<\/p>\n
Sam Peckinpah is without a doubt, one of my favorite movie directors (and screenwriters) of all time. If you have not seen it already, I highly urge you to watch the 2004 Documentary “Sam Peckinpah’s West: The Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade.” It is a fitting tribute to a true artist.-SF<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n During a reconnaissance patrol on the outskirts of their territory, a German platoon discovers a gunner\u2019s nest with Soviet soldiers lingering inside. The Germans creep forward, unleashing gunfire and grenades that make quick work of them.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at that,\u201d one of the victorious Germans says. He nods at a dead child soldier, his body mutilated by combat. The kid\u2019s arms end in a mess of viscera and his eyes stare dumbly at the sky.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing we haven\u2019t seen before,\u201d platoon leader Sgt. Rolf Steiner tells his men. There\u2019s a rustle and another Russian child soldier stumbles before them. His hair is blonde and his eyes bright blue. He\u2019s terrified.<\/p>\n The German soldiers stare as the boy\u200a\u2014\u200ano older than 10 years old\u200a\u2014\u200apulls a harmonica from his pocket and blows an awkward note. The noise is awful but it breaks the spell, and the German platoon decides to keep him.<\/p>\n Back at camp, the brass protests. They don\u2019t have enough food to feed their own soldiers\u00a0\u2026 let alone a prisoner. Steiner and his men take care of the child for a while, but they know what has to happen. The officers want Steiner\u2019s platoon to execute the kid, but they can\u2019t bring themselves to do it.<\/p>\n Steiner takes the boy to the edge of camp and pushes him into the wilderness. The boy turns and tosses his harmonica to the sergeant before fleeing into the woods. He doesn\u2019t make it far. The Russian army has arrived, and Steiner watches the boy take a few tentative steps toward his comrades before they destroy the child in a burst of indiscriminate rifle fire.<\/p>\n The year is 1943 and the German army is being destroyed on the Eastern Front. The Wehrmacht will soon flee the Taman Peninsula. In Cross of Iron<\/em>, every moment may be a soldier\u2019s last.<\/p>\n![\"cross](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/05\/cross-of-iron.jpeg?w=620\")
<\/h3>\n\u2018Cross of Iron\u2019 Depicts the Brutal Collapse of the Wehrmacht<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Officers and ideals will get you killed in Sam Peckinpah\u2019s forgotten masterpiece<\/em><\/h4>\n