User Reviews

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.

Midnight Express tells the story of a young American, Billy Hayes, who was arrested in 1970 for possession of Hashish in Istanbul Turkey. The film chronicles Billy's journey into the nightmarish hell of the Turkish prison. Slowly, the viewer begins to see how Billy's personality begins to change from a fun-loving individual, to a decaying vegetable as the justice system betrays him. Originally sentenced to 4 years and two months, the head prosecutor successfully appeals the verdict to the Turkish Supreme Court, forcing the trial court judge to resentence Billy to a minimum of 30 years.

The torture scenes involving Billy getting sadistically beaten by the prison guard Hamadu are very painful to watch, especially a scene early on in the film where Billy is strung up by his ankles and beaten on a rack for taking a blanket without permission. Billy and his inmates escape plans provide great dramatic tension in a terrific narrative style. Ultimately, Billy engages in a brutal fight with an inmate named Rifki, whom everyone hates, especially Billy, because Rifki rats on all of the prisoners. Rifki likes to make life even more miserable for the inmates. As punishment, Billy is sent to the prison's Section 13 for the criminally insane.

Billy is given bribe money by his girlfriend Susan who comes to see him in a heartbreaking scene. Almost all of Billy's inner-strength is taken away by the harsh realities of the prison. However, he is able to say "I love you" through many tears.

The head guard Hamidou refuses to be bought, and takes Billy to the Sanitarium where he beats him, and tries to have sex with him. Billy charges the guard, rams the guard's head into a spike on the wall, killing him. Stealing his uniform, Billy escapes the prison and shortly afterward we learn that he arrived home with his family 3 weeks later.

I have actually read Billy Hayes' book, Midnight Express. In reality, Billy did not have any major quarrels with the Turkish people. The film shows the opposite. There was really only one guard that treated him badly, but nowhere near what Hamidou did in the movie. In reality, Billy never was transferred to the insane part of the prison for fighting. He had one minor altercation with an inmate. The book talks more about the unsanitary conditions of the prison. (There are many instances in the book that will make you want to surrender your lunch, unfortunately.)

The biggest distortion is that in real-life, Billy Hayes never killed any guard as a part of his escape plan. He simply got out one night and swam across the boarder into Greece and that was it.

There are differences in how the film was made as well. The Turkish Government was outraged at how this movie distorted the real Billy Hayes case and refused to allow the movie to be filmed there. Most of the film was shot off the island of Malta. A good deal of the language spoken in the movie is NOT Turkish, but Maltese, which to the untrained ear, is often mistaken for Turkish dialect.

Nevertheless, I rate the film highly because it is still a very good movie with great acting, music, and dramatic tension. Amazingly, the actor who played Billy Hayes, Brad Davis, died of AIDS. He did an excellent job as the real Billy Hayes. In my view, many scenes had to be changed for dramatic effect. You will remember this film forever. It will undoubtedly make you think twice about doing something stupid in a foreign country! Despite its flaws, when compared to Billy Hayes' real-life story, Midnight Express is still a very emotional film that withstands the test of time. It would be a 10/10 if it were closer to the truth. However, the film is still excellent and is strongly recommended viewing.

This movie claims to be based on a true story but just like many other Hollywood productions, it warps the truth to an unrecognizable mess. If you want to hear the real story behind the movie, you should see the interview with the real "Billy Hayes" on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TweU77cDrgE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqPMI6BnINI&mode=related&search

The real "Billy Hayes" even says that he'd like to go back to Turkey to visit Istanbul. Now that's a slap on the face of the producers of the movie who have demonized all Turks for their personal gain of a statue. They would have received more Oscars if they portrayed the events in realistic terms as "Billy" explains in the interview.

In my opinion, the story of how the real "Billy" made it to the border after he ran away from the prison, would make a wonderful action/adventure movie. Of course, that's where the movie ends, having achieved its purpose of slandering a complete nation.

Down with Hollywood!! Long live YouTube for giving a voice to the suppressed truth!

I can't believe that so many reviews of Midnight Express have degenerated into exchanges of opposing political views that skirt over the film itself. While this may be based on a true story, like any good filmmaker, the director Alan Parker has shown the shades of gray here. The film's message, as far as any fair-minded viewer should discern it, is that the individual and the state (whether one's own or a foreign country) exist in a fragile state of consent with each other which requires fair and proportional responses on both sides. Neither side is totally in the right or the wrong here in Parker's film.

Billy Hayes is not a guiltless, red-blooded hero here and Parker doesn't portray him as such. Hayes committed what would have been a crime in any country-- smuggling heroin-- and he was caught and rightfully prosecuted. He has broken laws and must pay the price.

