Comment by nephihaha

I read about them in RD long before I saw the film, I think. It is an amazing achievement and I doubt most people could have pulled it off. Thinking about it now... You would have to wait until the wind was going in the right direction, and wouldn't change, and also be well away from the border to avoid patrols. They had luck on their side.

I think I saw the film in the late eighties/early nineties round about the time the Eastern Bloc was falling apart so it had less impact.