Cross of Iron (1977)
While most films depicting the Second World War are told from the point of view of the Allies – after all, they won the war in the end – we still get the odd film that depicts the conflict from the side of the Axis forces. While Tora! Tora! Tora! did this somewhat with its Japanese half of the film, it still very much felt like a Hollywood war film and that the Americans were the “good guys” of the piece.
This brings me to Cross of Iron, a brutal and stylish war film told from the point of view of German soldiers that is one of the most one of the most criminally underrated war films ever made.
The film follows a platoon of German soldiers led by Sgt Steiner as they battle against Soviet forces in the savagery of the Eastern Front. After being wounded in battle, Steiner is sent back to the front alongside Captain Stransky an aristocratic officer who is obsessed with winning the coveted Iron Cross for bravery, an ambition that brings him into conflict with the more cynical and battle-hardened attitude of Steiner.
The cast for this film is excellent with the legendary James Coburn (one of my favourite actors) leading proceedings as Steiner. Coburn looks every bit the battle hardened, cold-blooded killer, a man who has seen so much hell to the point that he is almost numbed to everything, with Coburn’s distinctive voice and a subdued attempt at a German accent making the character a fascinating and intense specimen to watch.
Maximillian Schell is also great as Captain Stransky, an arrogant aristocrat who seems gives off the impression that he deserves the Iron Cross merely because of his lofty background, not because of his actions in battle, of which he has evidently seen little of. Schell does such a fine job at making Stransky so pompous that I always get a twisted feeling of enjoyment at seeing him squirm under pressure, much like Coburn does in the film’s darkly hilarious final scene.
This film has what I consider one of the greatest opening credit sequences ever, mainly because of how cleverly it’s put together. Scored to a chorus of children singing an old German folk song, the sequence uses archive footage of Hitler and his rallies and intercuts it with footage of the German military sweeping through Europe and the initial victories it enjoyed.
However, as it progresses the music grows ever louder, and sometimes more ominous, as the tide of the war begins to turn against Germany, with the film cleverly intercutting footage of Hitler on a balcony above cheering crowds, with the columns of German soldiers surrendering after the Battle of Stalingrad, cleverly depicting the contrast between the propaganda depiction of the war and the reality of it.
Although, squeamish viewers should be warned that some of the footage used does depict some horrific sites such as corpses and other unpleasant images, so viewer discretion is advice with this sequence.
Directed by the original Wildman of Hollywood Sam Peckinpah, I can guarantee to new viewers that the battle sequences are some of the most stylish and intense sequences ever committed to celluloid. Perfecting the techniques used in his earlier films like The Wild Bunch, Peckinpah makes heavy use of slow motion when explosions catapult men across the battlefield, when Coburn is machine gunning his enemies or when a Soviet tank crashes through the wall of a building.
The film also makes use of handheld camera techniques to films some parts of the battle sequences, something that Private Ryan wouldn’t perfect for another two decades, with it helping to make the battles feel even more ferocious as the soldiers often battle hand to hand. The battles are intense, fierce and suitably nightmarish and perfectly capture the chaotic ferocity of the Eastern Front in World War II.
Those expecting to find characters to root for might want to look elsewhere, as Steiner and company are not exactly the most heroic bunch. Killing young Soviet soldiers without too much thought or guilt afterwards, or in one deeply uncomfortable scene in which they menace a group of female Soviet soldiers that they stumble upon, these are not “heroes” but merely men doing what they feel is necessary to survive the war, even if these actions might be morally questionable or reprehensible.
Cross of Iron is an excellent film led by fine performances, filled with stylishly shot and edited battle sequences that feel hellish, and packed with a pitch black sense of humour that serves to emphasise the ridiculousness of war and the class conflict between officers and soldiers, making for a very powerful and darkly funny anti-war message.
If you’ve never heard of this film till now, I implore you to seek it out and give a watch immediately. It’s just brilliant.
Originally published March 14, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
