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!"

1977 2h 13m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

71%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 510🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 31,331

DramaActionHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“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!”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Writers: Julius J. Epstein, James Hamilton, Walter Kelley
Languages: German, English, French, Russian
Countries: Germany, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, English, French, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Cross of Iron Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sam Peckinpah, shot by John Coquillon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Ernest Gold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Ellis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sam Peckinpah directs. John Coquillon behind the camera. Ernest Gold scores. Michael Ellis cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, United Kingdom. Dialogue in German, English, French, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
249 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, English, French, Russian.
4International production across 2 countries: Germany, United Kingdom.
5Part of the "Cross of Iron Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Sam Peckinpah, shot by John Coquillon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Ernest Gold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Michael Ellis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9James Coburn and Maximilian Schell and James Mason carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "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!".
11IMDB entry: tt0074695 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 9 themes, including "hostility", "world war ii", "battle for power", "troops".
13Released under 23 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Coquillon
Original score: Ernest Gold
Editing: Michael Ellis
Production design: Ted Haworth
Makeup / hair: Colin Arthur
Stunt coordinator: Peter Brayham
Runtime: 133 min · 2h 13m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $1,509,000
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Cross of Iron (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 31,331 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 1 nomination total

Part of

Cross of Iron Collection

The Cross of Iron movie collection revolves around gritty portrayals of soldiers' lives during World War II, with a focus on the Eastern Front.

Also by

Sam Peckinpah

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-04-26
★ 9/10
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, they are merely trying to survive, the realities of war draining their last bit of strength by the day. Then it's at the mid point when you realise that Peckinpah (possibly chuckling away into his stein of beer) has neatly led us into sympathy for the enemy of the good old war film, the German soldier. All cloaked by death dealer Peckinpah himself, with slow-mo blood baths and poetic like harshness emphasising the story unfolding. Men, true to the director's form, are defined by what they do above all else, regardless of the consequences. Men perfectly portrayed by James Coburn (never better) as Feldwebel Rolf Steiner and Maximilian Schell as Hauptmann Stransky, giving us men from different spectrum's who have differing ideals in life. Also evident is a classic Peckinpah theme of establishment superiors trying to stamp down on the "real" men, the irony of such being that this was yet another Peckinpah film beset with interference outside of his control. Cut and tampered with, it's only now that we can see Pekinpah's actual uncut version of the film - so accept nothing that runs under 130 minutes on Home Formats. From the opening montage of WWII footage, played out as German children sing a haunting little ditty, to the climatic, almost surreal finale as Coburn maniacally laughs into the end credits (be sure to watch these to the end for Bertolt Brecht's bitter quote closure), this is no ordinary war film. It's all shot expertly by cinematographer John Coquillon. So with the ugly themes of moral corruption and the shattering of youthful innocence, this is one unpleasant, even insane picture. In short, Cross Of Iron "is", as Orson Welles was known to say, one of the greatest anti-war films ever made. 9/10
Wuchak2023-10-26
★ 7/10
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. Some might complain that Coburn was 48 playing a man who was 28 at the time of the events. Yet producers were naturally more interested in a big-name actor with the charisma to fill seats at the cinema than they were in being technically accurate. And, honestly, Coburn’s performance is one of the top attractions. As far as I know, this was the first major film released in North America to be set on the Eastern Front. Since the protagonists were Germans it’s no surprise that it didn’t do well in the US and Canada, but it was successful in Europe and has developed a strong cult following. The core story needed to be better elucidated, but if you use the subtitles it isn’t too difficult to figure out. People complain about the disorienting combat sequences (right out of the gate), which is valid, but they successfully depict how modern combat is experienced by those in the field. Despite the film’s issues, there are several highlights, including the great action, the palpable tension between Steiner and Stransky, Coburn and Schell’s performances, the bleak reflections on life and the late sequence involving a female Russian detachment. But why does Steiner hate ALL officers, which strikes me as unconvincing? What's he expect, that there be NO ONE in charge of strategic military operations? If someone respects & supports you, like Col. Brandt does with Steiner, you should appreciate it. I think it comes down to how battle-weary Steiner was, not to mention he didn't even believe in the Nazi-led cause of Germany. I also believe it's a matter of Steiner being a sigma male while officers are typically alpha males. The movie runs 2 hours, 7 minutes, was shot in Trieste in northeastern Italy and Obrov in Slovenia, as well as Zagreb and Savudrija in Croatia. Interiors were done at Pinewood Studios outside London, to the west. GRADE: B/B+
CinemaSerf2024-02-04
★ 7/10
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 territory to make it back to their own lines. Sam Peckinpah uses the Soviets as his foe here so that avoids any unpatriotic accusations back home, and allows him to deliver a gritty and authentic looking wartime drama that focusses way more on the human beings involved. Their flaws and their strengths are illustrated as each is tested to his own individual breaking point - all whilst shells and bullets fall around them. Coburn was a master of the less-is-more style - his demeanour and facial expressions did most of his acting for him, and there's also a strong contribution from David Warner as the battle-weary "Kiesel". James Mason, I felt, wasn't quite a natural here but in the end it all comes down to a battle of wills between the entitled "Stransky" and the experienced "Steiner" who lock horns effectively. The production and photography really capture well the degradation in which these soldiers - and the locals they encounter along the way - lived their lives. In muddy squalor with little food and and some almost animalistic instincts at times, too. It's also an entirely plausible nail in the coffin of the last vestiges (as was the case in the Great War) of command being vested in the upper classes who cared little for anything but the plaudits of laurel leaves and faux bravery.