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Summary: The Single Best WW II East Front Film
Review: Readers of David Chute's editorial review above should be aware that, while he may have some insight into modern 'pop' culture, Chute is unschooled in WW II history. As the film's background is the German retreat from the Crimea, WW II in the East is scarcely "grinding to a close." Chute also inaccurately labels James Mason's character as a "martinet", when that role is actually suberbly acted by Maximillian Schell. David Warner also plays one of his best roles as James Mason's aide.Unemcumbered by some directors' need to either showcase female companions/up-and-coming starlets in extraneous roles in their films [and yes, I am speaking of the ruination of two films about the fighting in Stalingrad], or contrive silly US combat missions to wave the flag, Peckinpah is able to concentrate on both character evolution and action, creating the closest thing I've seen on-screen to a visual novel. Perhaps Chute objected to the realistic portrayal of senseless combat violence, which contrasts greatly with the close to cartoonish MTV version in some other recent war films. He also does not mention the lengths Peckinpah went to create a realistic film environment, including the use of actual Soviet-era T-34 tanks. Personally, I would like to think that one of Peckinpah's motivations in doing this film was to help explode the Cold War-era myth of the Germans as the "good guys" on the Eastern Front. I have not read the novel on which the film is based, but from a historical point of view Peckinpah portrays both the influence of Nazi racial idiocies on a segment of the German military, and the skepticism of such in other segments, pretty accurately. If you only own one film on the Eastern Front in WW II, this is the one.
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Summary: World War II from the German perspective.
Review: Cross of Iron introduces the viewer to WW2 from a seldom seen perspective -- that of the German foot soldier. We in America are accustomed to seeing the noble G.I. as the hero, but here the protagonist is a German noncom. The scene is the Eastern Front, the enemy Russian. The main thrust of the story is the conflict between the seasoned, no-nonsense veteran sergeant and the Prussian aristocrat captain who is placed in command of his company. The sergeant has previously distinguished himself in battle, thereby earning the coveted Iron Cross, an award which the captain likewise aspires to receive. The officer, however, instead of earning his medal through gallantry, seeks to obtain one through deceit, manipulation, betrayal and murder. Sam Peckinpah does a fairly good job of portraying some of the "grit" of infantry combat. The characters in Sgt. Steiner's platoon are interesting and sometimes humorous, for example, Cpl. Kreuger, who genuinely believes that the benefit of all the accumulated filth on his skin is to make him waterproof. Several of the action sequences are particularly well done, including several instances where the director cuts to slow motion for additional dramatic effect. The sight of a Russian "human wave" charge is unforgettable. Although there are elements of the story line which have almost a "soap opera" feel to them, this is generally good story, if somewhat contrived. There are also some aspects which speak to the viewer on a very human emotional level. Overall, if you're a fan of war movies, you will probably enjoy this movie. It's definitely worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: A mixed bag.
Review: Overall this is an excellent film. It's 1943 and the tide has turned against the Germans on the Russian Front. When the film was released in 1977, Cross of Iron was ahead of its time in its depiction of the gritty conditions on the eastern front from the German viewpoint. Visually the film is a stunner, particularly when the Red Army attacks with waves of infantry supported by T34 tanks. The uniforms, equipment, entrenchments, etc. all look accurate. Unfortunately, there are a couple of things I can't get past that detract from the film. First and formost is James Coburn as Corporal Steiner. As an old, grey, wrinkled man he might be more convincing playing a soldier in the volkssturm (home guard)defending Berlin in 1945. Is this the only American star this Anglo-German production could get? Secondly is the hair. Most of the German soldiers look like former extras from the musical Hair. Yes, a lot of German soldiers in the field had longer hair on top but they kept it close-cropped on the sides. The "defeatist" Regimental Adjutant, Captain Keisler, looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. The overgrown, unkempt hair just screams 1970's and has no "period" feel to it. Again, despite its faults, the film is excellent overall and is a worthy addition to your WWII DVD collection.
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Summary: Worth a Look
Review: The movie itself is excellent. The battle scenes are highly realistic and the materiel used is historically accurate. The movie accurately portrays what war was really like on the eastern front. The film is only hurt by the poor quality of the dvd. The picture isn't the greatest and there aren't any special features such as subtitles. This film is worth buying but be prepared to be disappointed by the technical faults of the dvd.
