Loosely based on the true story of Billy Hayes (collected from his book of the same title), Alan Parker's "Midnight Express" contains some of the most effective and rightly iconic scenes in all of film history -- the opening with the heartbeats devoid of any soundtrack; the "Oh Billy!" segment; and of course the entire idea of Turkish prisons being terrible and abusive.
Hayes' story was elaborative to begin with and Oliver Stone -- not exactly one to be known for sticking close to the truth -- exaggerates it even more; so far, indeed, that it almost becomes fictional. The real Hayes had no girlfriend, was not raped in jail, DID have a homosexual relationship with another inmate (the film shows him denying the advances), and escaped at night by sea.
However, as a film this is probably one of the great motion pictures of the 1970s. Parker ("Angel Heart") is a brilliant visual director and uses much of the same imagery he would use later on in his career. For example, take note of the fans in the sweltering heat inside the courtroom. They'd be used again in "Angel Heart." Brad Davis gives a wonderful performance and convincingly devolves from a naive American student to a crazy lunatic by the time he enters the insane asylum. John Hurt's performance was also worthy of its Oscar nomination.
Overall, this is very much a product of its time -- it's depressing, bleak, and almost painful to watch; and because it's a Stone screenplay, there's a lot of politics at play. However, the overall film is breathtaking, thrilling and unpredictable (to a point) -- it's definitely worth seeing at least once in your lifetime.
Hayes' story was elaborative to begin with and Oliver Stone -- not exactly one to be known for sticking close to the truth -- exaggerates it even more; so far, indeed, that it almost becomes fictional. The real Hayes had no girlfriend, was not raped in jail, DID have a homosexual relationship with another inmate (the film shows him denying the advances), and escaped at night by sea.
However, as a film this is probably one of the great motion pictures of the 1970s. Parker ("Angel Heart") is a brilliant visual director and uses much of the same imagery he would use later on in his career. For example, take note of the fans in the sweltering heat inside the courtroom. They'd be used again in "Angel Heart." Brad Davis gives a wonderful performance and convincingly devolves from a naive American student to a crazy lunatic by the time he enters the insane asylum. John Hurt's performance was also worthy of its Oscar nomination.
Overall, this is very much a product of its time -- it's depressing, bleak, and almost painful to watch; and because it's a Stone screenplay, there's a lot of politics at play. However, the overall film is breathtaking, thrilling and unpredictable (to a point) -- it's definitely worth seeing at least once in your lifetime.