Peckinpah's beautiful nightmare

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 2015)

Our story begins on the punishing wasteland of the eastern front in 1943. The gallant but disillusioned Sgt. Steiner(James Coburn)has been awarded the coveted iron cross for bravery in combat. Steiner's new commanding officer Capt. Stransky(Maximillian Schell)a supercilious Prussian aristocrat, hungers for nothing more than personal glory and the chance to earn his own iron cross. It isn't long before a bitter contempt develops between the two men, as the jaded Steiner realises that Stransky is a dangerously deluded coward. With the red army pushing the Germans back, contempt turns to disgust after Stransky takes credit for the heroic actions of Steiner and his men and leaves them at the mercy of the Soviets.
Steeped in deliciously morbid cynicism, Sam Peckinpah's only war movie captures military life on the hellish eastern front with unparalled skill. Deeply rooted in satire, never have I had the pleasure to enjoy an (anti)war movie so raw, so mesmerising, so flawless. The hauntingly dreamlike imagery does nothing short of dazzle and the poignant atmosphere of muddy trenches fills ones nostrils with the nauseating stench of war. As far as war movies go, Orson Welles said that Cross Of Iron was the greatest he had ever seen. I am inclined to agree, if it wasn't for stiff competition from classics like Patton, A Bridge Too Far or Attack!. The performances are nothing short of brilliant. James Coburn and Maximillian Schell dazzled in their portrays. The one and only James Mason was also on fine form as the war weary Colonel Brandt. A hoard of competent European talent also flex their acting muscles in supporting roles. With a flawless script, Cross Of Iron is just as much a study of class relations as it is a study of war. The battle of wits between the demoralised Steiner and the priggish Stransky is just as gripping as the physical battles between soldiers and tanks. Steiner is a man more loyal to his men than he is to his country. His only goal is to survive the carnage which surrounds him. Officers and medals mean nothing to him whatsoever, describing his iron cross as nothing more than "a worthless piece of metal". Stransky on the other hand, has his loyalties driven by an almost erotic obsession to win the iron cross. Like most members of the upper classes, he views war through rose tinted glasses, a trait which eventually leads to his undoing.
The explosive but bizarre climax oozes with darkly comic humour. As a matter of fact, the entire movie does, although the black humour is at its greatest near the end of the movie. The film itself is a metaphor for insanity, with insanity shamelessly represented by the climax. The final 25 minutes make the writers seem as if they were high on crack, although the final sequence itself is just so beautiful in a darkly humorous, yet horrifying kind of way that it succeeds on every level!. Too amazing to spoil, no war movie you have ever seen or will see will end with a sting more piercing than Cross Of Iron. The movie boasts a handful of muscular battle scenes which see Peckinpah play his trump card. Anyone who has seen The Wild Bunch or Straw Dogs will know that I am talking about slow-motion!. The intercutting of slow-mo action with standard speed action heightens the tension here in a way more impressive than that of any other Peckinpah movie!. The camera techniques utilised include shakycam and tight close-ups. Monstrous explosions puncture the scenery as men brutally fight for their lives with the odd squib bursting(another Pekinpah speciality). I was also impressed to see real Soviet tanks put to terrifying use in a taut skirmish at a disused factory.
Whilst totally surreal, Peckinpah's gorgeous nightmare will definitely leave a lasting bitter taste in your mouth. The lashes of black humour(which are occasionally hilarious in a cruel kind of way)and harrowing imagery will rock your world in one of the most severe portraits of war ever painted!. 10/10.