Starting in late May 1944, during the German retreat on the Eastern Front, Captain Stransky (Helmut Griem) orders Sergeant Steiner (Richard Burton) to blow up a railway tunnel to prevent Russian forces from using it. Steiner's platoon fails in its mission by coming up against a Russian tank. Steiner then takes a furlough to Paris just as the Allies launch their invasion of Normandy.
“Breakthrough”, also knows as “Steiner - Das Eiserne Kreuz, 2. Teil”, is a sequel to Sam Peckinpah’s “Cross of Iron”. While that film failed in the USA, it was fairly successful in europe and germany in particular. This film was financed mostly through west germany and is a rather loose sequel. Most importantly, Richard Burton replaced James Coburn as sgt. Steiner.
It’s a cash-grab sequel that never reaches the greatness of the original in any way. It has its moments, I really like the color-grading and the film has a rather raw look tho.
But it just isn’t that engaging or interesting. While the cast includes many famous people, none of them really stand out and Burton is not even remotely as good as Coburn. The plot and action as well as the violence aren’t as convincing as in the original either.
In the end, it’s a fine war film, but nothing special. A couple great scenes and moments make this a fairly solid watch, but it’s mostly forgettable.
“Breakthrough”, also knows as “Steiner - Das Eiserne Kreuz, 2. Teil”, is a sequel to Sam Peckinpah’s “Cross of Iron”. While that film failed in the USA, it was fairly successful in europe and germany in particular. This film was financed mostly through west germany and is a rather loose sequel. Most importantly, Richard Burton replaced James Coburn as sgt. Steiner.
It’s a cash-grab sequel that never reaches the greatness of the original in any way. It has its moments, I really like the color-grading and the film has a rather raw look tho.
But it just isn’t that engaging or interesting. While the cast includes many famous people, none of them really stand out and Burton is not even remotely as good as Coburn. The plot and action as well as the violence aren’t as convincing as in the original either.
In the end, it’s a fine war film, but nothing special. A couple great scenes and moments make this a fairly solid watch, but it’s mostly forgettable.
