Midnight Express (1978)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Excellent but underrated film

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

No spoilers in this review.I honestly liked this film and was going to give it a higher score, however when i read more about it because i was interested. I found out that most of the scenes and event are made up or exaggerated to make the film better! this face was a huge disappointment for me as i saw the film thinking that it is based on a book and true story and then finding out it was mostly made up! I mean if you want to make a film like this, make it without implying that it truly happened, rather than making half of the things up! The story of someone being in prison for a small crime doesn't need much creativity as much as creating all the harsh events and environment inside the prison.From IMDB:"The film was released a year after its source book of the same name by Billy Hayes was published, but the story told by Hayes in his book is very different from the movie. Nearly all of the villains and most dramatic events in the film, are made up."

Despite the many racist rants, I think some are missing the point, the location of the prison is irrelevant, the nationality of the guards matters little. The fact it is based on a true story which took place in Turkey dictates the setting, had it taken place in Asia, Morocco, etc etc the film would have been just as brilliant as it is. John Hurt is almost unrecognisable, ignore the political votes, watch it for its lingering and well directed depth. I love it.

This intense, iconic movie is loosely based on the story of William Hayes, an American trapped in a horrible Turkish prison for five years. It's a film about courage and perseverence.Alan Parker is the director. Oliver Stone is the writer. Brad Davis is the lead. A perfect storm....I remember being blown away by this gripping movie when it first came out. So much so that I must have seen it five times. It was just so gritty. It seemed to show the world the way it really was. It exposed in exquisite detail a corrupt third-world justice system and a brutal prison system.And I just saw it again today, about 35 years later. Some of the scenes, so devastating back them, have become memes in modern culture ("Oh Billy..."), so it's hard to appreciate them fully now. It's also difficult to sit through such an unrelentingly negative portrayal of Turkey. I've been to Turkey several times, and it is difficult to see this side of Turkey. It didn't help that the producer and writer played up that aspect.Regardless of its accuracy or inaccuracy, it is one hell of a good movie.

As bleak as most prison dramas usually are, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS is probably one of the most harrowing of all time. The reasons for this are that a) we watch some totally appalling things go on, b) the acting is exceptional and makes us care for the characters, and c) the realism of the film means that it's easy for the viewer to think "this could happen to me...", as it wouldn't be the first time drugs have been planted on an unsuspecting holidaymaker. The prison in this film is definitely the dirtiest I've ever seen, miles away from the hi-tech surveillance compounds of Britain and America.Brad Davis has the central performance, as the film follows his teenager right from his arrest to his eventual escape (seven years later!). He's excellent, creating a believable character who goes through a realistic change as the years progress. In one scene, Davis memorably snaps and goes insane, a haunting and extremely powerful moment. Supporting him are John Hurt, who gives a memorably twitchy performance, and poor young Randy Quaid. The things that happen to Quaid will make you cringe.This is definitely an adult film in nature, containing as it does some very explicit and horrible violence. The prison guards in Turkey have a thing about whacking their batons against the soles of the feet of offenders, scenes which are nearly as difficult to watch as those in MISERY. In other graphic moments, a man has his tongue bitten and ripped out of his mouth, and a prison guard gets his just desserts when he falls against a coat hook with fatal results. For a film so depressing and harsh, it's a must to have an uplifting ending, which this thankfully has, but not before Davis has undergone all manner of ordeals. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS is a film that every potential holidaymaker should be made to watch as a warning, and will remain in your memory long after viewing.