Outside The Box

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 2016)

One of the all-time classics of western cinema, Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid) proved a huge feat of filmmaking strength with this gruelling and sadistic wartime drama pitting Nazi Germany against Russia on the Eastern Front! No stranger to controversy, Peckinpah masterfully handled both beasts on the frontline while coaxing an almost Shakespearean feel out of the story pitting not only army versus army but a Captain against his Lieutenant.
The hard-nosed but effective Lt. Steiner (James Coburn), commands a loyal unit of rogues against a marauding enemy as Germany inevitably fails to occupy the East. He not only has the respect and friendship of the men he fights with, but even the Colonel (James Mason) believes that his kind may be Germany's only hope.
His new commanding officer, Captain Stransky (Maximillian Schell) however - a highly educated and proud officer with the kind of superiority complex that one could associate only with a Nazi officer - quickly puts the situation further at odds with his dislike of Steiner.
As the barrage of infantry and artillery against the German line intensifies and costs more than any man is able to take, their rivalry comes to a head through an epic war in every sense.
Cross of Iron is first and foremost very gory and one of the first true war movies of its kind to swap paintball grade bullet wounds for explosive exit wounds and authentic wartime injuries, to the point where it could almost be considered Grindhouse; considering its production values.
Coburn takes the classic antihero archetype beyond Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin, giving us a dirtier, more damaged frontman than had been seen before (and for some time after). Whereas Schell is deliberately cold, proper and clean cut as the kind of German we really love to hate. But he too goes beyond the stereotypical.
The support cast is brilliant and not just James Mason and David Warner as one would expect. Cross of Iron sports actual Germans playing Germans and are committed to creating stand-out characters that we do grow attached to.
What we end up with may be somewhat expected, but there is plenty you won't see coming and Cross of Iron sports anti-war messages of a different nature to that of what you may be used to. In fact, despite it's dated production values, it's totally on target.
Cross of Iron is one of the essentials of war film!