Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King

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Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (also known as Ring of the Nibelungs, Die Nibelungen, Curse of the Ring, and Sword of Xanten) is a fantasy film and 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.

It was written by the husband and wife team of Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, was directed by Uli Edel, and is a Tandem Communications production. It was filmed entirely in South Africa.

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 November 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] Cast

Benno Fürmann - Eric/Siegfried of Xanten
Kristanna Loken - Brunnhild
Alicia Witt - Kriemhild
Julian Sands - Hagen
Samuel West - King Gunther
Max von Sydow - Eyvind
Robert Pattinson - Giselher
Mavie Hörbiger - Lena
Aletta Bezuidenhout - Hallbera
Sean Higgs - Alberich
Götz Otto - King Thorkwin of Saxony
Ralf Moeller - King Thorkilt of Saxony

[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] 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.