Sam Peckinpah‘s 1977 war drama CROSS OF IRON was released at a time when the blockbuster era was well underway.
Like William Friedkin‘s SORCERER (released the same year originally), it is a movie that as decades have passed has evolved into a well-respected film that is getting a well deserved 4K remastering as part of Studio Canal‘s VINTAGE CLASSICS label, coupled with selected big-screen presentations. The film played in a double-bill in the UK with Dario Argento‘s SUSPIRIA at one point around its’ original release.
Peckinpah was offered the chance to direct the likes of SUPERMAN(1978) at the time, but instead opted to work with a German producer, Wolf C. Hartwig who had evolved from initially working as a film distributor and wanted to make a World War II film from the German perspective.
Given the recent award-winning success of the updated version of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, the appeal of seeing CROSS OF IRON through fresh eyes today will increase, not least in that it has much virtue and style coupled with Peckinpah’s own trademark rapid cross-cutting pioneered in his 1969 classic Western THE WILD BUNCH and his still-controversial 1971 adaptation of the novel ‘The Siege Of Trencher’s Farm‘, STRAW DOGS, starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George.
An Anglo-German production through EMI Films originally, CROSS OF IRON is the tale of desperate German soldiers on the Russian Front in 1943. More specifically, like Oliver Stone‘s PLATOON (1986) it tells of the conflict between two military leaders.
Corporal Rolf Steiner (James Coburn), disillusioned with the symbolism and uniform of German domination – despite getting the Iron Cross, is increasingly looking forward to a more peaceful existence. However, his taste for the field remains committed and constant. Into his sights comes Captain Stransky (Maximillian Schell), aspiring recipient of the Cross, but with far less of the walk and talk that Steiner has demonstrated in his time of duty.
Supporting the overview as the war continues are Colonel Brandt (James Mason), acting as a go-between for Steiner and Stransky and Captain Kiesel (David Warner) who is seen by Brandt as potentially a more valid part of the next generation of leadership. However, Steiner and Stransky’s own conflict is something that could provide the key to not only the future of the movement, but also the moral high ground that all looking for a solution in war covet….
Intelligently realised and very personal offering from Peckinpah, who followed this up with the trucking classic CONVOY (1978) starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw and Ernest Borgnine with some very graphic and intense action on the front line, coupled with sobering reflection of what it was like to be at the heart of the Second World War.
Admittedly, the very masculine perspective of the film (expressed by Schell at one point during one of the more quiet moments in the film) might be offensive to take in the context of today’s more sobering desire for more gender encouraged reflection, but it is a relevant perspective nonetheless open to further clarity and discussion if you read into the deeper issues of war in general.
One of Peckinpah’s best.
Cross Of Iron will be available in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital, from 31st July, 2023. Please also look out for selected big-screen presentations where available.
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