Night Crossing (1982)

Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story.

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writer:

John McGreevey

Stars:

John Hurt, Jane Alexander, Doug McKeon

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Hurt	...	Peter Strelzyk
Jane Alexander	...	Doris Strelzyk
Doug McKeon	...	Frank Strelzyk
Keith McKeon	...	Fitscher Strelzyk
Beau Bridges	...	Guenter Wetzel
Glynnis O'Connor	...	Petra Wetzel
Geoffrey Liesik	...	'Little' Peter Wetzel
Michael Liesik	...	Andreas Wetzel
Ian Bannen	...	Josef Keller
Anne Stallybrass	...	Magda Keller
Matthew Taylor	...	Lukas Keller
Klaus Löwitsch	...	Schmolk
Günter Meisner	...	Major Koerner
Sky du Mont	...	Ziegler (as Sky Dumont)
Jan Niklas	...	Lt. Fehler

Storyline

Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story.

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Plot Keywords:

east germany | communist | escape | repression | crossing the border | 

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Taglines:

The East German border: 836 miles of barbed wire walls, automated machine guns, armed guards, and deadly land mines. On September 15, 1979 two families tried to cross it.

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Genres:

Family | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flykt i natten

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions, Bavaria Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The date of the night crossing was 15th September 1979.

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Quotes

Ziegler: Do you think they'll make another attempt?
Major Koerner: They will.

User Reviews

This really happened!

I use this at school with my aviation class in our hot air ballooning unit. Students are now so far removed from the time of "The Iron Curtain" that they find it hard to believe this is a true story. Fortunately there are plenty of newspaper clips online to prove it. The balloon in the movie is very close to what they actually built.

This movie is well done, after the first 10 minutes the class sits very quiet and gets caught up in the suspense and action. Don't know if I would recommend it for young children because of some of the violence. But great for middle school and above, and a special treat for those of us who remember the day the wall came down.