Just to be on the safe side--

-------------MINOR SPOILERS HERE-----------------------

Hayes is initially handed a sentence by the Turkish court-- approximately 4 years-- that would probably be considered fair in any civilised society for his activities. The prison is tough (it's not supposed to be a cakewalk), but Hayes accepts his punishment and overall stays out of trouble while in the prison. Then, with little more than two months left in his term, and the prospect of release dangling before him, a higher Turkish court-- for obscure and apparently contrived reasons (making someone an example)-- suddenly comes back basically saying he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison for his one earlier slip. At this point the moral compass, as it may be, shifts to Billy. He's done his time, he's behaved, he's accepted his punishment and it's hardships, and suddenly the rug is pulled out from under him.

To all the hot-bloods here who say Hayes was a rich American who deserved what he got-- have you ever heard of the concept of proportionality in law? Hayes did not commit a violent crime against anybody (both in terms of his initial act and up to the time the appellate court extended his sentence), he did not even commit a property crime like stealing or burglary. This is what Parker is saying-- Hayes was in the wrong for smuggling and was justly punished for those four years, but the arbitrary extension of his sentence close to his release, and the sheer length of the term (pretty much a lifer), are grossly disproportionate and unbecoming of a civilised society. In many if not most countries, even many killers are usually sentenced to far less than the 30 years that were suddenly tacked onto Hayes's term, and they don't experience the sort of sadistic torture meted out by the wardens in the jail in this film. It had the stink of scapegoating, and the rest of the film shows Hayes's desperate attempts to survive and escape a system that has become corrupt.

For what it's worth, I'm not an American and I don't in any way harbor illusions of superiority on the part of the West or East. One might make similar criticisms of things like the "3 Strikes Law" in the USA which are also pretty arbitrary. Parker isn't commenting on which civilization(s) is/are superior-- he's saying that there are some universal civil liberties that any civilised society should strive to, and societies both west and east fail when they deny them to the most vulnerable people, namely those sent to prison and stripped of even the freedom to mix with the general population. And note, furthermore, that the Turks in the prison (the vast majority) suffer as much as the foreigners. (BTW, to the commentators who've stupidly claimed that this film is merely "American propaganda"-- Alan Parker is British. If you're going to hurl an accusation like that, at least get such a basic fact straight.)

BTW I've been to Turkey and I've found the Turks to be among the world's most generous and kind people, esp to strangers. And sometimes I do wish that Parker had included more Turkish characters with more agreeable qualities, which (even in a prison) one would be likely to find (and I also found the "comparison to pigs" comment in the courtroom to be inappropriate). But Parker wanted to make this a gritty film with an air of desperation throughout, and for this reason alone one should be careful about extending what's seen in this film to the Turks as a whole.

Underwear model perfect Brad Davis (as William "Billy" Hayes) gets caught trying to smuggle hash into America, and is terrorized in a Turkish prison. This is based on the true story, and a very good one. The real Billy Hayes authored book "Midnight Express" that led to this film was responsible for alerting millions of people about the dangers of attempting to smuggle drugs out of a foreign country. Generations thought twice about pulling a stunt like this, after hearing Mr. Hayes' account. A quick comparison between book and movie will reveal much of what occurs in this film is fictionalized...

The tongue-lashing and final rape attempt never happened, though they sure command your attention. The weird, almost "Zen" romance did happen - but, this story leaves you the impression no actual sex acts occurred (one tiny edit would change the relationship to absolutely sexual, given surrounding scenes). That, and the otherworldly psych ward are too mystical. Despite faults, "Midnight Express" was nominated for six "Oscars" (and won what seem to be the unlikeliest). While he's burdened with serious deviations from the original character, Mr. Davis really makes you pull for Billy.

******* Midnight Express (8/31/78) Alan Parker ~ Brad Davis, John Hurt, Randy Quaid, Paul Smith

The iconic score from Giorgio Moroder still echoes the sound of an eternal moral battle between hope and desperateness, about standing against adversity, or dying slowly when the light of hope is weakening. And "Midnight Express" communicates these emotions through one of the greatest male performances ever, from Brad Davis, as Billy Hayes, a stranger in a hostile country.

And this is the point to be cleared first, for intellectual honesty's sake. Till now, the movie is held responsible for having paved the way to a whole misconception about Turkish prisons in general and Turks more particularly (ironically, this is how the movie lurched so fast into Pop-Culture). But I don't think we should blame the film for having depicted a population in such an extreme way for two reasons. First, it's against the system more than the people. Secondly, dramatization is a key element, had the movie been more politically correct, it would have probably been less impacting without gaining more accuracy. Dramatization is affection : like many men thought twice before having a mistress, after they watched "Fatal Attraction", I'm sure the movie was a lesson to drug smugglers.

