"The Wild Bunch" transferred to the WWII Eastern Front

Rating: 9/10 (7 November 2002)

Sam Peckinpah directed this almost unique account in Western cinema of the fighting on the Eastern Front during WW II. This is basically one of the most intense warmovies ever made, not surpassed until Saving Private Ryan came along. This is a gritty, raw tale set against the largest and most brutal landbattle fought in human history. Coburn is excellent a the seasoned sergeant Steiner, having to lead his men through several hard battles and narrow escapes, and his fight against his arrogant and cowardly superior, captain Stranz (Maximilian Schell).
The rather weird ending is explained by the lack of budget. German producer Wolf C. Hartwig, who gained most of his money making countless softcore sexcomedies, ran out of budget near the end of filming and Peckinpah was left with only two days to complete the big finale, but it does not detract from the overall quality of the picture.
A sequel,called "Breaktrough: the battle for Avranches" was made in 1980 Richard Burton (!) reprising the role from Coburn and also starring Robert Mitchum as his American nemesis. The setting was now the Normandy battles in july 1944. As directed by stalwart Andrew V. McLaglen, it is painfully inferior to the original Cross of Iron.