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Forever embroiled in controversy, Midnight Express divides viewers into opposing camps: those who think it's one of the most intense real-life dramas ever made, and those who loathe its manipulative tactics and alteration of facts for the exploitative purpose of achieving a desired effect. That effect is powerfully achieved, regardless of how you may feel about director Alan Parker and Oscar®-winning screenwriter Oliver Stone's interpretation of the story of Billy Hayes. It was the American Hayes--played by the late Brad Davis in an unforgettable performance--who was caught smuggling two kilograms of hashish while attempting to board a flight from Istanbul, Turkey, in 1970. He was sentenced to four years in a hellish Turkish prison on a drug possession charge, but his sentence was later extended (though not by 30 years, as the film suggests), and Hayes endured unthinkable brutality and torture before his escape in 1975.
Unquestionably, this is a superbly crafted film, provoking a visceral response that's powerful enough to boil your blood. By the time Hayes erupts in an explosion of self-defensive violence, Parker and Stone have proven the power--and danger--of their skill. Their film is deeply manipulative, extremely xenophobic, and embellishes reality to heighten its calculated impact. Is that a crime? Not necessarily, and there's no doubt that Midnight Express is expertly directed and blessed with exceptional supporting performances (especially from John Hurt as a long-term prisoner). Still, it's obvious that strings are being pulled, and Parker, while applying his talent to a nefarious purpose, is a masterful puppeteer. --Jeff Shannon
Synopsis
Midnight Express tells the harrowing story of a young American tourist arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison by Turkish authorities for trying to smuggle two kilos of hashish out of the country. Billy (Brad Davis), suffering through the harsh realities of the Turkish penal system, sees a glimmer of hope when his father (Billy Kellin) arrives from the States with the intention of securing his son's release. But when that effort fails and the prison's savage environment becomes too much to bear, Billy opts for the only possible solution: breaking out of jail and riding the midnight express--prison slang for escape--to freedom.
Director Alan Parker (Mississippi Burning), aided by Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning script, fastens an unflinching gaze into the darkest recesses of physical and emotional cruelty. Supporting cast members Randy Quaid, John Hurt, and Bo Hopkins give stellar performances, and Giorgio Moroder supplies a jagged yet entrancing soundtrack for a film that is at one and the same time a Kafkaesque nightmare, a riveting expose, and a testament to the dogged human thirst for dignity.
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remote a few years(33) have passed but this film stands the time well, not just great location atmospheric shots but mainly it was how powerfull the cast were in the portrayal of this story. Not for the squemish, fashion changes but a quality performance all round.
Although controversy followed it due to its portrayals of the Turkish people, Midnight Express is today still a raw and uncompromising experience. In fact if we strip away Moroder's Oscar winning electro bubbling score, the film holds up as a fresh and pertinent piece of film making. Parker doesn't cut corners or attempt any sort of Hollywood gloss, he keeps it grimy, oppressive and harsh in its telling, whilst the handheld camera work keeps things jittery, harmonising with Billy Hayes and his fellow cons' state of mind. The narrative unfurls from Billy's POV, and it's mostly in a downwards direction, with that it's hard to call the picture essential entertainment, we are after all observant to mental and physical abuse, with the disintegration of the human spirit front and centre. Billy's alienation is deftly crafted by Parker, where the non use of subtitles for the Turkish characters helps us to feel as isolated as Billy was. However, there's the odd glimmer of hope and humanity, courtesy of Billy's interactions within the few friendships he forms, and of course there's the overriding urge to see him escape his hell.
Stone won the Academy Award for his screenplay, and even though it has been frowned upon for some of the perceived bile unleashed on the Turks, it mostly excels on a human's under duress basis. The interactions between prisoners is often solemn and edgy, due to the characters being from different walks of life, while much of Hayes' outpourings of emotion have conviction by way of the words; even if one particular "speech" is ill advised and over the top. Cast are excellent, where Davis calls on the sadness in his real life upbringing to give a performance of real intensity, while Hurt and Quaid are beaten down by drug fuelled resignation and tempestuousness respectively. It has flaws, and the over dramatising of certain events tends to deviate from a real story that hardly needed extra oomph, but always Midnight Express remains a harrowing and potent piece of cinema. 8/10
The Blu-ray transfer offers better audio but the picture quality is marginally better than a DVD version upscaled on a HD TV.
The Blu Ray too has a great audio commentary which Alan Parker the director goes into great detail on the... Read more
Why must I write twenty words
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A tough mans film but well done of it`s type.
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