Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Cross of Iron 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 1, 2023

Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron" (1977) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by film historian and filmmaker Mike Siegel; multiple archival cast and crew interviews; rare archival promotional materials for the film; and a lot more. In English, with optional English, German, and French subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Cross of Iron is Sam Peckinpah's only war film. Set during the final days of WW2, it follows a platoon of demoralized and exhausted soldiers, led by Corporal Steiner (James Coburn, Harry in Your Pocket!), as the German army is forced to retreat from the Russian front.

After a dangerous mission, Steiner meets his newly appointed commanding officer Captain Hauptmann Stransky (Maximilian Schell, A Bridge Too Far), an arrogant Prussian aristocrat, who dreams of winning the prestigious Cross of Iron. Convinced that the Third Reich is invincible, Stransky immediately questions Steiner’s recent decision to relocate his men to safer ground. Shortly after, the Russians launch a surprise attack. Stransky acts like a coward, while Steiner is seriously wounded and many of his men killed.

Steiner wakes up in an unnamed hospital where he befriends a beautiful nurse, Eva (Senta Berger, Diabolically Yours). A few days later, with some of his wounds still bleeding, he heads back to the front. After he is greeted by his men, Steiner is shocked to discover that Stransky has fabricated a report indicating that he led a counterattack against the Russians, hoping that his 'act of bravery' would win him the Iron Cross. Outraged and disgusted, he decides to testify against Stransky.

Peckinpah's Cross of Iron is an unusual film. There are massive, frequently breathtaking battle scenes in it, but the focus of attention is on the ordinary man who must fight an enemy he does not know or understand but feels it is his duty to confront. It is raw and intense, quite moody at times, but also incredibly poetic.

The conflict between Steiner and Stransky occupies a major part of the story and represents a fascinating clash of ideas. Steiner is an honest and brave soldier who has come to realize what men like him sooner or later do, which is that in war there are no winners. The realization has made him a cynic, so now he simply fights to live, not because he believes in the Nazi cause. Stransky is a coward who wants to return home as a hero. Ironically, like Steiner, he does not believe in the Nazi cause, even though he is convinced that the Third Reich is invincible.

The men around Steiner are not believers either. They fight because they are proud patriots -- or at least they were before the war started. However, while being exterminated by their enemy, like Steiner, most have traded their patriotism for cynicism.

This rather unusual distinction Peckinpah makes in Cross of Iron -- that not all Germans who fought the war were Nazis -- is rarely witnessed in similar period films. Naturally, as the story progresses it becomes increasingly clear that the Germans and the Russians are fighting the same enemy.

Shot on location in Yugoslavia -- with a legendary budget that nearly bankrupted producer Wolf C. Hartwig, who previously had funded mostly exploitation and pornographic films -- Cross of Iron dazzles with its massive, notably realistic battle scenes. The editing, however, is occasionally problematic.

The haunting soundtrack was created by Oscar-winning composer Ernest Gold (It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World).

*In 1977, Cross of Iron was awarded a Golden Screen Award.

Cross of Iron 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

StudioCanal's release of Cross of Iron is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. However, the two Blu-ray discs are Region-B "locked". Also, the main menus of these discs can be set in English, German, and French. So, this combo pack will be available for purchase in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. (Obviously, the German and French releases will have different cover works and text descriptions).

The release introduces a brand new 4K 16-bit restoration of Cross of Iron that was completed at Silver Salt Restoration in the United Kingdom. (This is the same party that prepared the 4K restorations of Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.). The same 4K restoration will be available on Blu-ray as well. You can see our listing and review of this release here).

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-29 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #35-38 are from 4K Blu-ray.

I have two other releases of Cross of Iron in my library -- an old R2 DVD and this Reigon-B Blu-ray release -- and will only use the Blu-ray release to highlight a few important discrepancies. I viewed the entire film in native 4K, with HDR, and then spent quite a bit of time with the 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration.

After the 4K makeover, Cross of Iron looks very healthy. The restoration credits mention that a lot of work was done to remove age-related imperfections and specific anomalies. If you have the previous Blu-ray release, I think that it will be very easy for you to appreciate the improvements. Yes, the previous 1080p presentation was very strong, but there were some inconsistencies that could be spotted on a larger screen. In native 4K, the visuals have a very attractive and consistent organic appearance. Delineation, clarity, and depth are often quite striking. The massive battle scenes will surely impress viewers the most, but a lot of the darker footage looks excellent, too. I think that this is one of the areas where the superiority of the new 4K makeover is undeniable. The HDR grade is gentle. It makes it easy to appreciate most of the rebalancing work that was done to ensure that color reproduction is as good as it can be, but it does not produce any significant enhancements. I think that improvements in the overall dynamic range of the visuals are more important than particular improvements in saturation levels or/and nuances and highlights. Why? Because on the previous Blu-ray release the color scheme was already solid and convincing. So, yes, there are fine improvements in terms of color reproduction, but the move to 4K is not a dramatic upgrade in quality. The superiority of the 4K makeover comes from multiple areas. Density levels are outstanding. Fludity is excellent too, so the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to recognize and appreciate the strength of the native 4K presentation. There are no stability issues. All in all, the new 4K makeover of Cross of Iron looked incredible on my system and I think fans of the film will be completely satisfied with it.

