Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King

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Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (also known as Ring of the Nibelungs, Die Nibelungen, and Sword of Xanten) is a fantasy mini-series based on the Germanic epic poem Nibelungenlied, which tells the mythological story of Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer. Richard Wagner's music dramas Siegfried and Götterdämmerung are based on the same material.

Written by the husband and wife team of Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, it stars Benno Fürmann, Kristanna Loken, Alicia Witt and Max von Sydow, was directed by Uli Edel, and is a Tandem Communications production.

It had a theatrical release in the United Kingdom in November 2004. The German language version, Die Nibelungen, was shown on the German television channel Sat.1 on November 29 and 30, 2004. It was the highest-rated mini-series on German television that year. On December 23, 2005, Channel 4 showed the entire series in one evening under the title Sword of Xanten, describing it as a "megafeature". It was shown on the SciFi Channel on March 27, 2006, retitled Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King for the United States audience, and minus about one hour of material.

[edit] Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released in the U.S. by Dancing Ferret Discs.

"Drachengold" - E Nomine
"Gone with the Wind" - Blackmore's Night
"Somewhere Before" - The Dreamside
"Drachentöter" - Schandmaul
"Uthark Runa" - Therion
"Prolog / Andro" - Faun
"Owe War Sint Verswunden [Edit]" Estampie
"Winterborn (Subway To Sally Edit)" The Crüxshadows
"Unda" - Faun
"Egodram!" - Das Ich
"Shadow Of The Moon" - Blackmore's Night
"Dulcissima (Cantus Buranus)" - Corvus Corax Hymnus
"Forskaen" - The Dreamside
"Score" - Schicksal
"Eversleeping" - Xandria
"Score" - Todesfinale
"Remember Me [Kreimhild Edit]" - Qntal
"Lebenslicht" - Barbi Schiller
"Riding On The Rocks" - Katie Knight Adams

[edit] Trivia

The source material for the story is often assumed to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings, although Tolkien denied this, commenting once: " Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." [1]

[edit] External links

Ring of the Nibelungs at the Internet Movie Database

Official sites

Ring of the Nibelungs. Official movie web site.
Sword of Xanten. Sony Pictures.
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King. SciFi Channel.
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King. Dancing Ferret. US Trailer and Soundtrack info

Other sites

(German) Die Nibelungen. www.moviefans.de.

Reviews

Sword Of Xanten (Das Nibelungenlied). BBC Gloucestershire. BBC Review
Exclusive Ring of the Nibelungs Movie Section. kristanna.com. - Review of the movie, from Kristanna Loken fan site
Charles McGrath (March 27, 2006). Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King. New York Times review.