Fritz Lang’s epic two-part saga, written by his wife Thea von Harbou and based on an ancient myth – which also inspired Wagner’s Ring cycle – is a celebration of Germanic nationalism and an idealized view of the past that Lang would ultimately reject when he fled Germany for Hollywood. For Part I, Siegfried, Lang employs a painterly style, creating symmetry of figures in elaborate, architectural tableaux of monumental proportions that speaks to the moral code that governs the hero’s actions. The intentional austerity of Part I gives way to a dynamic sense of movement in Part II, Kriemhild’s Revenge, in which the violence becomes frenzied and revenge-driven, with spectacularly staged battle sequences and special effects. Shot entirely in the Ufa studio, Lang’s incredible saga, a visually stunning work of light and shadow, with elaborate sets and meticulous production design, will be shown on two consecutive nights.