*I am unsure if the 4K Blu-ray disc is supposed to have a Dolby Vision grade. I was sent a check disc, not a market copy, and I can only play it with HDR. My player is not recognizing a Dolby Vision grade. However, I will have a market copy soon and will update our review once I receive it.

Cross of Iron 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: English LPCM 2.0., German LPCM 2.0, and French LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH, German, and French subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is very clear and sharp. Stability is excellent, too. Obviously, there is a lot of war footage with plenty of dynamic activity, but as I have mentioned in the past, you should not expect to encounter the type of dynamic strength that a film like Saving Private Ryan produces. I do wonder if a new Dolby Atmos mix could have been beneficial for Cross of Iron, but I am perfectly fine with the current lossless track. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

Cross of Iron 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, film historian and filmmaker Mike Siegel -- who was involved with the very good recent Blu-ray release of The Osterman Weekend -- shares a lot of information about Sam Peckinpah's cinematic legacy, the conception and execution of Cross of Iron as well as the director's 'unorthodox' take on the clash between the Germans and the Russians, the staging and appearance of the battle scenes, the specific casting choices that were made, etc. In English.

• Promoting Steiner - presented here is an extensive collection of promotional materials -- posters, lobby cards, press book, magazine covers, etc. -- from around the world. With music. (11 min).

• Steiner on the Set - presented here is a collection of one hundred rare stills from the shooting of Cross of Iron. With music. (10 min).

• Filming Steiner - Part One - presented here is a rare collection of two hundred behind the scenes stills. In Black and white. With music. (10 min).

• Filming Steiner - Part Two - presented here are the remaining behind the scenes stills. In black and white. With music. (10 min).

• Steiner in Color - presented here are additional behind the scenes/production/film stills. In color. With music. (10 min).

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, film historian and filmmaker Mike Siegel -- who was involved with the very good recent Blu-ray release of The Osterman Weekend -- shares a lot of information about Sam Peckinpah's cinematic legacy, the conception and execution of Cross of Iron as well as the director's 'unorthodox' take on the clash between the Germans and the Russians, the staging and appearance of the battle scenes, the specific casting choices that were made, etc. In English.

• Promoting Steiner - presented here is an extensive collection of promotional materials -- posters, lobby cards, press book, magazine covers, etc. -- from around the world. With music. (11 min).

• Steiner on the Set - presented here is a collection of one hundred rare stills from the shooting of Cross of Iron. With music. (10 min).

• Filming Steiner - Part One - presented here is a rare collection of two hundred behind the scenes stills. In Black and white. With music. (10 min).

• Filming Steiner - Part Two - presented here are the remaining behind the scenes stills. In black and white. With music. (10 min).

• Steiner in Color - presented here are additional behind the scenes/production/film stills. In color. With music. (10 min).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Passion & Poetry: Sam Peckinpah's War - in this documentary directed by Mike Siegel, actors James Coburn, Senta Berger, David Warner, Vadim Glowna, Roger Fritz, and Katy Haber recall their work on Iron Cross. Sam Peckinpah is also seen and heard discussing the film. (Please note that fragments from the film are also used in the On location interviews below). In English and German, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (49 min).

• Kruger Kisses Kern - actor/director/producer Vadim Glowna recalls how he had to write a massive letter to director Sam Peckinpah to get the role of Gefreiter Kern, and how the famous kissing scene came to exist. In German, with English subtitles. (9 min).

• Vadim & Sam: Father and Son - Vadim Glowna recalls a trip to London during the cutting and synchronization of Cross of Iron. In German, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Cutting Room Floor - actor/director/photographer Roger Fritz, and actors David Warner and Senta Berger address various scenes that did not make it in the final version of Cross of Iron. In German and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (5 min).

• Steiner in Japan (1977) - stills and archival footage featuring James Coburn. Courtesy of El Dorado Productions. In Japanese, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Mike's Home Movies: Steiner & Kiesel Meet Again - a short introduction to the film by David Warner and James Coburn before a screening in Italy. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• On location - five featurettes containing raw footage from the shooting of Iron Cross, with 1976 on set audio interviews. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Sam Peckinpah (6 min).
  2. James Coburn (6 min).
  3. James Mason (7 min).
  4. Maximilian Schell (5 min).
  5. David Warner (4 min).

• U.S. TV Spot - in English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• U.S. and UK Trailers - in English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• German Trailer - this vintage German theatrical trailer features a fragment from a deleted scene with James Coburn and Senta Berger. In German, with English subtitles. (4 min).

Cross of Iron 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For years, what Sam Peckinpah did in Cross of Iron was taboo. His film dares to see the German soldiers that were dying during WWII as human beings. Of course, some of them were completely brainwashed animals that had embraced the evil their leaders in Berlin were selling, but there were plenty more that arrived at the frontline because they had to. After that, it was irrelevant how much they knew about their enemy and the politics behind the war they were sent to fight -- they had to kill to stay alive. James Coburn's character leads a small group of German soldiers that are forced to participate in this evil theater, fully aware that winning or losing is utterly meaningless. StudioCanal's 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack introduces a fabulous new 4K restoration of Cross of Iron with an outstanding selection of exclusive new and archival bonus features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.