Rent Cross of Iron (1977)
3.7 of 5 from 133 ratings
2h 6min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- James Mason and James Coburn star in this gripping account of a doomed German platoon facing annihilation at Russian hands during 1943, who discover that their instinct for war is greater then their instinct for survival. While the enemy attacks, two officers fuel the conflict with their hell-bent lust for personal vindictiveness and glory- all part of the greater absurdity called war.
- Actors:
- James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner, Klaus Löwitsch, Vadim Glowna, Roger Fritz, Dieter Schidor, Burkhard Driest, Fred Stillkrauth, Michael Nowka, Véronique Vendell, Arthur Brauss, Senta Berger, Igor Galo, Katherine Haber, Adolf Hitler, Sweeney MacArthur, Ivica Pajer, Hermina Pipinic
- Directors:
- Sam Peckinpah
- Producers:
- Wolf C. Hartwig, Arlene Sellers, Alex Winitsky
- Voiced By:
- Thomas Braut, Heinz Engelmann, Wolfgang Hess, Thomas Piper, Robert Rietty
- Writers:
- Julius J. Epstein, Walter Kelley, James Hamilton, Willi Heinrich
- Aka:
- Sargeant Steiner
- Studio:
- StudioCanal
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- British WWII Films: The Home Front and Europe, Drama Films & TV, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: James Mason, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Robert Aldrich
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 06/06/2011
- Run Time:
- 133 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- Bonus:
- Cast and Crew Interviews
- Passion & Poetry - Sam Peckinpah's War Documentary
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 31/07/2023
- Run Time:
- 133 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Stereo
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 0 (All)
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Audio Commentary by filmmaker and film historian Mike Siegel
- New Promoting Steiner
- New Steiner on the set
- New Filming Steiner
- New Filming Steiner pt 2
- New Steiner in colour
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Reviews (3) of Cross of Iron
Masterpiece War Drama - Cross of Iron review by GI
A tough, uncompromising, realistic and very thought provoking war film set on the Russian Front during the Second World War. Twenty years before the celebrated realism of Saving Private Ryan (1998) came along director Sam Peckinpah made this film that Orson Welles described as one of the greatest war films ever made. He was right, this is a remarkable film with some of there most authentic combat scenes committed to film. It's a story of ordinary men thrust into the maelstrom of war and reliant on luck and experience to survive. Death by random shellfire litters the film and the constant fear in the characters is always evident and battle is experienced by the soldiers everyday. James Coburn plays highly decorated Sergeant Steiner, a German soldier who has become highly respected by his men and the officers above him for his combat skills and ability to survive. But he hates the establishment and ideology that forces ordinary young men into war. He therefore immediately distrusts his new commander, Captain Stravinsky (Maximilian Schell), a class obsessed man desperate to win the Iron Cross. When Stansky lies in order to win the medal Steiner stands against him so Stravinsky sets about ensuring Steiner and his men will not survive. This is Peckinpah's last great film, a genius director mired by alcoholism, but who turned ordinary stories into something very special. This film is a bloody, compelling indictment of war. The battle scenes are epic in construction and exciting while portraying the horrors of war. Thematically this delves into the philosophy of humanities obsession with war through politics and ideologies where the victims are those forced to fight. A masterpiece and a film I highly recommend.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Classic war film of Nazi Germany i Russia - Cross of Iron review by IanF
Feels a little dated now, but I wanted to see it again. Bloody and brutal, classic Sam Peckinpah. If you like war films, you'll like it!
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
iron cross film - Cross of Iron review by MC
very 1970s in that there was needless misoginistic violence, but otherwise a lot of trouble had been taken to make the battle scenes realistic. The characters represented interesting archetypes of the types of people in the German army and the tensions there would have been.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.