An effective if superficial anti-war film

Rating: Null/10 (24 February 2007)

Corporal Rolf Steiner returns from a skirmish on the frontline with his small group of men to find that the broken and dispirited Captain Kiesel has been moved to one side and that he is now under the command of Captain Stransky. Stransky has specifically requested reassignment from France to the Russian front in order that he may have an opportunity to win the Iron Cross before the war is finished. While the Russians get ever closer, Steiner finds his legendary status among the men no help in him saving them and he comes ever more into conflict with Stransky.
Opening with a wonderfully smart title sequence this war film never pretends to the audience that this is going to be anything but an anti-war war film. Those in any doubt are put through several pointless and bloody battle sequences where losses are all around. In a way the film is a rather blunt weapon because this message is writ large across every battle scene and I found myself remote from the specific individuals involved and merely left with Peckinpah's overarching interest in the futility of the whole thing. To a certain degree it does of course work and the film is convincing in its depiction of the conditions and the battles are engaging and understandably chaotic. The problem I had with it is that it doesn't have a huge amount beyond this. Early on I assumed that the nature of the characters Steiner and Stransky meant that the film would create this miniature drama within the bigger picture. This element didn't totally work for me though and there was not much in the way of depth to the characters and the story. That said the film does still work on the level it stays at and fans of Peckinpah will be pleased.
The cast are mostly good even if I didn't think that they had enough material to work with in their characters. Coburn holds the film with ease and makes for a strong presence while Schell fits his character well; they work well together but individually neither manages to find any depth. Support is roundly good with starry turns from Mason and Warner as well as faces I didn't recognise such as Lowitsch, Glowna and others.
Overall then a solid war film that is unmistakably a product of Sam Peckinpah. I would have liked more depth in the characters and the narrative but for what it is it still works well and produces a collection of scenes that have no touch of glorification to be found.