"You heroic horse's ass!" ***SPOILERS***

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2014)

A classic film by any criterion by Sam Peckinpah, in his usual blood-and-guts fashion. That fact aside, being quite strange, as it's very much an anti-war film, told really from the perspective of a rag-tag German Army platoon fighting its way back from the Russian Front in 1943 (the turnaround for the German Army in WW2).
Rolf Steiner, (James Coburn), the respected stalwart NCO newly promoted from Corporal to Sergeant, falls foul of arrogant Prussian-Aristocrat officer, Captain Stransky (Maximilian Schell). Stransky, still a novice coming from peaceful, occupied France makes no secret of WHY he asked for a transfer to the Russian Front - 'to win the Iron Cross', he says, as arrogantly as he is... arrogant! He's immediately looked on with disdain by the ragged but experienced Colonel Brandt (James Mason) and Captain Kiesel (David Warner).
Stransky even discovers himself a nice lackey, in Lieutenant Trebig, holding the latter's homosexuality he has recently observed with his adjutant, over his head.
His opportunity to win the Iron Cross 'dishonestly' presents itself in a Russian attack at his headquarters - only he squirms down below in the subterranean mire, whereas Steiner, the platoon and an equally respected Lieutenant Miers take on the Russkies head-on.
Miers is killed fighting bravely, Steiner is injured and goes on leave, having it off with a nice bit of skirt (Senta Berger as Eva, his nurse) and then there's the evaluation of the attack - Stransky puts his name down somewhere for the Iron Cross and put upon Trebig is called as his witness, surprise, surprise, never mind he's boasted about winning it in the first few words he uttered to the upper echelons. Steiner returns, and swears blind to the inquiry into 'who lead the attack, Stransky or Miers' that the latter lead the fighting and Stransky was nowhere to be seen. Steiner is needed as a second witness for Stransky, the latter even asks Steiner for this! Colonel Brandt again leans on Trebig to tell the truth but he can't even wobble slightly with Stransky threatening to reveal his homosexuality.
The platoon acquires a new Gestapo soldier, he's warned by Steiner he's not a popular man in spying on them - and that he'll get a bayonet up his ass if he even sneezes the wrong way. The platoon is sent out and encounters severe fighting that is vicious as the Russian Front was. Even a scrape with some Russian women leaves a couple of them killed, the green and innocent new private Dietz gets his as does the Gestapo man - in a not very nice way, it has to be said. But they still have to manage to get back to their lines. Stransky is beside himself in not being nominated for his Iron Cross as he feels he can't go back to his upper-class family in disgrace without one.
In the meantime,Steiner's platoon is as cut off somewhere and are struggling to get back to own their own lines. An order from Brandt is put out, to all units to break off and get back. Stransky deliberately sees to it that Steiner's platoon don't get the message but in any case, Steiner and Co. manage to get back to their own lines, using the approved code on the radio, to take his men in. Of course, Stransky gets wind of all this first and decides it could be a fake - that's his explanation anyway! He orders his men to open fire on Steiner and his platoon even when they wave their hands and blurt out the password/code wildly. Only three of the original platoon make it back including Steiner, who sees Trebig in the trench. (Trebig by now even states to himself 'my passage home' - some attempt to show he isn't totally lead by Stransky). Trebig wails that it wasn't his doing and it's Stransky all along. Steiner just lets rip on Trebig with his machine gun in typical Peckinpah fashion, letting him know his little fable cuts no ice.
Steiner catches up with Stransky, telling him Trebig is dead, Stransky retorts that Trebig wasn't under his command for a long time - then the two go head-to-head in some sort of duel into the Russian Melee as a challenge. This near-last scene has Brandt leading a charge and Steiner and Stransky going off to fight. Stransky hasn't a clue how to reload his machine gun and Steiner just laughs his head off in the ending scene, showing an explosion by a railway carriage as we are lead to believe the two of them have been killed.
An interestingly-filmed British-German production, with Peckinpah's blood and guts approach and set-pieces giving him rein to exploit it to its maximum potential. It must be said, the film was a hit in the then West Germany. But you can see why. It shows it mainly from their perspective. A product of anti-war feeling from Germans, on the Russian Front is this debatable? They even take in a young Russian boy-soldier as some sort of 'chum' after Stransky previously ordered him to be shot, as was the norm in Russia at the hands of the German Nazi ideology. As also, they meet some Russian women and some humanity is shown from the platoon, with scant reference to rape, scorned upon by Steiner - this is not mostly truthful to German soldiers of the period. I'm not saying they couldn't show any humanity, but it looks as if it's promoted and wasn't typical of the war on the Russian Front. Steiner as an anti-war but courageous soldier at odds with a king-s**t officer Stransky is well-played and the latter's deceit for his own ends perhaps warranted him getting killed more violently. The action is well-handled and typical as I have said of Peckinpah, but this remains one of the best and memorable war films we all grew up with before Saving Private Ryan.