"Cross of Iron"

Exactly, and I couldn't agree with you more about the movie and that near end of the movie scene. Sam Peckinpah was a master at slow action scenes. So many of them are favorites of mine in this movie-from the first action scenes to the final ones. I thought the fight scenes-the ones just after he had sset the Russian boy free-just cannot be out-done. The closest I have seen in any other movie that can compare-also come from a Sam Peckinpah-Directed movie-which is the end fight scenes in The Wild Bunch. Major Dundee action scens come in a close third. This one too, was also Directed by Sam Peckinpah.

 

The only movie that I have seen that even remotely refers to the Courland Pocket was a few scenes in the movie "The Odessa File." John Voight's charactor's father was visualized by him as he read from an old Jewish man's memiors. The scene in question had a Whermact officer overseeing the evacuation of wounded onto a ship under fire. An SS officer arrives and commandeers the vessel, and orders the wounded to be off-loaded to make room for fleeing SS types. Not Waffen SS, the concentration camp variety. You can imagine what happens next, or just go rent the movie. It was a good flick to say the least, at the end you just sit there and say to yourself, "oh yeah, now I get it!" Now I have to rent it again....Good thing for Netflix!

 

I have The Odessa File on DvD, and watch it from time-to-time. It's also the only movie with Jon Voight as it's main star-that I really enjoy.

Those scens you talk about when the Maximillian Schell character-arrives at the Docks in Riga and gets slugged by the Army Captain (Voights characters father) whom is also a Knights Cross w/ Oak Leaves recipient. One thing that bothers me is when they call it a First Level Iron Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster-should be Knights Cross with Oak Leaves. Other than that-it's a great movie.

The first time in more modern history that I saw this movie-was shortly after I got back from a month-long vacation in Germany. I was keenly interested through the whole film-but especially when they were howing locations in Heidelberg-such as the famous "Lighted Bridge" and such.

 

It's been at least 25-30 years since I've saw it myself. All the reason to get it bumped up to #1 on my Netflix que. I forgot about Maximillian Schell being in the movie. He always plays a great German officer.

 

I actually saw the end of this movie on the history channel but it was on during the superbowl so I dident watch very much of it.