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Summary: Movie cries out for director's cut
Review: I understand this movie was butchered before it was released. That is why so many of the scenes don't flow well. Too violent I guess. This movie really shows that war is hell. There have been many war movies in recent years that have effectively shown the horrible side of war, but at the time that this movie was made, war movies still pretty much glorified war. Please somebody do a director's cut on the movie. I think that it will then rank amoung Saving Private Ryan and Das Boot. James Coburn does a fantastic job in this movie, probably mostly because the character he plays fits his acting style so well.
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Summary: DVD Copy Disappointing of Cross of Iron
Review: I just purchased this movie. I saw it on the big screen in 1978. I had just finished the book by Willi Heinrich. I was very disappointed. The DVD quality was OK, but there was no widescreen, subtitles or anything beyond the ordinary on it. I had expected a lot more. I really had liked the movie when I saw it in 1978, but now that I've read the book, I didn't even finish watching the DVD. I thought [...] for the disk was way out of line considering what I got. Hen's Tooth pulled a bait-n-switch.
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Summary: BEST WAR MOVIE EVER!
Review: This movie follows the book somewhat but never compromises the futility of war it tells about. Like all Peckinpah films, it has it's gory details of slow motion body shots, but it delievers to the viewer the horror of all amred conflicts. The author wated to tell about the futility of man's ending of meaningless conflicts and this movie supported by the great acting of James Coburn tells of the Quixotic battle. The sprinkling of the do or die officers played by Mason and Schell demonstrate the uphill battle that a man like Steiner must fight to find a solution to this struggle and yet survive. Highly recommended and overlooked after the end of Vietnam, a great anti-war movie.
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Summary: An Arizona Viewer
Review: A good movie that showed a more realistic side of the German soldier than the typical "sergeant schultz" versions. My mother is from Germany, she was a little girl growing up during the war. She had 4 brothers fighting in the war plus her father before he was wounded. One brother is missing in action on the Russian front. This movie showed me no matter what uniform a man wears sooner or later he must battle himself as to the reason we wage war. I also think too much credit is given to the Russian Army in defeating Germany, you might as well say those on the western front just played bingo while the Russians won the war! Both the Germans and the Japanese were formidible opponents,they just didn't lay down easy. I am a peacetime military veteran, but today I think wars are waged to give people something to do, hold people down long enough,i.e.deny them food,heating oil,and other necessities and they will rise up and fight for it-wars! Because of world war 2 I have the the mother I have,but will never get to know 3 uncles who fought that war on the German side-irony I guess. Jim.
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Summary: A great movie....Truly one of Peckinpah's best
Review: This movie is one of my favorites. Yes, it's little known, and yes, the DVD does nothing to improve the sound or image, but this is a great movie. Inevitably, this movie will be compared to Saving Private Ryan. Suprisingly, it holds up extremely favorably. The story, the plot of this movie is much much better. In this movie, death stalks soldiers all of the time, and you die a slow, agonizing, bloody death. Gone are the Saving Private Ryan's cliches (Such as the wimpy medic, the New Yorker, the Heroic Captain, the Jew, and so forth) and it's patriotism. This is war, war in it's most brutal tone. Sergeant Steiner, played by James Coburn, is a tough but disallusioned Sergeant who despises officers and simply wants to keep his men alive. His squad mates are instantly loveable, and they actually have real character. They are not flat cliches, these are real men. There is no way to call this movie a salute to Nazism or anything like that, in fact, it is extremely anti-nazi. The men in the squad are not thinking about Nazism or their great leader, they're trying to keep themselves and their friends alive, as was the actual case. In fact, the SS Special Squad reinforcement that the squad gets is eventually offered to the Russian women to kill. Since you grow so close to the characters, you really get emotional when you see them blown away in Peckinpah's typical balletic slow motion violence. The villan, Captain Stransky, is played brilliantly by Maximillian Schell. Although the slow motion violence is less realistic than Saving Private Ryan, it never the less evokes more emotions. This is one of the best movies about WWII and war in general, and is a must see even for people who think falsely that every German soldier was a horrible Nazi.
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Summary: Cross of Irony
Review: This film is a prime example of the German soldier who ceased to believe in the cause of the Third Reich, but fought for his own survival in anycase, and for the survival of his comrades. Excellent film, somewhat 'intense' in many ways. This film contains no fluff, it is down and dirty combat, and well done. Sam Peckinpah is a genius!
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