New York, NY – October 25, 2012 - Kino Classics is proud to announce two releases showcasing the work of acclaimed filmmaker Fritz Lang: the Blu-ray and DVD release of his epic Die Nibelungen (consisting of two parts, Siegfried and Kriemhild's Revenge), and Fritz Lang: The Early Works, a three-DVD collection containing three of the master filmmaker's earliest silent films from Germany: Harakiri, The Wandering Shadow, and Four Around the Woman.
Die Nibelungen comes to Blu-ray and DVD in a two-disc special edition on November 6th, with a SRP of $39.95 for the Blu-ray, and $34.95 for the DVD. This edition is mastered in HD from a new restoration produced by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung. It contains the original 1924 score by Gottfried Huppertz, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo. Special features include: "The Legacy of Die Nibelungen," a 68-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film, a film by Guido Altendorf and Anke Wilkening produced by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, in cooperation with Filmmuseum Potsdam, and newsreel footage of Fritz Lang on the set of Die Nibelungen.
Fritz Lang: The Early Works also streets on November 6th in a three-DVD edition, with a SRP of $39.95, featuring three of Lang's earliest surviving films made in Germany: Harakiri, The Wandering Shadow, and Four Around the Woman. All three films are presented here with a music score by Aljoscha Zimmermann.
One of the greatest artistic and technical achievements of the German silent cinema, Fritz Lang's DIE NIBELUNGEN is a passionate retelling of Nordic legend, invested with all the resources of the colossal Ufa Studios.
Scripted by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou (who later collaborated on Metropolis), and originally released as two separate features, the saga begins by constructing an enchanted kingdom populated by dragons, magical trolls, and heroic figures defined by rigid codes of honor.
In the long-underrated second half, the death of Siegfried causes fantasy to devolve into nightmare, as his beloved Kriemhild enacts a vengeance that contaminates everyone in its path–a vengeance as ferocious and uncompromising as anything the cinema has ever depicted.
This edition is mastered in HD from the extensive 35mm restoration conducted by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, completed in 2012.
SPECIAL FEATURES
* New restoration by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung
* Original 1924 score by Gottfried Huppertz, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
* "The Legacy of Die Nibelungen," a 68-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film. Produced by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, in cooperation with Filmmuseum Potsdam. A film by Guido Altendorf and Anke Wilkening.
* Newsreel footage of Fritz Lang on the set of Die Nibelungen
Germany Color Tinted 1.33:1 1920 x 1080p
SIEGFRIED: 1924 149 Min.
KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE: 1925 131 Min.
FRITZ LANG: THE EARLY WORKS
(Harakiri, The Wandering Shadow, Four Around the Woman)
Before he gained worldwide renown for such films as Die Nibelungen,Metropolis, and M, Fritz Lang crafted a series of feature films that embody many of the thematic and stylistic trademarks which would come to define his work.
Virtually unseen in the United States until this release, the three films in this collection were mastered from 35mm elements preserved by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, in association with numerous international archives.
An adaptation of Madame Butterfly, the tragic romance HARAKIRIindulged Lang's fascination with Asian culture and Orientalist design. Filmed on the outskirts of Berlin, Lang strived for authenticity, and obtained sets and costumes from the Hamburg Anthropological Museum.
Rich in symbolic imagery and striking location photography, THE WANDERING SHADOW was the first collaboration of Lang and Thea von Harbou. It follows a woman who–in the wake of a sex scandal–seeks solitude in the Bavarian Alps. There, she is continually haunted by her past, but soon stumbles upon the one thing she never expected to find: the chance of redemption.
Anticipating such films as Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler and Spies, FOUR AROUND THE WOMAN involves a society woman who must navigate through a complex web of criminal and emotional intrigues.
HARAKIRI
1919 Germany 87 Min. Color Tinted
THE WANDERING SHADOW
1920 Germany 67 Min. Color Tinted
FOUR AROUND THE WOMAN
1921 Germany 84 Min. Color Tinted
All films 1.33:1
Music by Aljoscha Zimmermann
Die Nibelungen
Director: Fritz Lang
Genre: Fantasy/Silent
Blu-ray SRP: $39.95
DVD SRP: $34.95
Street date: November 6, 2012
Fritz Lang: The Early Works
(Harakiri, The Wandering Shadow, Four Around the Woman)
Director: Fritz Lang
Genre: Drama/Silent
DVD SRP: $39.95
Street date: November 6, 2012
