Every culture in the world has its own mythology. However, only two dominate the themes of both big and small screens around the globe nowadays: Greek & Roman Mythology in Southern Europe for one, and Norse Mythology in the land of ice and fire for the other. Drawing inspiration from the latter, composer Richard Wagner wrote his four-part opera, the Ring Cycle, long before the advent of films. The opera has been considered an everlasting classic even until now. Three films are selected in the Ring in Saga Films this time. Ring of the Nibelungs, as its name suggests, derives directly from Norse Mythology. One thing to note is that you will see Robert Pattinson, the Twilight heartthrob, in this film before he came to fame.
Lord of the Rings, the epic trilogy, is adapted from the novels of Tolkien, who specialized in ancient German literature and language. Hence, the film also had a heavy Norse influence.
Thor, a god in Norse Mythology, was molded as a superhero by Marvel comic books in the 1960s. But then, even a mighty superhero like Thor was overpowered by TV shows and video games. Not until the recent commercially successful film adaptation did Thor reclaim his glory. The name of the third movie, Thor: Ragnarok, is actually the Norse phrase of Götterdämmerung, the title of the last part of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. These examples demonstrate that Norse Mythology has indeed become a rich source of inspiration for operas and movies.

 

9.14 Sat. 18:30 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring app.180-min.

9.21 Sat. 18:30 Ring of the Nibelungs app.180-min.

9.28 Sat. 18:30 Thor: Ragnarok  app.130-min.

(No intermission)

Film Curator / Ross LEE 

Former marketing and PR coordinator of Spring International and film reporter of the Star and the Liberty Times, Mr. Knee is currently Senior PR Manager of VIESHOW CINEMAS. He was a member of the jury in the Golden Horse Awards and Kaohsiung Film Festival.