Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy (DVD)

Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy was originally released in the U.S. as a single feature film. However, like Fritz Lang's Journey to the Lost City, it was culled from two separate films: Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 Siegfried and Die Nibelungen, Teil 2 Kriemhild's Revenge, both of which were produced in Germany. In this special 2-disc edition we have included both films, both transferred from beautiful anamorphic 35mm elements. These are colossal movies, made especially great by Uwe Beyer as Siegfried and Karin Dor as Brunhilde. It is an epic story. With a magic sword in hand, Siegfried of Xanten, defeats the dragon that guards the treasure of Nibelungen. By bathing in the dragon's blood he becomes invulnerable. He then sets off to Iceland to free the Icelandic Queen Brunhilde (Karin Dor) from her eternal slumber. The queen falls in love with him but he returns to Burgundy and falls for King Gunther's beautiful sister, Kriemhild. Expressing a desire for a wife, Gunther is taken by Siegfried to Iceland where they use magic tricks to coerce Brunhilde into a promise of marriage. What follows is a torrent of intrigue and high adventure. There are many great scenes. These are easily two of the best fantasy epics of the 1960s. Subtitled in English. Great color, from 35mm.

• science fiction