I took my father to this film and 77. He was a veteran of World War II and Korea. He told me it was the most realistic depiction of war in a movie he’s ever seen. He said all it was lacking were the smells, he said that something you could never get out of your mind. He said you could see something, but the smell still haunted him to this day. He could never eat rare meat after he came home.

For me Cross of Iron stands alongside Das Boot as one of the greatest war films ever.

Up there with Peckinpah's best movies. Great performances from Coburn, Mason, Warner and Schell.

I remember showing this on a VHS tape to my grandfather and his cousin ( both served on the E Front) in the German army. After it finished my grandfather looked at me and said : It felt like I was back there.. his cousin agreed but also added the only thing that was lacking was the screaming..Both sides calling for their mums when dying after the battle.Nightmare fuel indeed😢

One scene which perfectly describes the tone of the movie is when the Colonel asks Steiner's adjutant "What are we going to do when we lose the war?", adjutant replied with "Prepare for the next one." Not only are the men aware that Germany is losing, but war is all they know, and they know that there would be more wars coming. Also, the final scene in the movie was completely improvised because money ran out. Did you know that the movie pretty much had no budget? Yugoslavia allowed to film them on location and provided the period-accurate gear, but the equipment kept getting hold up, and Peckinpah's alcoholism caused many shooting delays and budget overran. By the end of the filming, Coburn was so frustrated that he kicked the production team out, took Peckinpah and Maximilian Schell with him and improvised the final scene, and they did it in one take (since the film roll also ran out). They didn't even have money for the wrap party.

My favorite war movie. Saw it in the theater and was blown away by its authenticity in the action scenes using real T-34s for example. Not the norm with contemporary movies. Fabulous acting and cast. Morally complex and great dialogue.

James Mason's portrayal of Colonel Brandt deserves mention too.

"And I will show you ... where the Iron Crosses grow." -- Steiner [plus a great end title theme by Ernest Gold]

There's a famous picture of a theater showing Cross of Iron and Star Wars. There's a long, long line of people in front, presumably waiting to see Star Wars. If you wonder why we have the entertainment landscape we have, there you go.

The book on which the film is based, "Das geduldige Fleisch" ("The Willing Flesh") by Willi Heinrich, shows essential reasons for Steiner's character in flashbacks. In them, it becomes clear that he lost his fiancée on a mountain tour when she threatened to fall over a cliff edge and he is just able to hold her by one arm, but can no longer pull her up. After hours, his strength leaves him and he has to let her go. By consequence Steiner is a cynic, disregarding his own life. "Is there a God?" he is asked. His answer is "If there is, he's an asshole."

A good war movie should be built like a horror movie. It's basically the darkest side of human nature, and should be treated as such

Cross of Iron is impactful and moving. We appreciate your review on this.

Hugely underrated film

The best line in the movie was "Follow me and I will show you where the iron crosses grow!"

In the first major battle scene in which the Prussia officer is having a complete melt down while his Lt. is out there leading the defense, there is a scene where the German soldiers start running away. He grabs them and tells them to get back to their positions. I read a eastern front memoir where this exact thing happened, in the face of a mass of t-34s and Soviets terrified Germans just started getting up and running and a good officer grabed them and forced them back to their holes. They repelled that attack in the book.

I LOVE this movie! This and Wild Bunch are masterpieces.

It was the best anti-war film I've ever seen. Where most directors wanted to bang on the pulpit to get their point across, peckinpah simply shows you the brutality of war raw and unfiltered.

Great film. Apparently Richard Burton was offered the role but I am glad that Coburn got it. James Mason was arguably the greatest star in cast but he played his part well and didn't try to be the star as some others would have.... Also David Warner was always good to watch..... The Eastern Front was a nasty bitter conflict and has few films made about it...

I remember begging my parents to let me see this when it came out to no avail. Took a few decades to come across it on VHS. Originally I wanted to see a war movie, but I got a anti war movie. But I was ready for that then. Thanks for covering this old gem.

One thing missed by many was the close combat clasp in gold. Only a little over 600 were awarded compared to over 7000 knights crosses in the war. To German Combatants the Close Combat Clasp especially in gold was more revered than the knights cross and SGT Steiner had both.

