Hello, all! Today’s pick is a slight departure from the standards, and I hope one that is new to those of you who are keeping with this quasi series of war film recommendations. Whether you’ve seen it or not, tho’, it’s a gem. Set on the Eastern Front of World War II, it addresses an aspect of the war that seems more often to be the domain of German or Russian filmmakers… but with a decidedly American flair with Sam Peckinpah at the helm [pretty sure that gave it away to @bzachary$$, if not everyone else]. While it may err on the side of action film over being a pure war film, as such, CROSS OF IRON is absolutely a film worth watching, particularly if you’re keen on World War II flicks. Here’s the trailer:
From practically the very first frame of the film, this one had me hooked. The jarring juxtaposition of archival footage with a jaunty rendition of a traditional German children’s song [“Haenschen Klein,” wenn Sie ein Bischen Deutsch sprechen koennen] just hit an ironically poignant note, capturing the idealized, childlike notion of war that inspired so many to go fight. Granted, that sort of romanticized, Jingoistic attitude was more common in World War I, but it hadn’t disappeared by the time the Second World War occurred. This dichotomy between childlike attitudes in the midst of hellish reality plays out throughout the film when it pits the film’s antagonist, Captain Stransky [played by Maximilian Schell], against the star of the film, Sgt. Steiner [played by James Coburn]. In short, Stransky is the overly ambitious officer in selfish [i.e. childish] pursuit of being awarded the Iron Cross, and Steiner is the non-com who’s been through the worst that the Eastern Front has to offer, been wizened by it, and whose cynical, jaded attitude rubs Stransky the wrong way. Naturally, all of this plays out against the wider backdrop of the Soviet Army advancing inexorably toward Berlin post-Stalingrad.
Much as Peckinpah’s visual style is practically dripping through every frame, with the tell-tale slow-motion mayhem shot in exquisitely gritty fashion, there are some other elements of the film that really deserve to be mentioned. For example, the emphasis on the camaraderie between soldiers who’ve been through the thick of it together is quite well and sensitively shot. There’s one scene in particular that sticks out here, and it’s of Sgt. Steiner trying to comfort one of his fellow soldiers who barely survived a Russian plane dropping its bombs on his position. Also, even in the ennui between battles, there’s attention to the bond that develops between soldiers who have been in heavy contact with the enemy. In SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, the scene where Private Ryan says he’s with the only brothers he has left, and that’s it… this amounts to little more than lip service to the brotherhood of folks at the front lines compared to CROSS OF IRON. Even a scene where one soldier has gas [of the gastrointestinal variety, not phosgene or later G-series nerve agents or some such] helps to communicate how the soldier at the front interacts with and cares about the other guys up at the front with him.
But… it is a Sam Peckinpah film, so there’s no shortage of action. A scene depicting a host of T-34s as they attack and overrun the German position is extremely well-paced and shot, with the director never becoming so self-indulgent in the way he stages the scene that one loses track of what is going on in it. As I’ve noted before, folks like Ridley Scott seem to do that frequently… and intentionally, which makes it even worse. In this film, Peckinpah makes the five or six T-34s that they did have look like five times that many. It really is cleverly shot, and does a great job of communicating how hopeless the German position was in the face of the overwhelming numbers the Soviets invariably threw into practically every operation they conducted after turning the tide at Stalingrad. It really makes me wish that Peckinpah were still alive and had his hands on a Tiger or Panther or two, as well as a few T-34s – he’d be able to produce the movie about Kursk I’ve wanted to see put to film ever since I learned about the battle.
