Dan Ashley (DanLives1980) One of the all-time classics of western cinema, Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid) proved a huge feat of filmmaking strength with this gruelling and sadistic wartime drama pitting Nazi Germany against Russia on the Eastern Front! No stranger to controversy, Peckinpah masterfully handled both beasts on the frontline while coaxing an almost Shakespearean feel out of the story pitting not only army versus army but a Captain against his Lieutenant.The hard-nosed but effective Lt. Steiner (James Coburn), commands a loyal unit of rogues against a marauding enemy as Germany inevitably fails to occupy the East. He not only has the respect and friendship of the men he fights with, but even the Colonel (James Mason) believes that his kind may be Germany's only hope.His new commanding officer, Captain Stransky (Maximillian Schell) however - a highly educated and proud officer with the kind of superiority complex that one could associate only with a Nazi officer - quickly puts the situation further at odds with his dislike of Steiner.As the barrage of infantry and artillery against the German line intensifies and costs more than any man is able to take, their rivalry comes to a head through an epic war in every sense.Cross of Iron is first and foremost very gory and one of the first true war movies of its kind to swap paintball grade bullet wounds for explosive exit wounds and authentic wartime injuries, to the point where it could almost be considered Grindhouse; considering its production values.Coburn takes the classic antihero archetype beyond Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin, giving us a dirtier, more damaged frontman than had been seen before (and for some time after). Whereas Schell is deliberately cold, proper and clean cut as the kind of German we really love to hate. But he too goes beyond the stereotypical.The support cast is brilliant and not just James Mason and David Warner as one would expect. Cross of Iron sports actual Germans playing Germans and are committed to creating stand-out characters that we do grow attached to.What we end up with may be somewhat expected, but there is plenty you won't see coming and Cross of Iron sports anti-war messages of a different nature to that of what you may be used to. In fact, despite it's dated production values, it's totally on target.Cross of Iron is one of the essentials of war film!

Robert Thompson (justbob1982) Version I saw: UK bluray releaseActors: 6/10Plot/script: 6/10Photography/visual style: 6/10Music/score: 7/10Overall: 6/10Sam Peckinpah was one of the most respected directors was one of the most respected American directors of his generation. He specialized in westerns such as The Wild Bunch (especially), and more generally went for adventure stories with a shade more subtlety than straight-up boys'-own swashbucklers.Late on in his career, he took on an interesting task in Cross of Iron: a Second World War film told from the perspective of the German soldiers. In any such film, there are a couple of elephants in the room: Nazism and defeat. While Nazism can be covered, and indeed has been covered in the past, from other perspectives such as the Allied soldiers, or German civilians, this point of view has the unique colouring that we know they are destined to lose. If any happy ending is to happen for the main characters (and it may well not), it will be contrasted with the fate of their fellow soldiers.In Cross of Iron, this is partly dealt with by isolating Sgt Steiner (James Coburn) and his squad behind enemy lines, and forcing them to make a daring trek through enemy territory. This cuts them off from the main pressures of the background, and allows the writers to bring them in on a controlled basis.The main conflict, apart from against the Soviet army, is between Steiner and Capt. Stransky (Maximilian Schell), a political commissar of sorts who, while he claims not to be a Nazi party member, enforces their ideology over Steiner's seemingly more noble, practical approach. The main underlying thrust of the film is an anti-war message, that those at the top do not understand the brutality of the front line, and so resort to armed conflict entirely too frivolously.When it comes down to it, though, the film is mainly a straight adventure, with very limited subtlety. The 'subtext' is even transformed into a supertext when it is spoken directly by Steiner: "I hate officers." It seems that, by his third-to-last film, Peckinpah had perfected his formula, enabling him to produce a strong, exciting adventure film with a bit of depth, without straying far from his comfort zone. However, he had also become somewhat set in his ways. There is a great deal of narrative and thematic potential in the central idea, I think, but Peckinpah had lost some of the flexibility to explore it.

SnoopyStyle It's 1943 at the Russian front and the Germans are losing. Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) is a superior soldier and leader of men. Aristocratic Captain Stransky (Maximilian Schell) is the arrogant true-believer new commander. During a bloody battle, the brave Lieutenant Meyer dies leading a heroic counter attack while Steiner is injured and Stransky bumbles in his bunker. The ambitious Stransky claims the counter attack as his own and requests the Iron Cross giving Steiner and the homosexual Lieutenant Triebig as witnesses. After a stay in a hospital, Steiner returns to the front unexpectedly and refuses to lie for Stransky. The order comes to evacuate but Stransky deliberately leaves Steiner and his platoon behind.Director Sam Peckinpah brings alive the war action. The story behind the action is compelling but it is the action that is exceptional. Peckinpah lets loose with an orgy of muddy explosive violence. The war action is relentless. Coburn is terrific as the leader of men. There are memorable sections like the female Russian squad. This follows the great tradition of anti-war movie.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Cross of Iron" is a war film that features Academy Award winners James Coburn and Maximilian Schell as central characters. The film is directed by Sam Peckinpah ("The Wild Bunch") and a writing team that includes Julius J. Epstein ("Casablanca"). The first 45 minutes of this over-2-hour long movie, we find out about the life and interactions of a group of soldiers during World War II. They talk about war, but also about everything else guys talk about, such as French girls.Next up is lots of war action and Schell's character who seemed charismatic as always and so dominant early on just like a central character, disappears out of the picture for almost the whole movie until the very end. It's all about Coburn (Steiner) at this point. The film had occasionally some good scenes, like with the Russian women or also when they talk about Schell's character possibly (not) getting the Iron Cross. As a whole, however, I was rather disappointed. Yes, shooting belong to a war, but at some point, it felt as if the whole movie consisted of nothing else anymore and it was a bit too much war action for my taste.I believe this film could have been kept at 100 minutes with many of the insignificant scenes being left out. And, especially the ending left me disappointed here. It felt completely unrealistic that Coburn's character and Schell's character would all of a sudden bond again after all that happened before. Why would Steiner kill the other guy in his rage, but not Stransky, who is actually even more responsible? This film received much more acclaim than the sequel with Richard Burton as Steiner, but I cannot say that it was considerably better. Both left me wanting for more. Not recommended.