The most distinct thing I remember about Sam Peckinpah‘s Cross of Iron, which opened on 5.12.77, is the closing line of Gene Shalit‘s review on the Today show: “Cross of Iron is a movie of bad.” My reaction wasn’t as starkly negative, but I know I never saw it a second time and that I never even thought about getting the UK Bluray. N.Y. Times critic Vincent Canby called it “Mr. Peckinpah’s least interesting, least personal film in years.” It’s been a while, but I don’t recall disliking it as much as Convoy. But it’s since become a favorite of eccentric Peckinpah cultists….right? The first of these may have been Orson Welles, who allegedly got in touch with Peckinpah after seeing it and called it “the finest antiwar film since All Quiet on the Western Front.” Or words to that effect. The only way I could see it again cheaply is to watch a 480p version on Amazon. Maybe.