I'm not exaggerating: I can't recall any other movie that would match this masterpiece. This movie is so genius and powerful that it can't be fully understood by trying to rationalize it.
Many think the movie is racist or not based on real facts. What these people fail to realize is that IT DOES NOT MATTER. The movie is about something so big and fundamental that it can't be judged according to the criteria used for some stupid 'good guys - bad guys' Hollywood nonsense. This is about the eternal evil of human nature which does not fit our definitions of 'good' and 'bad'.
While smuggling drugs may be 'bad' and illegal, Billy Hayes had to deal with the evil so enormous that it made him a saint. This kind of evil can be encountered anywhere if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not about 'bad' Turks and 'good' Americans: the events of the last decade clearly demonstrated that Americans can be as evil as anyone else. Try to look beyond stereotypes - that's what the creators of 'Midnight Express' managed to do like nobody else before or after.
Many think the movie is racist or not based on real facts. What these people fail to realize is that IT DOES NOT MATTER. The movie is about something so big and fundamental that it can't be judged according to the criteria used for some stupid 'good guys - bad guys' Hollywood nonsense. This is about the eternal evil of human nature which does not fit our definitions of 'good' and 'bad'.
While smuggling drugs may be 'bad' and illegal, Billy Hayes had to deal with the evil so enormous that it made him a saint. This kind of evil can be encountered anywhere if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not about 'bad' Turks and 'good' Americans: the events of the last decade clearly demonstrated that Americans can be as evil as anyone else. Try to look beyond stereotypes - that's what the creators of 'Midnight Express' managed to do like nobody else before or after.