music_ed_29 Review of Ring of the Nibelungs

Ring of the Nibelungs (2004 TV Movie)

Good Movie but more after Wagner than after the Myth

[7/10 · 25 July 2005]

This Movie is only loosely modeled after the original saga, it does however follow more or less the plot of Richard Wagners (1813-1883) operas Siegfried and Götterdammerung. There Alberich is the brother of Mime and the (one of the)biggest villain of the story. He takes the gold from the Rhine ladies but curses it if he has to give it to Wotan. Wotan wants to pay Fasolt and Fafner for the building of the Wallhalla with it. They however fight for it and Fafner kills Fasolt and turns into a Dragon to guard the Gold. Wagner changes the story mainly because he was influenced by Schopenhauers Philosophy and his, then new, Socialistic thoughts. Sieglinde and Siegmund are twins and both children from Wotan. Siegfried is Wotans grandson and he is only born because of Wotans greed. He is in need of a hero who can bring the Nibelung treasure (In fact he is only interested in the Ring) back to him. Hagen is indeed Alberichs son in Wagners opera. Wih Wagner, Mime is a bad person who tries to kill Siegfries who then kills him. at the end Brünhilde jumps into the flames, thus ending her life and burning the Wallhalla and the Gods in it. (Götterdämmerung) So there are several parallels between the movie and Wagners operas. Tolkien didn't like Wagner, because of the way he changed the old stories of both the Edda and the Nibelungenlied. But in fact they share the same inspiration. Now, for a movie who most concurrent with Wagner, Tolkien and Peter Jackson, I think it isn't bad at all. The only trouble to me is that, by changing the story in Richard Wagners way it promises a moral dimension which it doesn't bring.