Main Cast: Martin Sheen, Sam Wanamaker, Max Gail, Jürgen Heinrich, Heinz Hoenig, Harris Yulin
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In 1978, an East German waiter used a toy gun to hijack a Polish airliner heading for East Berlin and forced the pilot to land at an American Air Force base in West Germany. The best-selling book about the ensuing trial of the hijacker -- written by the presiding judge, Herbert J. Stern -- is given film treatment by director Leo Penn. The back story involves a West German contractor working both sides of Germany, who has fallen in love with a woman from East Berlin. The contractor arranges for the woman, her daughter and another man (Heinz Hoenig), who has children living in West Germany, to meet him in Gdansk, Poland, where he will give them false documents allowing them to get into West Germany. When the contractor is arrested, they must make other plans. Sneaking a toy gun on an airplane bound for East Germany, the man compels the pilot to steer the plane to West Germany, where he hopes to seek asylum and see his children. But this is the first time a hijacker has sought asylum in the west and it sets off a political firestorm. The American and West Germany governments have signed an international accord to prevent skyjackings and the Soviet government is pressuring them to prosecute the hijackers to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Justice Department wants a quick trial and hires a tough judge (Martin Sheen), who, they think, will prosecute the case swiftly and be done with it. However, the judge is more than the authorities have bargained for -- he wants the defendants to be given a fair trial and all of the rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Sean Penn - Gunther X; Carl Lumbly - Edwin Palmer; Max Volkert Martens - Hans Schuster; Cristine Rose - Marsha Stern; Joshua Sinclair - Alan Sherman; Jutta Speidel - Sigrid Radke; Burt Nelson
Credit
Peter Goldfoot - Art Director, Horst Scheel - Casting, Joyce Gallie - Casting, Ingrid Zore - Costume Designer, Leo Penn - Director, Teddy Darvas - Editor, Martin Sheen - Executive Producer, William R. Greenblatt - Executive Producer, Jeffrey Auerbach - Executive Producer, Peter Goldfoot - Composer (Music Score), Peter Alteneder - Production Designer, Jan Schlubach - Production Designer, Gabor Pogany - Cinematographer, Martin Sheen - Producer, Joshua Sinclair - Producer, Ingrid Windisch - Producer, William R. Greenblatt - Producer, Karl Laabs - Sound/Sound Designer, Leo Penn - Screenwriter, Joshua Sinclair - Screenwriter, Herbert J. Stern - Short Story Author