There may be some who argue that this film goes beyond the appropriate conventions for what constitutes a war film, saying that it’s simply an action film set against the backdrop of war. There may be some truth to that, and I’m actually a little keen to determine just what the definition of a war film versus an action film might be. That will have to wait for another day, alas. For now, please do check out this film. It is packed with action, but thanks to the attention given by the director [and the script, based on the novel The Willing Flesh by Willi Heinrich (itself based on an actual guy, Johann Schwerdfeger, who I’d consider the Ernst Junger of World War II)], it becomes more than that, being a compelling look at the men who fought on the Eastern Front… and why they fought at all. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Director's Cut); Day 2 - GLADIATOR; Day 3 - TROY; Day 4 - SPARTACUS; Day 5 - BRAVEHEART; Day 6 - MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD; Day 7 - GLORY; Day 8 - GODS AND GENERALS; Day 9 - GONE WITH THE WIND; Day 10 - CAPITAINE CONAN; Day 11 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; Day 12 - GALLIPOLI; Day 13 - PATHS OF GLORY; Day 14 - SERGEANT YORK; Day 15 - DAS BOOT; Day 16 - SAVING PRIVATE RYAN; Day 17 - PATTON]
From practically the very first frame of the film, this one had me hooked. The jarring juxtaposition of archival footage with a jaunty rendition of a traditional German children’s song [“Haenschen Klein,” wenn Sie ein Bischen Deutsch sprechen koennen] just hit an ironically poignant note, capturing the idealized, childlike notion of war that inspired so many to go fight. Granted, that sort of romanticized, Jingoistic attitude was more common in World War I, but it hadn’t disappeared by the time the Second World War occurred. This dichotomy between childlike attitudes in the midst of hellish reality plays out throughout the film when it pits the film’s antagonist, Captain Stransky [played by Maximilian Schell], against the star of the film, Sgt. Steiner [played by James Coburn]. In short, Stransky is the overly ambitious officer in selfish [i.e. childish] pursuit of being awarded the Iron Cross, and Steiner is the non-com who’s been through the worst that the Eastern Front has to offer, been wizened by it, and whose cynical, jaded attitude rubs Stransky the wrong way. Naturally, all of this plays out against the wider backdrop of the Soviet Army advancing inexorably toward Berlin post-Stalingrad.
Much as Peckinpah’s visual style is practically dripping through every frame, with the tell-tale slow-motion mayhem shot in exquisitely gritty fashion, there are some other elements of the film that really deserve to be mentioned. For example, the emphasis on the camaraderie between soldiers who’ve been through the thick of it together is quite well and sensitively shot. There’s one scene in particular that sticks out here, and it’s of Sgt. Steiner trying to comfort one of his fellow soldiers who barely survived a Russian plane dropping its bombs on his position. Also, even in the ennui between battles, there’s attention to the bond that develops between soldiers who have been in heavy contact with the enemy. In SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, the scene where Private Ryan says he’s with the only brothers he has left, and that’s it… this amounts to little more than lip service to the brotherhood of folks at the front lines compared to CROSS OF IRON. Even a scene where one soldier has gas [of the gastrointestinal variety, not phosgene or later G-series nerve agents or some such] helps to communicate how the soldier at the front interacts with and cares about the other guys up at the front with him.
But… it is a Sam Peckinpah film, so there’s no shortage of action. A scene depicting a host of T-34s as they attack and overrun the German position is extremely well-paced and shot, with the director never becoming so self-indulgent in the way he stages the scene that one loses track of what is going on in it. As I’ve noted before, folks like Ridley Scott seem to do that frequently… and intentionally, which makes it even worse. In this film, Peckinpah makes the five or six T-34s that they did have look like five times that many. It really is cleverly shot, and does a great job of communicating how hopeless the German position was in the face of the overwhelming numbers the Soviets invariably threw into practically every operation they conducted after turning the tide at Stalingrad. It really makes me wish that Peckinpah were still alive and had his hands on a Tiger or Panther or two, as well as a few T-34s – he’d be able to produce the movie about Kursk I’ve wanted to see put to film ever since I learned about the battle.
There may be some who argue that this film goes beyond the appropriate conventions for what constitutes a war film, saying that it’s simply an action film set against the backdrop of war. There may be some truth to that, and I’m actually a little keen to determine just what the definition of a war film versus an action film might be. That will have to wait for another day, alas. For now, please do check out this film. It is packed with action, but thanks to the attention given by the director [and the script, based on the novel The Willing Flesh by Willi Heinrich (itself based on an actual guy, Johann Schwerdfeger, who I’d consider the Ernst Junger of World War II)], it becomes more than that, being a compelling look at the men who fought on the Eastern Front… and why they fought at all. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Director's Cut); Day 2 - GLADIATOR; Day 3 - TROY; Day 4 - SPARTACUS; Day 5 - BRAVEHEART; Day 6 - MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD; Day 7 - GLORY; Day 8 - GODS AND GENERALS; Day 9 - GONE WITH THE WIND; Day 10 - CAPITAINE CONAN; Day 11 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; Day 12 - GALLIPOLI; Day 13 - PATHS OF GLORY; Day 14 - SERGEANT YORK; Day 15 - DAS BOOT; Day 16 - SAVING PRIVATE RYAN; Day 17 - PATTON]
