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IMDbPro

Midnight Express

  • 1978
  • R
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
84K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,973
163
Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
Theatrical Trailer from Columbia Tristar
Play trailer1:18
1 Video
99+ Photos
BiographyCrimeDrama

Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.

  • Director
    • Alan Parker
  • Writers
    • Oliver Stone
    • Billy Hayes
    • William Hoffer
  • Stars
    • Brad Davis
    • Irene Miracle
    • Bo Hopkins
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    84K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,973
    163
    • Director
      • Alan Parker
    • Writers
      • Oliver Stone
      • Billy Hayes
      • William Hoffer
    • Stars
      • Brad Davis
      • Irene Miracle
      • Bo Hopkins
    • 311User reviews
    • 74Critic reviews
    • 59Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 17 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos1

    Midnight Express
    Trailer 1:18
    Watch Midnight Express

    Photos111

    Paul L. Smith in Midnight Express (1978)
    John Hurt and Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    John Hurt and Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis and Irene Miracle in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)
    Midnight Express (1978)
    Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Brad Davis
    Brad Davis
    • Billy Hayes
    Irene Miracle
    Irene Miracle
    • Susan
    Bo Hopkins
    Bo Hopkins
    • Tex
    Paolo Bonacelli
    Paolo Bonacelli
    • Rifki
    Paul L. Smith
    Paul L. Smith
    • Hamidou
    • (as Paul Smith)
    Randy Quaid
    Randy Quaid
    • Jimmy Booth
    Norbert Weisser
    Norbert Weisser
    • Erich
    John Hurt
    John Hurt
    • Max
    Mike Kellin
    Mike Kellin
    • Mr. Hayes
    Franco Diogene
    Franco Diogene
    • Yesil
    Michael Ensign
    Michael Ensign
    • Stanley Daniels
    Gigi Ballista
    • Chief Judge
    Kevork Malikyan
    Kevork Malikyan
    • Prosecutor
    Peter Jeffrey
    Peter Jeffrey
    • Ahmet
    Joe Zammit Cordina
    Joe Zammit Cordina
    • Airport Customs Officer
    Yashar Adem
    • Airport Police Chief
    Raad Rawi
    Raad Rawi
    • Airport Security Chief
    Tony Boyd
    • Aslan
    • Director
      • Alan Parker
    • Writers
      • Oliver Stone
      • Billy Hayes
      • William Hoffer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Billy Hayes courteously declines the amorous advances of one of his fellow inmates. In reality, Hayes had an ongoing affair with this person as opposed to a brief encounter in the shower.
    • Goofs
      The Turkish spoken by the Turkish characters in the film is uniformly broken. The actors are obviously not Turkish; sometimes the language is so broken it is difficult for native speakers to understand what they are saying.
    • Quotes

      Max: The best thing to do is to get your ass out of here. Best way that you can.

      Billy Hayes: Yeah, but how?

      Max: Catch the midnight express.

      Billy Hayes: But what's that?

      Max: [laughs] Well it's not a train. It's a prison word for... escape. But it doesn't stop around here.

    • Crazy credits
      The only opening titles are: Columbia Pictures presents a Casablanca FilmWorks production an Alan Parker film Midnight Express After this, the opening prologue text reads "The following is based on a true story. It began October 6, 1970 in Istanbul, Turkey."
    • Alternate versions
      Some of the VHS and Betamax copies included text before the end credits run that did not appear on the DVD and Blu-ray copies "On May 18,1978 the motion picture you have just seen was shown to an audience of world press at the Cannes Film Festival.... 43 days later the United States and Turkey entered into formal negotiations for the exchange of prisoners." This dialogue existed on HBO's showing of the movie back in 1985.
    • Connections
      Featured in I'm Healthy, I'm Alive and I'm Free (1977)
    • Soundtracks
      Istanbul Blues
      Vocals by David Castle

      Written By Oliver Stone, Billy Hayes (as William Hayes)

      Arrangement and lyrics by David Castle

      Acoustic / Electric Guitars by Patrick McClure

      Drums, Percussion: Jerry Summers

      Strings: Fritz Sonnleitner, Sid Sharp

      Bass: Rick Tierney

      Piano, Electric Piano, Clavinet: David Castle

      Published by Rick's Music, Inc./Gold Horizon Music Corp. (BMI)

      (p) 1978 Casablanca Record and FilmWorks, Inc.

      © 1978 Columbia Pictures

    User reviews311

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Haven't seen this many ugly people in one movie!
    Wow. This was disturbing. I live in Nottingham, I have many Turkish friends who study here. If I didn't know them, I'd probably think that there wasn't a single Turk who is nice and pleasant... Some parts were actually funny. The judge (in Billy's hate monologue scene) was sounding exactly like Jabba the Hutt! I've heard people speak Turkish around me, so I knew the language which was supposed to be Turkish in the movie, wasn't. Come on people... Feels like this movie was made to make Turks look bad in every way possible. I've read an interview and I learnt that the real Billy Hayes was truly disappointed with the portrayal of Turkish people in the film. Anyway, this movie was fun to watch but would be ignorant to believe. Have a good one
    helpful•347
    111
    • ozzy_88
    • Dec 17, 2009

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    FAQ3

    • What happened to Jimmy Booth?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 6, 1978 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Sony Pictures (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Maltese
      • French
      • Turkish
    • Also known as
      • 12 Uhr nachts - Midnight Express
    • Filming locations
      • Fort St. Elmo, Valletta, Malta(as the Turkish prison)
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Casablanca Filmworks
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,300,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $35,000,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $35,000,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 1 minute
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Related news

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