Overview
A gritty portrayal of survival and honor amidst the chaos of war.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- harrowing
- visceral
- war film marathon
- historical cinema night
What critics said
Critics recognized the film's technically impressive and intensely graphic combat filmmaking, while many found its anti-war ideas familiar, narratively confused, and overwhelmed by carnage.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Steiner's squad endures encirclement, exhaustion, and repeated combat as defeat closes in on the eastern front.
Aristocratic Captain Stransky exploits rank and privilege while Steiner's battlefield competence is ignored.
The battle footage repeatedly uses graphic violence and slow motion to turn combat into disorienting spectacle.
The story remains with a German squad on the losing eastern front and emphasizes fear, exhaustion, and institutional betrayal.
Films like Cross of Iron, and why
The Thin Red Line
bleak anti-war drama focused on soldiers trapped within a collapsing military system
The Dirty Dozen
graphic world war ii combat, moral disillusionment, and survival under command failure
Stalingrad
brutal eastern front warfare and ideological conflict among exhausted soldiers
Inglourious Basterds
revisionist war filmmaking combining stylized violence with condemnation of military authority
Movie Details
- Director
- Sam Peckinpah
- Release Date
- 1977-01-28
- Runtime
- 133 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (506)
Cast
- James Coburn
- Maximilian Schell
- James Mason
- David Warner
- Klaus Löwitsch
- Vadim Glowna
- Roger Fritz
- Dieter Schidor
- Burkhard Driest
- Fred Stillkrauth
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Cultpix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cross of Iron about?
- On the collapsing Eastern Front, a battle-hardened German sergeant confronts a vain aristocratic commander whose hunger for military glory endangers an entire squad.
- What is Cross of Iron like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cross of Iron as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Cross of Iron violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Cross of Iron as graphic.
- What did critics think of Cross of Iron?
- Critics recognized the film's technically impressive and intensely graphic combat filmmaking, while many found its anti-war ideas familiar, narratively confused, and overwhelmed by carnage.
- Which films are like Cross of Iron?
- Films with a similar feel include The Thin Red Line, The Dirty Dozen, Stalingrad, and Inglourious Basterds.
- How long is Cross of Iron?
- Cross of Iron runs 133 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cross of Iron?
- In United States, Cross of Iron streams on Amazon Prime Video, Cultpix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
