Sword Of Xanten Review

Sword Of Xanten
King Siegfried, Queen Brunhild and a group of other tall, Germanic types covet a hoard of cursed treasure and bicker over who gets to marry whom.

by William Thomas |
Published on
Release Date:

19 Nov 2004

Running Time:

132 minutes

Certificate:

12A

Original Title:

Sword Of Xanten

The hokey title may put you in mind of a family-orientated fantasy romp, but Sword Of Xanten is definitely not one for the nippers.

An adaptation of classical Teutonic folk tale Ring of the Nibelungs, this is a batty, bloody tale of murder, dragon-slaying and betrayal. Like most fables of the ancient gods, it's a convoluted mess of a story, with King Siegfried, Queen Brunhild and a group of other tall, Germanic types coveting a hoard of cursed treasure and bickering over who gets to marry whom. Von Sydow, Loken and Witt seem to be wondering what in the name of Thor's hammer they're doing here and, after more than two hours of this twaddle, so will you.

Like most fables of the ancient gods, it's a convoluted mess of a story.
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