''Judgment in Berlin'' is a 1988 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed and written by

Leo Penn Leonard Francis Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American actor and director and the father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn. Early life Penn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russ ...

, produced by

Joshua Sinclair Joshua Sinclair (born May 7, 1953) is an American writer, producer, actor and director born in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 po ...

, who also co-wrote the film and acted in it, and Ingrid Windisch and starring

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...

and

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

, the director's son. It is based on the book '' Judgment in Berlin'' by Herbert J. Stern. It was shot at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial bac ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and on location around the city.

Synopsis

Based on the Cold War true story of three East Berlin men who hijack a plane to escape to the West. After being caught, they stand trial in Germany, where an American judge must decide if the hijacking of a plane into

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

was justified by the political circumstances and economic hardships of life in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

Cast

Listed in credits order: *

as Herbert J Stern: US federal judge *

as Bernard Hellring: defence attorney *

Max Gail Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. (born April 5, 1943) is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982), ...

as Judah Best: defence attorney * Jürgen Heinrich as Uri Andreyev: Soviet official * Heinz Hoenig as Helmut Thiele: hijacker *

Carl Lumbly Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dick Hallorann in '' Doctor Sleep'', NYPD detective Marcus Petrie on the CBS police drama ''Cagney & Lacey'', CIA agent Marcus Dixon on the ABC esp ...

as Edwin Palmer: US State Dept prosecutor * Max Volkert Martens as Hans Schuster: electrical engineer *

Cristine Rose Cristine Sue Rose (born January 31, 1951), sometimes credited as Christine Rose, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama '' Heroes''. Early life Rose was born in Lynwood ...

as Marsha Stern: wife of Herbert * Marie-Louise Sinclair as Kim Becker: West German legal counsel *

as Alan Sherman: US State Dept prosecutor *

Jutta Speidel Jutta Speidel (; born 26 March 1954) is a German actress. She had her first television role at the age of 15. Jutta Speidel appeared in ''Schulmadchen Report 1'' (1970), which was directed by Ernst Hofbauer and produced by Wolf C. Hartwig. She ...

as Sigrid Radke: waitress *

Harris Yulin Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...

as Bruno Ristau: US Dept. of Justice official *

as Guenther X: refugee * Burt Nelson as Patrick J. Heller: Colonel USAF * Malgorzata Gebel as Beata Levandovska: flight attendant (as Malgoscha Gebel) * Ed Bishop as Dyson Wilde: US State Dept. official

External links

* * * 1988 films 1988 drama films American drama films West German films English-language German films Films set in Berlin Films directed by Leo Penn Films shot in Berlin Films shot at Tempelhof Studios Films set in East Germany Films set in West Germany 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language drama films {{1980s-drama-film-stub