Cross of Iron
Cross of Iron (German: Steiner – Das Eiserne Kreuz, lit. "Steiner – The Iron Cross") is a 1977 war film directed by Sam Peckinpah, featuring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, and David Warner. Set on the Eastern Front in World War II during the Soviets' Caucasus operations against the German Kuban bridgehead on the Taman Peninsula in late 1943, the film focuses on the class conflict between a newly arrived, aristocratic Prussian officer who covets winning the Iron Cross and a cynical, battle-hardened infantry NCO.
Plot
Corporal Rolf Steiner is a veteran soldier of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front of World War II. During a raid on an enemy mortar position, his reconnaissance platoon captures a Russian boy soldier. They set off for friendly lines just as Captain Stransky arrives to take command of Steiner's battalion. When the regiment's commander, Colonel Brandt, asks Stransky why he requested transfer to the Kuban bridgehead from more comfortable duties in occupied France, he jokes to Brandt and the regimental adjutant, Captain Kiesel, that he wants to win the Iron Cross.
Cast
- Adolf Hitler
- Arthur Brauss
- Bata Kameni
- Burkhard Driest
- David Warner
- Demeter Bitenc
- Dieter Schidor
- Fred Stillkrauth
- Hermina Pipinić
- Igor Galo
- James Coburn
- James Mason
- Klaus Löwitsch
- Maximilian Schell
- Michael Nowka
- Robert Riettii
- Roger Fritz
- Senta Berger
- Slavko Štimac
- Sonja Jeannine
- Vadim Glowna
- Véronique Vendell
- Vladan Živković
More details
| author | James Hamilton Julius J. Epstein |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Soviet Union |
| director | Sam Peckinpah |
| editor | Michael Ellis Tony Lawson |
| events | Eastern Front World War II |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | adjutant boy soldier closeted homosexual death penalty feldwebel female soldier flee force friendly fire german army german occupation of france during world war ii hänschen klein iron cross kill kuban bridgehead machine machine gun military hospital mortar mp40 occupied france pitch russian soldier senior sergeant wehrmacht wound |
| musicBy | Ernest Gold |
| producer | Alex Winitsky Arlene Sellers Wolf C. Hartwig |
| productionCompany | Anglo-EMI Productions ITC Entertainment Rapid Film Terra-Filmkunst |
| publisher | Constantin Film EMI Films |
| recordedAt | Croatia |
| theme | war |