Having completed watching this video, I figured I'd give a little more of my cynical insight as a retired US Army veteran... There are many like Stransky who serve in their nations' militaries. I want to apostrophize the word serve, but it can't be denied that even those who seek glory and fame do actually serve their country, whether officer or enlisted. Men and women often seek to get the accolades and recognition that are all too often awarded for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Very few Medal of Honor recipients, or Purple Heart awardees for that matter, wished and hoped to be put in the position to earn their respective medals. There are those who yearn for a combat deployment, though, in order to "win" their Combat Badge (in the US Army, the Infantry, Medic, or Action variant, while the naval branches have an equivalent ribbon and the Air Force a Combat Acrion Medal), and potentially a Bronze Star (usually awarded for meritorious service in a combat theater, but often confused for it's "V" variant awarded for valor in combat). I've had the honor of knowing a couple of Silver Star recipients, and meeting one or two Medal of Honor recipients. They are a vastly different class from the "winners" who measure out the distance from a rocket impact to ensure their Combat Action Badge recommendation is approved, or who write up their own Bronze Star recommendation within the first week of their arriving in Afghanistan. I'll go back to sleep with my DD-214 woobie now...

Guten Tag. I saw this movie years ago, 1977 in Torrejon AB Spain. Wow! What an excellent movie, Sam Peckinpah & James Coburn, fighting the Commie Russians during WW2 and here I am defending Europe during the Cold War against the Commies. Flash Forward to today, July 2023, we just started watching this little gem. My wife lived in Spain under Franco, so she can tell you 1st hand what it was like growing up under a fascist regime. I also read the book about Sgt Steiner, Cross of Iron, an excellent read. Good review.

Saw this in cinemas when it was released. Quite an impact. The detail about 'I want 65% of these men back at the front within three days!' is telling. Field hospitals near the front line did this routinely, as most injuries were slight or quickly dealt with, with most soldiers in useful support positions before being recovered enough to go to the front line (this happens to at least one member of Easy Company in Band of Brothers). Demanding that this statistic must become an infallible measure of success, is like the semi-legendary Hitler-order that the time a woman carries a baby be reduced to six months to ensure the next generation of German soldiers, I believe mentioned as a black joke in one of the Sven Hassell novels.

One of the best 'war' films ever made.

Best description of a Sam Peckinpah movie; "It was directed by Sam Peckinpah, so you know most of the people at the beginning of the movie WON'T be in the end."

Finally, Cross of Iron, very deep and the opening montage is somewhat chilling

Masterpiece war movie

How does this channel not have a million plus subs by now? Every episode is gold!

I’m glad someone covered this! One of my favorite war movies. Love the fact it portrays the German side. Great movie! Do as trumpets fade! Hurtgen 44

Steiner actually laughs at the end when Stransky asks, “ How do I reload?”

This movie makes me realize how Godawful Germanys military look in the present.

This has to be one of, if not the most realistic war movie I've ever seen. The atmosphere, the tension, the random acts of goofiness. It screams to you that the person who made this understood the insanity of large scale, peer to peer warfare

Having "The Wild Bunch" in my DVD collection; it's no doubt Sam Peckinpah is a director I can truly admire for doing deconstruction fiction for genres that I can never take seriously really well & show truthfully how gritty it can get but having respect in such deconstruction Not having seen "Cross of Iron" I'm intrigued!

There are officers like this in every army and every conflict.

I saw this one while in Flight School it TX when it was first release. I was a lot younger then. Its my opinion its James Coburn's best work as an actor.

I love this movie, the characters, the storyline, the mix up of frontline uniforms in a cut off trench system. Even the soldiers weaponry is "personal choice" on missions. Maximiallian Schell was one of my favourite germanspeaking actors, yet in this movie i despised his character (he was such a good actor).

Simply one of the very best...war films ever!!!!

Demarkation....demarkation. One of the best films ever made.

one of the best war films ever thanks

A really interesting aspect of using the "Haenschen Klein" Song, is - in my Opinion - the subtext, especially noticable in the older, unabridged version of the Song. Little Hans leaves Home, just to be barely recognized when coming back - even his mother needs minutes, and a good look into his face just to recognize her own son....

Saw this movie at theaters. Great work. No agendas.

One of my favorite war movies.

One of my favorite war movies

Steiner was a hero and he refused Stransky for putting out the fire in his eyes.

My fave war film. Thanks for reviewing it. Seen it over a dozen times and it never gets old. Subbed to your channel - looking forward to more reviews

Thank you. You nailed this one!

