Judgment in Berlin (1988)

Director:

Leo Penn

Writers:

Leo Penn (screenplay)
Joshua Sinclair (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Only two things stand between him and freedom. The Iron Curtain... and the United States.

Plot:

American judge in Germany must decide if the hijacking of an East German plane into West Berlin was justified. |

Plot Keywords:

Cigarette Smoking | East Germany | Communism | Idealism | New York Skyline

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	Herbert J Stern
Heinz Hoenig	...	Helmut Thiele
Jutta Speidel	...	Sigrid Radke
Sam Wanamaker	...	Bernard Hellring
Max Gail	...	Judah Best
Joshua Sinclair	...	Alan Sherman
Carl Lumbly	...	Edwin Palmer
Cristine Rose	...	Marsha Stern
Sean Penn	...	Guenther X
Max Volkert Martens	...	Hans Schuster
Jürgen Heinrich	...	Uri Andreyev
Marie Louise Sinclair	...	Kim Becker
Harris Yulin	...	Bruno Ristau
Horst Scheel	...	Steward Witness
Malgoscha Gebel	...	Stewardess Witness

Also Known As:

Ein Richter für Berlin (West Germany)
Escape to Freedom

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

West Germany | USA

Language:

English | Russian | German

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Australia:M | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bahnhof Zoo, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Sheen/Greenblatt Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [Sean Penn]witness at trial. Sean Penn is the son of Leo Penn, who directed this film.

Movie Connections:

Features Der blaue Engel (1930)

Fantastic study of the Americal legal system

Having been stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport in the 1980s, this movie had particular significance. The book is a difficult read--full of legal terminology and political machinations, but in short--the story of a Jewish judge, sent to Berlin not-so-many years after WWII to try East Germans for hijacking an aircraft to freedom in the West. The movie misses a lot of the subtleties, but is detailed enough to give a good picture of the political climate at the time. A federal prosecutor, Judge Stern was selected to head this trial after many other judges resisted taking on this political "hot potato". The theory is that a Jewish judge in post-war Germany would go along with what was originally envisioned as a sort of "sham" trial intended to lead directly to convictions. Stern insisted that the defendants receive, according to the American Constitution, a trial by a jury of their peers --fellow Germans. An interesting concept for our country, which offically occupied West Berlin until the 1990s. Could conquerors try the conquered in occupied territory with a jury of their (conquered) peers? For anyone who is cynical of our position in the world arena as the unofficial "watchdog" of freedoms, this is a wonderful drama showing that justice will, if given the chance, win out. Highly recommended for anyone interested in our legal system or our nation's post-WWII history.