Sword of Xanten (Ring of the Nibelungs) (TV Miniseries)

In a time lost to history, when the gods still walked among us... they sent a warrior to reclaim the mystic gold that had plunged the world into endless battle and bloodshed. But when dark forces eager to possess that prize thwart his destiny, a curse is unleashed that may destroy a kingdom. This is the saga of Siegfried the dragon-slayer, his quest for the glory of the gods, and the women he is torn between – the warrior Queen of Iceland and the beautiful Princess of Burgund. Europe – the Dark Ages. When the evil Twin Kings betray his father, the King of Xanten, young Prince Siegfried (Benno Fürmann) narrowly escapes with his life. Rescued by the kindly blacksmith Eyvind (Max von Sydow), he is raised as a simple blacksmith, unaware of his true kingly heritage. When the gods send him a sign of his destiny in the form of a fallen meteor, he is led to the metal that will be forged into his weapon, and the woman who will be his love: Brunhild (Kristanna Løken), the Valkyrie warrior queen. Duty drives them apart, but they swear to reunite – and never love another. Siegfried comes to the kingdom of Burgund, where he earns the respect of King Gunther (Samuel West) and the love of Princess Kriemhild (Alicia Witt). But a powerful evil is plaguing the land, and it is up to Siegfried, armed only with the sword forged from the gods’ metal, to slay the dragon Fafnir – and to claim the dragon’s gold as his own. With this treasure comes the curse of its rightful owners, the mystic Nibelungs, and the hatred of Gunther’s adviser, the villainous Hagen (Julian Sands), who covets the gold for his own. To gain the treasure, Hagen uses black magic to make Siegfried fall in love with Kriemhild and forget Brunhild, the love the gods had chosen for him. The curse then spins an expanding web of betrayal, deception and greed that traps everyone, plunging a world in chaos.