And as ludicrous as it sounds, a sincere inaccuracy is better than a hypocritical tolerance. After all, aren't we all biased, too? And aren't the others? If you put the film into perspective, Turkey had a very bad reputation because of men like Billy Hayes, and he was chosen by destiny to take all the punishment, to set an example. Billy had to commit this mistake to realize that. And we put ourselves in his shoes, we follow Billy in the toilets where he desperately tries to hide his anxiety, we feel our heart beating as fast as his. Alan Parker's direction perfectly emphasizes the whole paranoid feeling, it's like we got so high everything became suspect. When the eyes of Billy betray him and the guards search him, we feel like carrying hashish too, then, when Billy raises his arms and the ring of guards point guns at him, we know the doors of a hellish journey have just been opened. The empathy between the viewer and Billy is so strong that from this point, both feelings are combined, including, the hate against the Turkish system.

I insist on the word 'system' because Billy is indeed the scapegoat of a system where corruption and legality flirt together in an obscene masquerade, like the funny but meaningful image of a judge staring at a girl's sexy legs in the press room while Billy's is pleading for his cause. It's a crooked system disguising Billy's punishment as a victory in the war against drug smuggling. Billy accepts the punishment after a heart-breaking leaving scene with his father; he's ready to wait for four long years. He befriends Jimmy (Randy Quaid) a hot-headed American who's got only one thing in head, escape and Max, the English (John Hurt), a smooth talking, pot-smoker and detached intellectual. During this time, as I said, we –as viewers- feel a strong attachment to Billy, we can't wait for him getting out of prison as we're embarked with him in the same hell. And we see Turkish people the way he does, yes, they are vile, and corrupted, but don't forget the movie sitting in the throne of IMDb's Top 250 doesn't feature the nicest warden and chief guard in the world either. Again, my point is to put things into perspective, Billy's hate is a reaction to the hostility aimed at him. Billy's considered as "Ayip", impure, from the start. We can't perceive the brutal Hamidou and the sneaky Rifki's with other eyes. This is the power of "Midnight Express", something I don't think any other prison movies achieved, making us feel exactly like the central character whose emotions are magnificently expressed through Moroder's unforgettable score, my favorite after "The Godfather".

"Midnight Express" is definitely one of these films where the score and the story are inseparable: the iconic chase theme is like the rhythm of our own heart pounding as we're running with Billy. Also take the scene with the Swedish prisoner, despite the disturbing intimacy, the music helped me to empathize, to wonder how I would have handled these four years without expressing some feelings. Beyond the music, "Midnight Express" is one of these great cinematic achievements where everything is so perfectly combined we don't watch the film, we feel it. The prison's ugliness exudes from a beautiful cinematography and the hostility of Billy's world is so masterfully directed, you can feel the dirt on the beds, and smell the sweat of other prisoners, not to mention the perfect acting that made the realism of the story even scarier.

The only element that seems to disturb is the script, but if the music is the heart of the film, the script is the soul. Yes, it's politically incorrect, yes after his sentence was extended to perpetuity, Billy delivered one of the most racist rants ever said, but this is not where the movie sinned: as I said, this is the movie's sincerity speaking. It's a gut wrenching speech, because this is not Billy talking, this is the desperation of someone who's got nothing to lose, who played the game and lost it. And more than that, this is Billy's turning point from which, he and Jimmy and Max will try to catch the Midnight Express, the metaphorical train leading to freedom, while they are already standing on a less imaginary stairway to hell, preparing Billy for one of the most chilling, and realistic descents into madness, ever portrayed in film. So sad, such an amazing actor and promising career had to leave us so soon.

"Midnight Express" transcends its setting, and sublimates any critical aspect into an intense story about the power of human spirit struggling in a hostile environment ... a misunderstood masterpiece, the greatest prison movie, and one of the best of the 70's.

I remember when this film was first released. Yes, I am old lol. It was hugely successful, and Brad Davis does deliver a terrific performance. But the portrayal of Turkish people in this film is so myopic and bigoted. I am an American, never been to Turkey, but even I was shaking my head at the unfair portrayal of an entire population. Well made, yes, but the same could be said a bout the films of Leni Riefensthal. Yes, the film was released a long time ago, blahblah, but that does not excuse the maligned view of Turkish people. Billy Hayes himse lf was very angry about this film, he said he loves Turkey and its peoples and the film was very unfair.