Customer Reviews
STRONG FANTASY OFFERING, WITH DECENT FX (INCL. AN IMPRESSIVE DRAGON!) - By: Adam Jackson, 21 Sep 2008 
Recommended for anyone who has enjoyed the recent Beowulf films or In The Name Of The King - this isn't on the scale of Lord Of The Rings but it is a decently budgeted movie with very good production values. It's always good to see the legendary Max Von Sydow in a typicallly dignified role too!
The FX are excellent, well integrated into the plot with a Dragon that is one of the best that I have seen since 1981's Dragonslayer, certainly as good as Beowulf's & a lot, lot better than Dragonheart's Draco & the BBC's Merlin! The flesh tones are reallly good, with exceptionallly good CG that looks solid & 3D, & the battle in the cave is again very reminiscent of Dragonslayer.
There is also excellent sword combat/fight choreography, with impressive 'massed army' visuals. It's not too gory but neither does the film seem overly light hearted or childish. It isn't as dark as John Boorman's Excalibur but it's more serious than say In The Name Of The King.
Kristianna Lokken is stunning as per se - one of THE most beautiful women around.
It could use a bit more action in parts, & sometimes is a bit talky but at least there is some substance behind it.
Excellent photography & scenery married to impressive FX & tight direction alllow for a reasonably epic feel. Fantasy fans should pick this one up...
Classy stuff indeed - By: Ian Armer, 30 Aug 2008 You know you're watching something special when even Julian Sands rises above 'wooden' & into 'character'. Sword of Xanten - series of an ever changing title across the globe - should have been a disaster. A ham piece of TV hackery that stayed firmly in the 'Xena - but not as much fun' camp. Amazingly, the 2 part retelling of the Nibelung Saga is a very classy affair indeed. Solid acting, a script that avoids post modern referencing & keeps simple & straight to the point, pretty good special effects, excellent (unavailable) music & level headed directing by Uli Edel (he of 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' fame & 'Body of Evidence' stinker).
The story follows the rise & falll of Siegfried of Xanten. An innocent pawn caught up in a complicated web of deceit. Promised to the Queen of Iceland, Siegfried sets out to discover his true identity & along the way encounters a dragon seiged kingdom, a manipulative king, a beautiful princess & dark magic. Like the old epic itself, the story is a tragedy, but a captivating one at that. A twisted love story between Siegfried, the Queen & the Princess, with some excellent set pieces & imaginative action sequences (the battle on the ice is very well done).
Part 1 & part 2 are completely different in tone. Part 1 is quite light & an old fashioned adventure. Part 2 is darker & more involved with politics (of the sexual kind also), deceit, murder & greed.
It shouldn't be this good, but obviously the god's were smiling...
A Viking Saga Brought to Life - By: Mr England, 09 May 2008 If you like dark-age/medieval/viking age films then you will like this one. This film is a good film, its not in the league of '300' or 'Gladiator' but it was only ever made for TV. But the special effects of the Dragon are shockingly good. The story is long (3hours) & is full of twists & suprises, so explaining the story is difficult (I dont want to ruin anything). Here's what to expect.
Cursed gold, lots of sword fights, a dwarf, a dragon fight, cheesy grins, "evil pagan magic" according to the Christians, fit birds with swords, betrayals, courage, honour, tragedy, Ghosts, more cheesy grins, lots of frowning, sly looks & a very fit Queen of Iceland. And there is a moral to the story, dont take drinks off Ginger women.
Story telling at its best - By: Hugo Foscolo, 05 May 2008 
Good plot with plenty of twists & turns. Kristanna Loken performance is near perfect while Max von Sydow is back to his best. (Almost as good as in The Seventh Seal). A must for fantasy fans.
An extremely good film - By: Zuronix, 18 Apr 2008 It is based on the Volsungs Saga but is not bogged down in difficult to read English or as long to read/watch. It is not 100% true to the story but it does the best, I think, that would ever be done by any film company. Altogether a brilliant film with great special effect a tragic Norse story line of deceipt & failed heroism. Very much worth buying especiallly for fans of Norse mythology. But do not expect it to be the exact same as the Volsungs Saga, it is not as dark & twisted but still extremely good.
