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Night Crossing

Play trailer Poster for Night Crossing PG 1982 1h 46m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Two men (John Hurt, Beau Bridges) and their families escape from East to West Germany in a colorful homemade hot-air balloon.
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Night Crossing

Critics Reviews

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Grant Watson Fiction Machine 07/13/2020
8/10
It manages to extract an enormous amount of suspense from the final half hour. Go to Full Review
Diego Galán El Pais (Spain) 08/22/2019
With a childish plot, the film doesn't manage to interest the public. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 06/19/2005
3/5
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice 02/04/2004
Night Crossing proves that a family united in a common project can accomplish near impossible things. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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jon c 02/05/2022 Based on the true story of a night crossing of one brave attempt to escape huge confines in one's own home country starring the late John Hurt and Beau Bridges It's East Germany 1961 A barrier has been established to keep its citizens inside by the East German regime Border fences have silent alarms and machine guns to fire In April 1978, Peter Strelzyk has a big idea to escape Germany by building a hot air balloon and he has the help of Gunter Wetzel They hope to go from East to West Germany to escape the communist regime but they worry if they can take their whole families with them Do we talk about freedom and escape and do nothing, The film takes a while to lift off so to speak since it's more about the secret attempt to fly Peter is at first doubtful but he has the support of his wife and kids Plus Gunter doesn't want to be a delivery guy the rest of his life Both want their loved ones to have better lives This ain't everyone's cup of tea and it does get very violent for a Disney film Still it shows a family united under dyer circumstances can accomplish anything See more r 9 09/14/2020 Good, could've been made a bit more subtly though. 'Night Crossing', which portrays the true story of a hot air balloon escape from East Germany, is an interesting and well acted production. However, it doesn't do anything to throw you off the scent. Predictability isn't always a negative, but it is one for this film in my opinion. Whether it be through knowledge of the event, reading the opening credits (where they acknowledge the families) or just general direction of the story - it's easy to see where it's going, as such the pacing is very slow; at least across the first and middle acts. With that noted, things do end brightly thanks to the feel-good nature of the finale and the satisfactory cast. John Hurt (Peter) is the best of the bunch, while the few around him add to proceedings well. Günter Meisner, Mr. Slugworth himself, also makes an appearance. On the cast, it is kinda odd that some characters have British accents and some have German - you'd think the filmmakers would've picked one or the other. I don't have any recollection of knowing about this true event before watching this, which is a surprise given I know about other stories regarding this topic. Either way, it's a solid film. See more david f 06/16/2020 The story is interesting and there is some genuine tension when two East German families build a hot air balloon to escape to the West in the 1970s. See more 07/18/2016 Suspenseful from beginning to end. See more 02/05/2016 What an incredible story!!! A gripping, true story of two families successfully crossing the East German border to West Germany via a hot air balloon. I can't even imagine the horror, fear and ultimate faith they must have gone through. Very powerful. See more 10/29/2013 A cold war setting seems a little out of place for a Disney made drama, but it's not a badly made film even if it's got more of a smattering of western propaganda to it. See more Read all reviews
Night Crossing

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two men (John Hurt, Beau Bridges) and their families escape from East to West Germany in a colorful homemade hot-air balloon.
Director
Delbert Mann
Producer
Tom Leetch
Screenwriter
John McGreevey
Production Co
Walt Disney Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 5, 1982, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Runtime
1h 46m
Sound Mix
Surround
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