IMDb > Midnight Express (1978)
Midnight Express
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Midnight Express (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3 NEW)
Midnight Express (1978) -- Story of a man who is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison. Inspired from and dramatized upon a true event.
Midnight Express (1978) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
Midnight Express (1978) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   21,168 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alan Parker
Writers:
Billy Hayes (book) and
William Hoffer (book) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Midnight Express on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 October 1978 (USA) more
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
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 12 nominations more
User Comments:
An Alan Parker film : One of the most controversial films about life in a prison 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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
121 min
Country:
UK | USA
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Turkish government officials greatly resented the portrayal of their country in the movie, and made this known to the media in general after the film's release. more
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
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
6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
An Alan Parker film : One of the most controversial films about life in a prison, 1 August 2008
6/10
Author: Lalit Rao (cpowerccc@yahoo.com) from Paris, France

It is generally believed that "Midnight Express" is one of those rare films which must have had a long life of maximum television reruns in USA thanks to its disputatious content.Those who have seen it will have no qualms in affirming that even after 30 years of its release, Midnight Express continues to offend Turkish people as it had portrayed their nation as a barbaric third world country which has scant respect for human rights.All the fuss is created due to the shocking yet sympathetic portrayal of an American citizen William Hayes who is put in a Turkish prison after his arrest on drug peddling charges.It is true that director Alan Parker and script writer Oliver Stone have done a good job by showing that some prisons can turn out to be absolute hell.What did not work in their favor is the fact that most of scenes related to prison life and William Haye's treatment by Turkish authorities have been grossly exaggerated. To state that British director Alan Parker's film Midnight Express is a highly controversial work of art would be akin to twisting history.It is a film entirely based on perceptions.One must watch "Le Trou" by Jacques Becker if somebody is looking for a commendable film based on prison life.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Midnight Express (1978)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Interview with real Bill Hayes OnurFrancois
I hate IMDB Scoring yuotman
Giorgio Moroder ROCKS tennavision
Who the hell was Tex? johannes_keinestam
the Warden looks like james Gandolfini ztpt
did he come back for max? La-z-girl_recliner
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