Cross of Iron, historical war drama, 1977

Cross of Iron (German: Steiner – Das Eiserne Kreuz, lit. "Steiner – The Iron Cross") is a 1977 war film directed by Sam Peckinpah, featuring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. Set on the Eastern Front in World War II during the Soviets' Caucasus operations against the German Kuban bridgehead on the Taman Peninsula in late 1943, the film focuses on the class conflict between a newly arrived, aristocratic Prussian officer who covets winning the Iron Cross and a cynical, battle-hardened infantry NCO.

An international co-production between British and West German financiers, the film's exteriors were shot on location in Yugoslavia.

Orson Welles, when he saw the film, cabled Peckinpah, praising the latter's film as "the best war film he had seen about the ordinary enlisted man since All Quiet on the Western Front." Ian Johnston, reviewing the film's release on Blu-ray in June 2011, praised the film, saying Cross of Iron bears all the hallmarks of a real classic, which ranks with Peckinpah's finest work. As a poignant reminder of the sheer brutal obscenity of war, it has rarely been equalled."

Mike Mayo wrote in his book ''War Movies: Classic Conflict on Film that Cross of Iron, Sam Peckinpah's only war film, "is a forgotten masterpiece that has never really managed to overcome its troubled and expensive production." Jay Hyams wrote in War Movies that while Peckinpah had directed "many films about battles between groups of armed men...this was the first in which both sides wear uniforms."

This channel is dedicated to preserving and making available to the widest public the very best of classic documentaries and historical films which would otherwise fade into obscurity if not worse. The emphasis is on historical subjects, but is not limited to them. Broaden your horizons by seeing the world through the lens of generations which preceded us.

If you wish to support this channel and the effort put into selecting, finding and uploading these valuable historical works, you may do so either directly through paypal or by downloading and using the revolutionary Brave browser via this referral link https://brave.com/ele794

Crypto donations:
bitcoin: 1FXkq3WfwJgsCse9xbsZdrqY37eEXNZwW8
ethereum: 0x03d5593CD950333aA4eC14cd15ed9F7a9Ba09b88
litecoin: Lar3AsEwk4B53JPwnZspwY6ySjn6p1fwhJ
BAT: 0x03d5593CD950333aA4eC14cd15ed9F7a9Ba09b88