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!
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.
Cross of Iron (1977) is a drama, action, history and war film directed by Sam Peckinpah, released on January 28, 1977 with a runtime of 2h 13m. It stars James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. Viewers rate it 7.1 out of 10 across 498 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Cross of Iron before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Cross of Iron.
Trailer
Featurette
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
Michael Nowka
as Dietz
Véronique Vendell
as Marga
Directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Willi Heinrich, James Hamilton and Julius J. Epstein, produced by Wolf C. Hartwig, Alex Winitsky and Arlene Sellers.
Average viewer score of 7.1/10 from 498 ratings.
War is Peckinpah's survival hell. Out on the Eastern Front 1943, battered by the war itself, a war they are losing, a platoon of German soldiers must also cope with a new aristocratic commander who deeply covets the Cross Of Iron, Germany's highest medal of honour. Universally hated and panned by the critics upon release, Cross Of Iron now stands up as one of director Sam Peckinpah's finest works. On first glance…
Reviewed on April 26, 2020
**_Brutal Germans vs. Russians WW2 flick with James Coburn and Maximilian Schell_** As defeat looms on the Eastern Front, an awarded, but battle-worn German NCO (Coburn) vies with a newly-appointed captain, a Prussian aristocrat, who’s obsessed with obtaining the Iron Cross (Schell), even if he has to get it by fraud. James Mason and David Warner have peripheral roles. Loosely based on the true story of Johann…
Reviewed on October 26, 2023
The aristocratic "Capt. Stransky" (Maximilian Schell) is put in charge of an accomplished squadron of men that works well under its no-nonsense "Sgt. Steiner" (James Coburn), and into battle against the approaching Soviets they go. A bloody encounter ensues and upon their return, victorious to a point, to their trenches he encourages "Col. Brandt" (James Mason) to nominate him for an Iron Cross. He cites two…
Reviewed on February 4, 2024
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Cross of Iron (1977) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Cultpix and Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Cross of Iron (1977) includes James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner and Klaus Löwitsch. The film was directed by Sam Peckinpah. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Cross of Iron was released on January 28, 1977 and runs for 2h 13m.
Cross of Iron (1977) holds an average rating of 7.1 out of 10 from 498 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy drama, action and history films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Cross of Iron trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