One of the very best war movies ever ❤

Clearly the inspiration for one of the best tactical wargames of all time, "Squad Leader" (1977) by Avalon Hill. The East Front expansion "gamette" was called "Cross of Iron". The heart of the system was focused on tactical leadership and morale, with individual leaders being crucial to success. You can practically see where designer John Hill was clearly inspired by watching this movie to come up with morale mechanisms like Morale, Breaking, Routing and Rallying. One illustrative scene was where Lt. Meyers rallies the men who are retreating and leads them on a counter-attack. This dynamic is clearly shown at the end of the movie. The German defenses are shown to be crumbling and men are abandoning their positions. (One is clearly heard yelling "run away!") Oberst (Col.) Brandt strides out into the swirling firefight and as a wave of desperate men flee toward him, a flood of Russians at their heels. Brandt raises his hand and barks out, "stop there!" then "advance with me!" His men, a panicked mob mere seconds before, hear and obeys his command. They stop, turn around and start advancing along with him back the way they came.

A superb film from a decade when there was a plethora of brilliant films. How I miss the 1970s. One film I think you need to make a video on is William Friedkin's SORCERER (1977). It failed at the box office due to a certain Sci Fi film being released at the same time. But is now regarded as a masterpiece.

FINALLY! THANK YOU FOR THIS!

This is a good show

One of my all time favorite war movies, think I'll watch it again tonight.

Whoa this was deviously dark 🫣😈

My Favorite movie of the German side of WW2.

Yeah I stumbled on to this film one day, I think it was on the Afternoon Matinee I think, can't remember to well because I was drinking very heavily in those days! But never the less it really made an impact on mind as the best war film I had ever seen up to that point! Especially at the Beginning! A Song of Children singing a kindergarten song!!!

God I wish you had more war nightmare fuel videos 😢

Superb war film, probably Peckinpah's finest.

Excellent summary of one of my favourite war films.

Another seriously messed up movie is "Der Hauptmann", I don't know it's English title. If you want nightmarefuel, give it a watch!

I think the Russian kid who tries to kill Stransky at the end is the same actor who played the POW who was killed. In the latter role his hair was dyed blond. His natural hair colour was brown.

Great, not because it was a Peckinpah film but because it was based on Willi Heinrich's memoirs.

Great movie in my opinion, not completely up there with the historical accuracy concerning the look of the soldiers, but achieving complete realism in film is probably inpossible. There are lots of first hand accounts of such behaviour by officers sadly, so it's nice they made a movie about it.

My favourite book. Period.

This is the movie that cemented my hatred of Tarantino. How he took this film as his inspiration for Inglorious Basterds is all the proof that you need that Tarantino is nothing but a shallow and perverted thief.

A fine review thank you. I've read the book by Willi Heinrich as well. This was one of Coburn's favourite parts he played as he was finally allowed to act (as many of his other roles were on the shallow side). He was justifiably proud of this. I also note Peckinpah's historical accuracy with uniforms and equipment. Steiner favours using the Russian PPsh-41 submachine gun which many German soldiers used for hard close in fighting as the thing was simple, deadly, and once set in never jammed. As for suggestions for your channel, have a look at the Dutch 1988 psychological thriller "The Vanishing" if you haven't. Cheers from Montreal

Very underrated film. I think the fact that the Germans were the so called "Good Guys" in the movie was just too much for most people to overcome. Too bad. The combat scenes are excellent although the acting leaves a little to be desired at places. I think it's one of Peckinpah's better films.

Just a sidenote: The Cross of Iron is still the official emblem of the Bundeswehr, found on any vehicle, pen, ration, weapon, etc. of the German Military ;)

I seen that movie years ago when it first came out, and I'll tell ya it did not disappoint. Great war movie!!!

Cross of Iron can be compared to a number of US war films that show officers crawling to the front late in WWII to gain the needed 'so many days in command of a combat unit' required for them to take over their father's position at the pentagon. No matter who dies. They are not difficult to find among the lower-budget war films. Mostly, they are set in France in late 1944 or early 1945, and often have the gold-digging butter-bar being shot by his own men. Several 'Two-Fisted Tales' War comics cover this element of US experience as well. Even 'Band of Brothers' did.

I read the book. I never knew there was a movie version O.O My favourite part will still be Steiner leaving the pig to the Soviet women to deal with.

The Bridge is also a very good film.

" I will show you where iron crosses grow."

