Cross of Iron
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Template:Infobox Film Cross of Iron is a 1977 film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn, James Mason, Maximilian Schell, and David Warner. Set in 1943 on the Eastern Front of World War II, the story revolves around conflicts that arise within the leadership of a Wehrmacht regiment during the German retreat from the Taman Peninsula on the Soviet Crimea. The arrival of Stransky (Schell), an ambitious, aristocratic officer who covets the Iron Cross brings conflict with the battle hardened platoon leader Steiner (Coburn).
The film was an Anglo-German production (Anglo-EMI Productions Ltd., London and Rapid Films GmbH, Munich), and drew some criticism for casting in the roles of the lead characters - all of which are German officers - two English actors (Mason and Warner), one American (Coburn), and an Austrian (Schell).
The film was shot in Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav army provided genuine T-34 tanks similar to those the Soviet army would have used in 1943 (authentic tanks, other than Shermans, are a rarity in World War 2 movies).
As with most of Peckinpah's films, the on-screen action includes a substantial amount of very realistic combat utilizing his characteristic slow motion gunshot scenes.
The movie was based on the book The Willing Flesh, written by Willi Heinrich and published in 1956. More recent printings of the book have been titled Cross of Iron to tie in with the film. There are several major differences between the book and film versions. [1][2][3]
The book is possibly loosely based on the true story of Johann Schwerdfeger. [4]
The film is particularly notable for the strange opening credits, in which scenes of Hitler Youth climbing mountains are contrasted with the horrors of war, over which German children are heard singing a Kinderlied.
Other meanings
- Eisenhower's "Cross of Iron" speech
- Cross of Iron was also the name of the first expansion to the highly acclaimed Squad Leader game series by Avalon Hill.