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Poster for Cross of Iron

Cross of Iron

1977 · 133 min

A grim, unflinching war film that immerses you in the chaos and moral decay of a collapsing army, with moments of dark irony.

Tagline
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!
Overview
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.

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Stream in the UK
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS Apple TV Channel
  • Cultpix
More options Data from JustWatch
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • class
  • betrayal
  • survival
  • morality
Places
  • military
  • countryside
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror4
Humour2
Realism8
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS Apple TV Channel
  • Cultpix
Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, action, history, war
Directed by
Sam Peckinpah
Written by
Julius J. Epstein, James Hamilton, Walter Kelley, Herbert Asmodi
Starring
James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner, Klaus Löwitsch, Vadim Glowna, Roger Fritz, Dieter Schidor
Music
Ernest Gold
Cinematography
John Coquillon
Runtime
133 min
Country
Germany, United Kingdom
Languages
German, English, French, Russian

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