood how to do it properly.
By the way, the soundtrack is available under the risible title 'Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King', which makes the film sound like a kiddies' animated feature! Buy the album anyway - it's an odd selection of instrumental pieces and folk/opera/metal, but if you're into bands like Therion, Nightwish, Evanessence, Skyclad and Rhapsody (which I am!) you'll get a kick out of the music.
This is more than fantasy - it's epic myth and legend!
Anyway, on to the DVD. Mercifully the film takes itself pretty seriously, without pandering too much to the kind of juvenile dumbing-down a modern audience might expect. But it doesn't prevent younger viewers from enjoying the spectacle (though note the '12' rating), and there's plenty to keep the attention of adults too - even ones who know the story! If you don't know the story I shan't spoil it for you. But it has magic swords, a dragon, a stern heroine, an exceedingly brave hero, and a dark and tragic love story which continues to enthrall us down through the centuries. There's no histrionic acting, scenery-chewing performances or moments of daftness. The acting, scenery, effects, camerawork and soundtrack are uniformly excellent - if only we could see more 'fantasy' films made like this. It seems that it takes the Europeans to show Hollywood how to do it properly.
By the way, the soundtrack is available under the risible title 'Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King', which makes the film sound like a kiddies' animated feature! Buy the album anyway - it's an odd selection of instrumental pieces and folk/opera/metal, but if you're into bands like Therion, Nightwish, Evanessence, Skyclad and Rhapsody (which I am!) you'll get a kick out of the music.
This is more than fantasy - it's epic myth and legend!
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Destiny directs our blacksmith hero (ignorant of his noble birth) to an encounter with the beautiful warrior queen. Naturally they fall immediately in love, and each makes off with a chunk of the meteorite that brought them together. I'm hazy about the details now, but somewhere in there he makes a sword from the metal and quickly becomes a dragon-slaying hero. There's a mad dwarf and a magical mask and all that stuff. It goes on...
For what is presumably a fairly low-budget production, this is a very good-looking adventure. It's full of nifty sword-play and legendary deeds of derring-do. The narrative never slows down, and however seriously you take it, it's 3 hours of great fun.
For what is presumably a fairly low-budget production, this is a very good-looking adventure. It's full of nifty sword-play and legendary deeds of derring-do. The narrative never slows down, and however seriously you take it, it's 3 hours of great fun.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
What A Tangled Web We Weave....
The German heroic myths have suffered in the popularity stakes in two areas. Firstly, ancient German was never required for entry to Oxbridge, and, secondly, by association with... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Charles Vasey
The Sword of Xanten
Based on Norse myth, with some of Wagner's "Rings" thrown in, this is a very enjoyable film, a good storyline plus some good acting from the principle characters make this DVD well... Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. Lacey
Great movie - Sword of Xanten
I caught this on American TV (SciFi Channel) as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King a couple years ago. It was great. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Todd C. Bustillo
Quite good entertainment.
This title is loosely based on the old nordic sagas and I think that it's quite good fun to watch. It has good actors, a decent storyline and the computer graphics they use aren't... Read more
Published 18 months ago by smiffy31
A good one for fans of fantasy and fable
A cross between fantasy, fable and myth, this is a good one to add to your collection. The scenery and effects were quite credible and the acting, though a trifle stilted by the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Sansespoir
Part two starts AFTER the credits!
I wonder how many people thought this movie ended oddly? I did for one! Thanks to the reviewers who explained that the second part of the movie is on the same disc, and just... Read more
Published 19 months ago by W. Nicholls
Great Film
Thought this film was great although it was strange that the film was split into two halves on one disc! Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2010 by L. Roberts
Great film - pity about the DVD presentation.
As other reviewers have noted, Sword of Xanten is a spectacular re-telling of the ancient German legend, the Nibelungenlied. Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2009 by David Vickers.
started well but faded
Not so much a film more a two part TV series made with limited funds. I was impressed by the opening scenes but soon disapointed. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2009 by superscribe
epic stuff!!!
if you like lord of the rings type adventure you will love this. the script is a bit cheesy in places but overall its a good entertaining film. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2009 by Mr. P. Beresford
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