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Cross of Iron
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
1977 · Directed by Sam Peckinpah · 133 min · Drama · Action · History · War · 13 frames
Tagline
On the Eastern front in 1943, the German soldiers no longer had any ideals. They were not fighting for the Party—but for their lives!
Crew
- Screenplay: Julius J. Epstein, James Hamilton, Walter Kelley
- Written by: Herbert Asmodi
- Cinematography: John Coquillon
- Edited by: Michael Ellis, Murray Jordan, Tony Lawson
- Music: Ernest Gold
- Production design: Brian Ackland-Snow, Ted Haworth
- Produced by: Wolf C. Hartwig, Arlene Sellers, Alex Winitsky
Cast
- James Coburn as Unteroffizier / Feldwebel Rolf Steiner
- Maximilian Schell as Hauptmann Stransky
- James Mason as Oberst Brandt
- David Warner as Hauptmann Kiesel
- Klaus Löwitsch as Unteroffizier Krüger
- Vadim Glowna as Gefreiter Kern
- Roger Fritz as Leutnant Treibig
- Dieter Schidor as Anselm
- Burkhard Driest as Schütze Maag
- Fred Stillkrauth as Unteroffizier Schnurrbart
Production
- Country: Germany, United Kingdom
- Language: German, English, French, Russian
- Studios: Rapid Film, EMI Films, Terra-Filmkunst, Alex Winitsky / Arlene Sellers Productions
- Budget: $6,000,000
- Box office: $1,509,000
- Themes: hostility, world war ii, battle for power, troops, commander, lieutenant, sergeant, thoughtful, empathetic
More by Sam Peckinpah
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