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Midnight Express (1978)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
6 October 1978 (USA)
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Tagline:
A story of triumph. more
Plot:
Story of a man who is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars.
Another 13 wins
&
12 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(24 articles)
John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The Rt Interview
(From Rotten Tomatoes. 4 November 2009, 12:35 AM, PST)
Former MGM Chief Daniel Melnick Dead At 77; Many Classic Films To His Credit
(From CinemaRetro. 16 October 2009, 9:58 AM, PDT)
(From Rotten Tomatoes. 4 November 2009, 12:35 AM, PST)
Former MGM Chief Daniel Melnick Dead At 77; Many Classic Films To His Credit
(From CinemaRetro. 16 October 2009, 9:58 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A Contemporary "Jude Suess"
more (197 total)
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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
121 min
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Singapore:M18 (cut) |
Iceland:16 |
Spain:18 |
Netherlands:16 |
Brazil:18 |
Germany:16 (re-rating) |
West Germany:18 (original rating) |
Portugal:M/16 |
New Zealand:R16 |
Finland:K-16 (cut) (1996) |
Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1999) |
Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) |
Argentina:18 |
Australia:R |
Canada:18A |
Chile:18 |
Finland:K-18 (cut) (1978) |
France:-16 |
Norway:18 |
South Korea:18 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:18 (video rating) (1986) |
UK:X (original rating) |
USA:R
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The scene in which Brad Davis' character bites out the tongue of a fellow inmate upset the crew so much that they all walked off the set, leaving Alan Parker to shoot it with his two actors. For the scene, Davis carried a pig's tongue around in his mouth.
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Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When Susan goes to visit Bill, it's possible to see a crew member reflected in the glass.
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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.
[...]
more
[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.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Secret Code (#7.7)" (1995)
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Soundtrack:
Istanbul Blues
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FAQ
What was Billy saying to the sadistic prison guard in Turkish while trying to bribe the guard with the $100.00 bill?more
more (197 total)
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Artistically, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS is quite well made... I do recall several media reports at the time of the film's release that led to contrary impressions, supporting the deliberate attempt by the filmmakers to do a hatchet job on the setting of this film. The first was Billy Hayes himself, when he first arrived on native soil, having pulled off his alleged escape; he said on TV, "I like the Turks...it's the prison I had a problem with" Easy to understand; few prisons are a joy ride, regardless of nation of origin. From this, I gathered he personally didn't have an animosity against the Turks, although MIDNIGHT EXPRESS goes out of its way to make everything negative about the country and culture. Only the "Western" characters are good and attractive, and the folks selected to play the Turks are corrupt, physically ugly and basically sub-human. The exterior scenes in Turkey itself have a grayish tint, implying the land is a hell-hole, and even the near-universally acclaimed cuisine gets a black eye.
The second thing from the (film's release) period I recall was a discussion on radio that claimed the prison Billy served time in was relatively modern, built in the mid-sixties... and not the Devil's Island PAPILLON setting depicted in the movie. (A 19th-Century British barracks in Malta was used for the prison.) Naturally, some artistic leeway is allowed here, since the movie's purpose is to paint a picture of a living nightmare.
I recall reading the book years ago, and when our hero got his unfair sentence, naturally he was in despair... but at that moment, he felt an almost gallant, resigned acceptance. In contrast, when Billy gave his courtroom speech in the movie (which certainly was a defining moment of the film's ill-naturedness... to quote part of the speech: "For a nation of pigs, it sure seems funny that you don't eat them! Jesus Christ forgave the bastards, but I can't! I hate! I hate you! I hate your nation! And I hate your people! And I f**k your sons and daughters because they're pigs! You're all pigs!"), the three ugly judges actually hung their heads in shame. I wonder if there's a courtroom in any nation that would permit such a prolonged and loud outburst.
The August 30th post mistakenly referred to Turkey as an Arab nation.... so the user must not have seen "Lawrence of Arabia," where the Arabs were the heroes and the Turks were the villains. It's interesting that in the rare Hollywood film where Arabs are portrayed "positively," Turks still come across as barbaric.
A Turkish-American friend has told me, contrary to what others here are thinking that the film couldn't really prejudice the viewer, that the film has achieved one of its purposes, to leave a sore, anti-Turkish taste in mouths. Keeping in mind that Americans are generally ignorant of the ways of many foreign nations, this film continues, even today, of being the only source of information most Americans have about Turkey. As cinematically effective and wonderfully made this film is, there's a disturbing side to MIDNIGHT EXPRESS that makes it mildly resemble a contemporary "Jude Suess," or THE ETERNAL JEW ("Der Ewige Jude").