Midnight Express (1978)

Story of a man who is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers:

Billy Hayes (book), William Hoffer (book),

Stars:

Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins

Won 2 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Davis	...	Billy Hayes
Irene Miracle	...	Susan
Bo Hopkins	...	Tex
Paolo Bonacelli	...	Rifki
Paul L. Smith	...	Hamidou (as Paul Smith)
Randy Quaid	...	Jimmy Booth
Norbert Weisser	...	Erich
John Hurt	...	Max
Mike Kellin	...	Mr. Hayes
Franco Diogene	...	Yesil
Michael Ensign	...	Stanley Daniels
Gigi Ballista	...	Chief Judge
Kevork Malikyan	...	Prosecutor
Peter Jeffrey	...	Ahmet
Joe Zammit Cordina	...	Airport Customs Officer

Storyline

On October 6, 1970 while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul Airport, American Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle 2 kilos of hashish out of the country, the drugs strapped to his body. He is told that he will be released if he cooperates with the authorities in identifying the person who actually sold him the hash. Billy's troubles really begin when after that assistance, he makes a run for it and is recaptured. He is initially sentenced to just over four years for possession, with no time for the more harsh crime of smuggling. The prison environment is inhospitable in every sense, with a sadistic prison guard named Hamidou ruling the prison, he who relishes the mental and physical torture he inflicts on the prisoners for whatever reason. Told to trust no one, Billy does befriend a few of the other inmates, namely fellow American Jimmy Booth (in for stealing two candlesticks from a church), a Swede named Erich, and one of the senior prisoners having already ...

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Plot Keywords:

prison | drugs | prisoner | smuggling | airport | 

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Taglines:

Everybody gave up on Billy Hayes -- except Billy.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Maltese French

Release Date:

6 October 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Expreso de medianoche

Filming Locations:

Fort St.Elmo, Valletta, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

$2,300,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$35,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Casablanca Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Author Mary Lee Settle's says in her book "Turkish Reflections" (1991) that "The Turks I saw in Lawrence of Arabia and Midnight Express were like cartoon caricatures, compared to the people I had known and lived among for three of the happiest years of my life".

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Goofs

The "fez" hat worn by several Turkish men in the movie has been extremely rare in Turkey since 1925 when it was abolished by Kemal Ataturk (the leader and founder of the Republic of Turkey) in an attempt to "westernize" the country.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Susan makes her way through a line at an airline checkpoint]
Susan: Excuse me... Excuse me... Excuse me... Excuse me.
[she reaches Billy in line]
Susan: Nervous?
Billy Hayes: No.
Susan: Geez, I hate flying.
Billy Hayes: It's something I ate. I think I've been poisoned.
Susan: Or you're just excited about getting home.
Billy Hayes: No, I think it's the baklavas.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Little Britain: Episode #3.4 (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Istanbul Blues"
By David Castle

User Reviews

A good movie but keep in mind a near total fantasy.

I like this movie a lot. I believe it is well done and is a movie that can be watched several times. However, as a person who has spent time in Turkey and read the book upon which the film is based, I know that it is a fictional story. It begins with a caption "a true story" but the only thing true about this movie is that someone named Billy Hayes was caught trying to smuggle a lot of hashish out of the country and was sent to jail. The events that supposedly happened to him in prison are fictional. I'm not saying that being in a Turkish prison is a good thing but the brutality presented is just plain fiction. Before you feel sorry for this guy remember that he was trying to smuggle drugs for re-sale in the US. Before you condemn Turkey remember that at the time Turkey was being pressured by the world community, particularly by the US, to do something about the drug flow coming out of the country. This is one movie that infuriates the Turkish government whenever it is shown and I believe rightly so because it caters to the notion that Turkey is some type or barbaric nation with a population that is incapable of human emotion or decency. Having lived in Turkey I know this to be totally false. In addition, with the exception of the skyline of Istanbul in the opening scene, none of the movie was filmed in Turkey. All of the Turks portrayed in the film, with the exception of the prosecutor, are Italian actors. The language spoken in the movie is not even Turkish for the most part. There are some phrases which are indeed Turkish but the majority of what is spoken is some other language. As I said however, I like this movie, in the same way that I like Star Trek; a great story but fiction none the less.