Director Sam Peckinpah was an ornery cuss. From his earliest days writing scripts for television westerns (Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, The Rifleman) to his latter days as a full-blown Hollywood director, his times were full of controversy. Rarely did a work of his survive unscathed.

Like they treated Orson Welles before him, the studio heads insisted on cutting and massaging Peckinpah’s work to make it more in line with what they perceived were the prevailing tastes. But the public’s tastes were not exactly like the studios thought. Sam Peckinpah was rightfully thought of as a maverick, yes, but he was also something of a genius. From his relatively small oeuvre can be gleaned three cinematic masterpieces, Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch, and the work in question, The Cross of Iron. And yes, the studios had to relent and reinsert the snippets of film they had so thoughtlessly cut out, so you can see the films today in their entirety just as Sam envisioned them.

The Cross of Iron concerns honor, loyalty, courage, and change, concepts Peckinpah explored time and again in his works. Set on the Eastern Front in 1943, we see the Germans on the defensive fighting for their lives against the relentlessly oncoming Russians.

In an early scene, Colonel Brandt (James Mason) tells newcomer Captain Stransky (Maximilian Schell) that the German soldier no longer fights for ideals - not for his country, home, or the party but for his very life. Stransky, transferred from a cushy position in occupied France, has come for the honor. A Prussian aristocrat and cowardly, he feels he must win the Iron Cross to live up to his family name. He feels so strongly about this that he tries to claim the exploits of a dead man and get his subordinate Sgt. Steiner (James Coburn) to support him in the lie. He has misjudged his man, however, as Steiner, a truly brave man not to mention a nonconformist, has his own ideas of honor and loyalty. How this contest of wills plays out makes for an extremely interesting, gripping tale.

Peckinpah offers an unflinching look at war, the violence and destruction, the senselessness of it all. Bullets, bayonets, bombs, and barbed wire rip bodies in a “ballet of death” first made famous in The Wild Bunch. The camera looks on without a blink. Saving Private Ryan might have had a few gruesome scenes but has nowhere near the sustained barrage of mayhem and desolation this film does. You truly feel sickened at the carnage, not to mention scared as hell and happy you‘re not there!

Steiner is wounded in an explosion. In a dreamlike sequence he spends time in a hospital only to return to the front at the earliest opportunity, even avoiding home leave. “Do you love the war so much or are you afraid of what you’ll become without it?” asks his nurse (Senta Berger), who has also become his lover. Steiner leaves the question hanging, unanswered, as he hurriedly dresses to leave. Back at the front, Steiner not only has to face the Russians to the front but the fear and hatred of the captain and his minions at his back…

The actors all do an excellent job, from the stars, James Coburn (Steiner), Maximilian Schell (Stransky), James Mason (Brandt), and David Warner (Kiesel) to the members of Steiner’s platoon, all unknown German actors. Props and costuming are impeccable with the correct uniforms and vehicles for the period.

Excellent dialog includes:

Brandt: "Tell them we're not retreating, we're running!"

Stransky: "I'll show you how a Prussian officer can fight!"
Steiner: "And I'll show you where the Iron Crosses grow!"

The Hen’s Tooth DVD is presented in 1.33: 1 full screen format. My research indicates the original format was only 1.66: 1 so not too much picture information is lost, fortunately. The DVD really does not have anything in the way of extras but it is still worth seeking out and seeing.

I have to give The Cross of Iron two big thumbs up. See the movie that Orson Welles called "the greatest antiwar movie since All Quiet On The Western Front.” Five stars.

Happy viewing!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening