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Cross Of Iron [1977]
![Cross Of Iron [1977]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iNbSvDrEL._SL160_.jpg)
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So real...Watch it!
Review date: 2008-07-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
Every soldier dreams of being decorated but seldom any soldier sacrifices his fellow soldiers for a medal for his own. In the film Cross of Iron we go to the battle front in Kuban in 1943. War weary and de-routed German Army struggles to keep up with the advancing Red Army. Prussian elite officer Stransky (Maximilian Schell) arrives at the front fresh from occupied France. His intentions are fixed at one point only; to get the Cross of Iron. His authority is undermined by the real Cross of Iron holder Sergeant Steiner (James Coburn). As the war rages on we see the dark aspects of the war. Also we see traitors in the character of Captain Stransky sacrifying his own troops for his own benefit.
The director Sam Peckinpah's anti-war theme was excellently created by the opening and closing scenes. Popular Nazi-era Horst-Wessel songs and children's music are played with the showing of Nazi brutality and killings. The officer versus ordinary soldier conflict is well shown in the film. The main concern of the ordinary soldier is to survive, no one believes in Nazi propaganda anymore. The realistic aspect of the war scenes are worth mentioning as we see all the real WW2 gear in action including the legendary T-34 tanks of the Soviet Red Army.
If you ask me I place it on the top of my anti-war film list with Paths of Glory. Final closing remarks of Brecht is awesome...Watch it!
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Reviews
Great film spoilt by some cheesey music!
Review date: 2008-04-05 Rating: 8 out of 10
After tiring of this film NEVER being shown on any of my TV channels, i decided it was time to invest in a copy. I soon realised how little i actually knew it, only recognising the odd snippet, right from the brilliant opening title sequence.
Coming a couple of years after the average "Killer Elite" and just a year before the abject "Convoy", the extremely gritty "Cross Of Iron" is Sam Peckinpah's last great film. ("The Osterman Weekend" does, however, rate an honourable mention.) It is an intelligent, well-crafted drama which unfolds during the German retreat from the Russian front. The acting is generally excellent, with James Coburn especially convincing in his portrayal of Corporal/Sergeant Steiner. Max Schell, similarly, is perfect as the obnoxious and loathsome Captain Stransky. There's even a brief role for the luscious Senta Berger, who is abandoned by a man for the second time in a Sam Peckinpah film. Given James Coburn's dilemma, i'm not sure i'd have gone back to the eastern front!
The only real let-down with "Cross Of Iron" is its relatively poor music, apart from the opening and closing title sequences. Ernest Gold's overly soupy intervention, coupled with a bit of over-the-top acting contrive to spoil the pivotal scene where the remnants of James Coburn's platoon return from behind enemy lines. Given its climactic positioning in the narrative, i found it detracted from an otherwise excellent film.
However, this is yet another Sam Peckinpah film which i will find myself returning to from time-to-time. Just a shame that the cheapo "War Collection" copy's quality is a bit poor. There are a couple of "frozen" moments in the film, which would suggest some kind of transfer problem.
-1 star for lack of story
Review date: 2008-02-20 Rating: 8 out of 10
Short of being in the German army in 1943 you cannot experience the horror of the eastern front better than Peckinpah has recreated it here. In one respect James Coburn looks ridiculously old to be corporal Steiner but in a much greater respect he's perfect. I've seen photos of 18 year old German kids who'd survived Stalingrad who look the wrong side of 50. Veterans, even teenage veterans, don't look like Ben Afleck or Matt Damon. Coburn IS Steiner, a man who's seen so much he doesn't give a damn if he lives or dies.
This is also one of the most realistic war films ever made. Weapons and equipment are perfect. Peckinpah got some real T34's from somewhere for the armoured assault towards the end and must have spent months abusing them. Rather than look like museum peices those tanks look like they've come straight from Kursk. When people are shot they don't fall over and look peaceful. Bullets rip huge chunks out of people in slow motion. Its graphic and horrible and exactly how it really is.
Some may feel this is sacrilige but I'm only giving this film 4 out of 5. This is for two reasons. One is that the film actually has very little 'plot'. Its basically a few episodes in Steiners life with no real conclusion. The second is apart from Steiner & Maximilian Schell as Captain Stranszky (who contrary to what one reviewer says isn't a coward, simply a ruthless b*stard desperate for glory) you'd be hard pressed to remember the name of any member of Steiners platoon ten minutes after the film finished.
With 'Private Ryan' or 'band of brothers' the individual platoon members all have clear personalities, strengths and weaknesses and the films reach a clear conclusion. Cross of iron doesn't and for that I dock it one star
sorry but this is a classic.....bloody sam
Review date: 2007-07-20 Rating: 10 out of 10
Sam was a genius....this film is the best war film next to 'platoon' in my opinion as being realistic and showing you some true effects and strong violence of war. A true gem ,but what do you expect from a fine director who made all the greats like,wild bunch,pat garrett & billy the kid,straw dogs...all classics in my opinion.
10/10 and may i say 'james coburn ' as steiner- fantastic....
Cross of Iron
Review date: 2007-05-28 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is one of the great anti-war films, and often overlooked. There is something indefinably moving about the whole film - acting, photography, plotline, attention to detail - such that you really care about the characters and what fate will befall them. Without giving the game away, the sequence ten minutes from the end, when Steiner's patrol is returning to the German lines, is heartbreaking in its inevitability. For my money, this film contains one of the great lines from cinema, when James Coburn wearily intones "...I will show you where the Iron Crosses grow" to the ambitious, arrogant Captain Stransky. A classic film.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Maximilian Schell
Senta Berger
James Mason
David Warner
James Coburn
Creators:
James Coburn (Primary Contributor)
James Mason (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060034576808
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-01-29
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 127 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)