Time: 133 Minutes
Age Rating: R18
Cast:
James Coburn as Feldwebel Rolf Steiner
Maximilian Schell as Hauptmann Stransky
James Mason as Oberst Brandt
David Warner as Hauptmann Kiesel
Senta Berger as Eva
Director: Sam Peckinpah

I went into Cross of Iron only knowing that it was a war movie directed by Sam Peckinpah, and having seen Straw Dogs, The Wild Bunch, and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia from him, I expected good things. It was certainly great, and a bit of a different war movie than you’d usually see.

Cross of Iron is different in that it is a World War 2 movie told from the German perspective. Surprisingly, it has little to do with Nazis, or at least doesn’t really focus that much on that aspect. It is a harrowing, nihilistic, bleak and visceral drama about enlisted troops just trying to survive. It really does well at conveying that there is no honour in battle, we see countless soldiers die without honour, and it has a real apathy towards war.

There are also some really great performances from the cast, including James Coburn and Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. Coburn is especially amazing and committed in the lead role.

Sam Peckinpah’s direction is strong, it’s very well shot and the editing is effective. The battle and action sequences are incredible, and with this being a Peckinpah movie, it is unsurprisingly brutal with the violence being hard hitting.

Cross of Iron is a bleak, visceral, and incredibly directed anti war film, with great performances.