Fritz Lang is a director who was ahead of his time. He was creating worlds far beyond the imagination of many in the film business at the time and continues to influence directors in modern cinema with his masterpieces. Die Nibelungen based upon the epic poem Nibelungenlied brought to life a journey rich in German folklore. Lang creates a world where dwarves exist to rule the inner dwellings of mountains and magic has power in the world.
Lang's use of the magic invisibility mask creates cinematic images that show this magic come to life on the silver screen. We watch as Siegfried disappears and also becomes King Gunther. This provides an epic quality to the film that sparks the imagination of the audience who first saw this film in 1924.
He also creates a world that is fully inhabited. There are giant trees that belong to the forest which leads to a fire-breathing dragon laying in wait for the King to be. The monster is Lang's way of bringing fantasy to life and seeing a real dragon slayer in action. Lang's sets are expansive is their size, they truly fit the kingdom's in which these royals exist. We certainly feel as though we are part of a royal court, grounds and that we have entered an iron kingdom that belongs to Brunhild.
Lang's world creation allows the scope of the epic poem to be put into a visually stunning masterpiece. And we get to walk firsthand into it as viewers, and we recognize Lang's influence on modern cinema from set design and costume to fantasy and magic.
