CROSS OF IRON - *****

Directed by Sam Peckinpah. Starring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner, Santa Berger, Klaus Lowitsch, Roger Fritz. War, Action, Drama, UK/West Germany, 1977, 127mins, cert 18

Released on DVD and Blu Ray 6th June by Optimum Classic

Set on the Russian front during the German retreat, Cross Of Iron (COI) follows a platoon lead by the anti-authoritarian Sergeant Steiner (Coburn at his fiercest). Openly contemptuous of the Nazi party and his superiors, Steiner is tolerated by the humane Colonel Brandt (Mason) and the cynical Captain Keisel (David Warner) because he is a brilliant guerrilla soldier.

When a new commander Captain Stransky arrives (Schell, filling out an outstanding cast) Steiner’s contempt for authority and unbending personal code bring them into conflict. A Prussian aristocrat obsessed with winning the Iron Cross (the German Army’s top commendation for valour). Steiner doesn’t give a shit about medals “why do you want it so badly? It’s just a worthless piece of metal” however Stransky will stop at nothing to get it, and if Steiner stands in his way, Stransky is prepared to engineer his demise.

By setting his film on the Russian front and having German protagonists, Peckinpah is able to take the gloves off and deliver a war film of stunning cynicism and despair. In a key exchange, Col. Brant wonders what they will do when Germany loses the war, Cap. Keisel replies wearily “prepare for the next one”.

The film is nearly two hours of constant explosions. Artillery blasts become punctuation to the dialogue, which includes regular discussions of politics, class and philosophy! The action sequences are brutal, but brilliantly done. Peckinpah was promised fifteen tanks for a major sequence, when it came time to shoot it the producer had run out of money and could only supply three. You wouldn’t know this watching the film, it looks like an entire Russian tank division descends on Steiner’s men.

After the film was released and disappeared a despondent Peckinpah received a telegram from another director telling him that he had made the finest anti war film he had ever seen. The sender was Orson Welles. When Peckinpah recounts this story in the making off doc included on the disc his pride is evident.

Sturat Barr.

GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH