Judgement in Berlin (1988)
"Judgment in Berlin" (original title)

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

Director:

Leo Penn

Writers:

Herbert J. Stern (based on the book "Judgment in Berlin" by), Joshua Sinclair (screenplay),

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Sam Wanamaker, Max Gail

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Sheen	...	Herbert J Stern
Sam Wanamaker	...	Bernard Hellring
Max Gail	...	Judah Best
Jürgen Heinrich	...	Uri Andreyev
Heinz Hoenig	...	Helmut Thiele
Carl Lumbly	...	Edwin Palmer
Max Volkert Martens	...	Hans Schuster
Cristine Rose	...	Marsha Stern
Marie Louise Sinclair	...	Kim Becker (as Marie-Louise Sinclair)
Joshua Sinclair	...	Alan Sherman
Jutta Speidel	...	Sigrid Radke
Harris Yulin	...	Bruno Ristau
Sean Penn	...	Guenther X
Burt Nelson	...	Colonel Heller
Malgorzata Gebel	...	Beata Levandovska (as Malgoscha Gebel)

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

judge | hijacking | berlin germany | defection | constitutional law | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

West Germany USA

Language:

English Russian German

Release Date:

6 May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Escape to Freedom

Filming Locations:

Bahnhof Zoo, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Gross:

$229,556 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sheen/Greenblatt Productions, Bibo TV, January Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Connections

Features The Blue Angel (1930)

User Reviews

Very enjoyable.

Being a sucker for courtroom dramas, I found this to be a very enjoyable movie. It's legal question marks were interesting to follow, and Martin Sheen's pivotal performance was very good. [I loved this actor from the time I first heard him laugh. It starts right down in his boots and just bubbles over in a very infectious manner.] Sean Penn's role was very small but crucial, and it shows what an incredibly talented actor he is. His use of a German accent was masterful. This isn't a great movie, but I think that most people would find it enjoyable.