Drama · Action
Cross of Iron
On the Eastern front in 1943, the German soldiers no longer had any ideals. They were not fighting for the Party—but for their lives!
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
Part of the Cross of Iron Collection →Trailer
Top Cast
James Coburn
Unteroffizier / Feldwebel Rolf Steiner
Maximilian Schell
Hauptmann Stransky
James Mason
Oberst Brandt
David Warner
Hauptmann Kiesel
Klaus Löwitsch
Unteroffizier Krüger
Vadim Glowna
Gefreiter Kern
Roger Fritz
Leutnant Treibig
Dieter Schidor
Anselm
Directed by
Sam Peckinpah
Production
EMI FilmsReviews
John Chard
9/104/26/2020
War is Peckinpah's survival hell. Out on the Eastern Front 1943, battered by the war itself, a war they are losing, a platoon of German soldiers must also cope with a new aristocratic commander who deeply covets the Cross Of Iron, Germany's highest medal of honour. Universally hated and panned by the critics upon release, Cross Of Iron now stands up as one of director Sam Peckinpah's finest works. On first glance it would seem to have been a strange film (genre) for Peckinpah to tackle, but scratch away at the scabs left by Peckinpah's trademark violence, and you see underneath that it sits comfortably with his character driven Western fables. Adapting from the much lauded novel by Willi Heinrich, Peckinpah is bleakly telling of men in combat, men who are not here for heroics, th
Wuchak
7/1010/26/2023
**_Brutal Germans vs. Russians WW2 flick with James Coburn and Maximilian Schell_** As defeat looms on the Eastern Front, an awarded, but battle-worn German NCO (Coburn) vies with a newly-appointed captain, a Prussian aristocrat, who’s obsessed with obtaining the Iron Cross (Schell), even if he has to get it by fraud. James Mason and David Warner have peripheral roles. Loosely based on the true story of Johann Schwerdfeger, “Cross of Iron” (1977) was helmed by Sam Peckinpah and, therefore, is unsurprisingly filled with bloody carnage (much of it in slow-motion), alcohol-consumption and a generally pessimistic view of life. As typical, the protagonist is a loner who desires to be honorable but is forced to do whatever is necessary to survive in a world of nihilism and brutality. So
CinemaSerf
7/102/4/2024
The aristocratic "Capt. Stransky" (Maximilian Schell) is put in charge of an accomplished squadron of men that works well under its no-nonsense "Sgt. Steiner" (James Coburn), and into battle against the approaching Soviets they go. A bloody encounter ensues and upon their return, victorious to a point, to their trenches he encourages "Col. Brandt" (James Mason) to nominate him for an Iron Cross. He cites two officers as the witnesses to his bravery, but "Steiner" decides not to play ball. "Stransky" is livid, but plays a long game that ends up seeing the squad left unaware of marching orders and left adrift in the face of an enemy with overwhelming superiority. "Steiner" must now galvanise his already exhausted and demoralised soldiers and try to work their way through increasingly hostile
Where to Watch
Streaming availability powered by JustWatch via TMDB
Community Reviews
Be the first to rate this title.
