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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
more
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 good movie but keep in mind a near total fantasy.
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 (uncut) (1999) |
Finland:K-16 (cut) (1996) |
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:
Goofs:
Factual errors: The Turkish spoken by ostensible Turks portrayed 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.
more
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 Paul Smith: The Reddest Herring (2008) (V)
more
Soundtrack:
Istanbul Blues
more
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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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.