Great movie! Stayed up late to watch this and fell asleep in school the next day. This was back in the pre-cable tv days

I’m slowly checking out all the nightmare fuel movies, great work. Something you may want to check out is generation war, ww2 told from the German side and how it all starts as a game to them but they slowly realise the war is un winnable

I think it is this film where one of the German solders kicks down the door to a railway station toilet and empties his mp40 into the toilet bowl. The officer asks "What did you do that for?" To which he replies "Following your orders sir, denying facilities to the enemy."

For a scary war movie check out " Come and See ". I watch Cross of Iron a couple times a year

You can consider the German anti war movie "Die Brücke" from 1959 nightmare fuel. A bunch of Hitler Youth kids think, that they can turn the war, by defending a small river bridge in the last days of WW2. Don't watch the 2000 version, just the original. A while ago, there was a version with English subs at youtube. What's also noteworthy, at the time of the Weimar Republic (between the wars), Germany was known for having very liberal laws considering homosexuality. And the SA leader Ernst Röhm was openly gay. Which puts even more insult to the scene with the two gay soldiers.

Honestly, you could cover a number of Peckinpah flicks for Nightmare Fuel, but I particularly recommend White Dog (Horror) and The Steel Helmet (War)

I will show you where the iron crosses grow...

Fantastic video! I always appreciated how dingy and dirty the color paler of this film is and yet how kinda saturated it is. It’s a really good contrast that isn’t just the usual desaturated grey tone some war movies have. The only only film that I’ve seen share a similar pallet was A Bridge Too Far

You need to see a Soviet era film called 'Come and see', a 1985 anti-war film. What is interesting is that a lot of the cast were non-actors, including the lead. It's a hard film to watch.

This was a silly billy okay movie for the most part I LOVED the ferocity of some of these super cute characters, but then when I learned that the badman hated the so.damites and I just couldn't watch after that.

Cross of iron is the best war (and anti- war) film ever made.

YOOOO THIS movie was HELLA GOOD action, story, and actors. Plus from the german side. Ty for a modern review.

Mein only issue, is the entire film has a yellow look to it, like an Instagram filter. Loved the movie myself, the depiction on PTSD was very refreshing.

I would recommend the 2008 film "Waltz with Bashir" an animated fever dream of memories of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel

I remember this movie when I was a little boy, it was in theaters but I didn’t see it until I was older on tv.

The drive to earn the Iron Cross in this movie reminds me of a scene in a movie released a year later: Go Tell the Spartans. That movie is about early American advisory efforts in Vietnam, but an officer in it expresses his hope to earn a Combat Infantryman's Badge, a decoration that isn't necessarily awarded for gallantry or valor like the Iron Cross or its American equivalent of a Medal of Honor, Service Cross, or Silver Star (the Iron Cross having multiple degrees from 2nd Class to Knights Cross), but it is an honor that some of us receive(d) for combat service. All of mine are somewhere, one's in a kitchen drawer. Once you leave the service they really don't mean too much anymore. But in Go Tell the Spartans, the young officer is all about that little piece of metal, much like Hauptman Stransky is about that Cross of Iron. The irony is that those who earned the 1939 Iron Cross were unable to display their original awards in denazified Germany postwar. Even those who went on to serve in the Bundeswehr had to wear post-1945 versions to demonstrate their WWII sacrifices and valor.

It's a good movie, I've had it in my collection on VHS, DVD and now Blu-Ray.

Classic movie

Speaking of WW2, the Generals and Officers in WW2 much like the Villain here lied about their achievements especially in the Eastern Front many of the Myths about WW2 came from them Lying about their experiences in the War and "Cleaning up" their Mistakes and most importantly their Crimes.

Loved the movies

Nice you covered it!!!

Thank you for turning me on this one. It's now on my "to watch list". Cheers

The greatest anti-war flik of them all... Peckinpah's second finest movie after The Wild Bunch

If you want to see Peckinpah at his best --YOU NEED TO SEE THE WILD BUNCH another great Peckinpah movie Pat Garret and Billy the Kid .

excellent movie and excellent review....thank you

Cross of Iron is a fantastic film that I would recommend to anyone. Stay away from its appalling sequel though.

I loved the book. I just wish the movie followed it better.

Over two million (one source says over four million) Iron Cross Second Class awards were made in WW2 - the ribbon was worn in a buttonhole. It is notable that even the corrupt Triebig has it in the film. The Iron Cross First Class was rarer (the cross was worn on the tunic breast pocket) but even so about 300,000 were awarded - a requirement of recruitment to the elite Feldjägerkorps military police was that the candidate had the Iron Cross First Class. So neither award was rare. That Stransky does not even have the Second Class one must eat at his soul.