🎬 Cross of Iron (1977) is a gritty, unflinching World War II film directed by Sam Peckinpah (his only war movie), starring James Coburn as Corporal Rolf Steiner, with Maximilian Schell, James Mason, and David Warner. It follows German soldiers on the Eastern Front during their retreat from the Soviet advance, focusing on small-unit combat, internal conflicts.IMDb: 7.4/10 (from tens of thousands of ratings).