Take off one uniform, there's always another one underneath.
No one could ever accuse Sam Peckinpah of being a softy. He was unabashedly a man's director, making films for and about men engaging in manly behavior. So why did it take him so long to attack what is arguably the manliest of genres, the war film? Well, maybe it's because he was looking for just the right war film -- the usual John Wayne heroics just wouldn't cut it for him.
Cross of Iron, which was made in 1977, is set in the waning days of World War II on the Eastern front, where the Germans are being beaten back after disastrously underestimating the Russian enemy. The film follows battle-worn corporal James Coburn, whose platoon is a decidedly wild bunch and who is in direct opposition with newly-arrived captain Maximilian Schell, who requested a transfer from France so he can see some action and earn an Iron Cross. The contrast couldn't be more striking: Coburn is a soldier whose only concern is for the safety of his men, Schell is a Prussian aristocrat who wants some tangible evidence of his trumped-up heroism. How it must irk Schell when Coburn is injured in battle, thus earning himself one of the coveted medals.
The film also stars James Mason as the colonel who puts up with Coburn's insolence because he gets the job done and David Warner as Mason's less than enthusiastic right-hand man. His attitude of resignation isn't too surprising under the circumstances. As Mason tells Schell soon after his arrival, "Low morale goes hand in hand with defeat after defeat, followed by impending defeat." What makes all the difference is how one chooses to act in the face of such defeat. Late in the film, when Coburn's platoon has been left behind enemy lines and he has to lead them back to the relative safety of the German front, we see why they trust him with their lives -- and why he leaves the hospital early to be with them. Loyalty to your fellow men -- that's what makes or breaks a Peckinpah hero.