Midnight Express

I found an old VHS tape of this film among my film collection: I don't think I've watched it for 30 years so I put it in the machine. I thought it was a strong movie with good performances and held up very well. I've always liked the music. I was amazed to read the reviews and find that the film was treated like a cinematic diatribe against Turkey and the Turkish people. The film is not about Turkey. That's simply the setting. it's no more about the Turkish people than "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang", "Cool Hand Luke" or "The Shawshank Redemption" is about the American people.

The film works on two levels. It's about a guy who foolishly decides to ignore the laws of a foreign country and smuggle hashish from ti to make some quick money. He gets caught and confronts a series of policemen, lawyers, judges and prison guards, none of them sympathetic characters. Those are the "Turkish people" presented to him and to us. They are little different from the sort of people who would hold those jobs in any country, including ours. A couple of prisoners make comments about disliking Turks but that's because this is their experience of them. There's no implications that all of the Turkish people are like these characters. On this level the film is just a stark reminder that if you travel to a foreign country you must be aware of and obey their laws. Just because you are an American, you have no special status.

The other level of the film and the part that makes it special is the psychological. the "Midnight Express" is not a train but it's not just an escape attempt. When Billy winds up in the asylum, he gets into a battle to hold on to his mind. He doesn't want to be a "bad machine", which is the other way to escape his dismal reality. he's losing that battle when his girlfriend show up to give him hope and reason to use it. That's what the movie is really about.

Midnight Express can be compared to the likes of Mississippi Burning, Schindler's List and Midnight Cowboy - people who see it love it or hate it - no in between and it inspires a great deal of conversation. I have never met anyone who has seen this film and does not carry a strong opinion of it one way or another.

I love it. I do not consider it a depiction of Turkish life or an accurate retelling of the whole truth. In fact, the truth of the William Hays story is deeply lost in this picture. I consider Midnight Express to be a primarily fictional prison drama, bases largely on real events. The bottom line is that it is a great film.

Politically, I am quite conservative and have a "don't do the crime if you can't do the time" attitude. I had very little sympathy for William Hays in this movie, a young American caught smuggling hash out of Turkey and imprisoned in an absolute hell-hole. Instead, I am fascinated by his adaptation to prison life, the politics among prisoners and officials, the relationship with Brad's family and lawyers and all the other aspects of the films.

The film is very gross, quite violent and filmed in a dark, depressing. atmospheric manner. It is not for the faint of heart or anyone looking for a pleasant experience.

If you are a Randy Quaid fan then Midnight Express is a must see. So much of Randy Quaid's fame arises from the ludicrous Vacation movies and Independence Day, his true talent is unappreciated. See this (an The Last Detail) if you are a Randy fan.

There is a completely unnecessary and inane scene in which the lead character delivers a speech in a Turkish court - cut this scene short and you have a perfect movie.

Midnight Express is controversial and though-provoking. I cannot guarantee that you will like it, but I can guarantee that it will make you think.

**** out of ****

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

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").

Im a turkish boy and im proud of being a turk.that movie may be a good movie but its full of exaggerations.Even Billy Hayes admitted that that movie was full of exegerations.Some ppl have some prejudieces about turkey and turkish people.and i don't like that.For ex i watched the movie called 'sleepers' but i dont think that all Americans rape kids in jail.