Great Intro Film to Peckinpah!

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2001)

I first saw Cross of Iron in 1984, and until that point in my film viewing, had never paid attention to Peckinpah one way or another. The first thing that caught my attention was his startling effect of using explosions in two speeds. Although there was a rapid fire explosion taking place, slow motion objects - such as a tire, or piece of metal - would float and seems to hang, making the effect surreal. I commented on it to a friend, and he said, "That's Peckinpah for you." I also was fascinated by the sexual inuendo of the tank moving in and out of a hole in the wall, while the two were in the bath tub together. Again, Peckinpah? I truly enjoyed this film, and having been raised with John Wayne and war films of the 40s, this was a breath of fresh air for me. I recommend it to anyone interested in war films, and especially anyone who isn't aware of Peckinpaugh. I for one, am working on seeing and learning more about him.