Cross Of Iron To Hit Blu

Hitting Blu-ray, through Optimum Releasing, in the UK later this week is Sam Peckinpah's excellent flick Cross of Iron.

WWII, 1943, the Russian front. An arrogant aristocratic Prussian Officer named Stransky (Maximilian Schell) is assigned as the new commander of a German platoon, his only ambition to win the Iron Cross to maintain his family honour. When Stransky falsely claims credit for bravely leading the squad into a bloody battle against the Russians in order to be awarded the medal he craves, he names gutsy Sergeant Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) as his witness. When Steiner refuses to be complicit, a battle of wills between the two men from very different backgrounds ensures. Then Stransky purposefully fails to relay an order to the squad to fall back from their position, leaving them surrounded by Russian troops and suffering heavy bombardment. Knowing that defeat is inevitable their only goal is survival….

Heralded as the most anti-war war film ever made, CROSS OF IRON is a bloody and thought-provoking depiction of the horrors of war and Peckinpah has served as an inspiration for everyone from Tarantino to Kathryn Bigelow.

Passion & Poetry - Sam Peckinpah's War  (46:00): A documentary by Mike Siegel featuring James Coburn, Senta Berger, David Warner, Vadim Glowna, Roger Fritz, Katy Haber & Sam Peckinpah. 5 featurettes with 1976 on set audio interviews: Sam Peckinpah (5:06) / James Coburn  (5:30) / James Mason (6:05) / Maximilian Schell (4:35) / David Warner  (3:14) / Featurette KRÜGER KISSES KERN(8:27) / Letters From Vadim & Sam Featurette (3:48)
/ Vadim & Sam - Son & Dad Featurette (5:55) / Cutting Room Floor Featurette (4:19) / Mike's Homemovies Featurette - Steiner meets Kiesel again (7:16) / Steiner In Japan
 (2-3 mins) / Before & After Restoration Comparison / German Trailer (3:10) / USA TV-Spot  (0:30) / USA/UK Trailer (3:42)