Croix de fer

Synopsis

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.

Release date

28 Jan 1977

Directed by

Sam Peckinpah

Runtime

2h 15m

Original title

Cross of Iron

Cast

James Coburn

Unteroffizier / Feldwebel Rolf Steiner

Maximilian Schell

Hauptmann Stransky

James Mason

Oberst Brandt

David Warner

Hauptmann Kiesel

Klaus Löwitsch

Unteroffizier Krüger

Vadim Glowna

Gefreiter Kern

Roger Fritz

Leutnant Treibig

Dieter Schidor

Anselm

Burkhard Driest

Schütze Maag

Fred Stillkrauth

Unteroffizier Schnurrbart

MN

Michael Nowka

Dietz

VV

Véronique Vendell

Marga