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Midnight Express
Midnight Express
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Midnight Express

Midnight Express

1978
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
2h 1m
Allegedly true story of a man who is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into a barbaric prison (imdb)

Directed by:

Alan Parker

Screenwriter:

Oliver Stone, Billy Hayes, William Hoffer

Starring:

Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Mike Kellin, Alan Parker

Genres:

Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Crime, Biography

Countries:

UK, USA

Languages:

English, French, Turkish, Maltese
imdb IMDb
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Midnight Express

1978
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
2h 1m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 55.92% from 1732 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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thegreyfoxthegreyfox
Rated 11 Dec 2012
85
84th
Whether this is completely true to the "truth" or not, this is absolutely gripping story-telling about the plight of a totally desperate young man making a stupid mistake. Although the film is definitely "of the 70's" it still stands the test of time as an emotional rollercoaster of a movie, and draws you in to the desparation like no other film. Fantastic, painful film with great performances from Hurt and Davis in particular. Its only flaw is the portrayal of all turks as bastards .. a shame
Rated 11 Dec 2012
ehk2ehk2
Rated 24 May 2011
15
18th
I score it low not because such things don't and didn't happen in Turkey and it is biased against the country (much much worse things happened and still occur in prisons in Turkey to all sort of people -foreigners, children, political and normal prisoners); but because I found the movie bad itself
Rated 24 May 2011
pigletPiglet
Rated 25 Jul 2009
77
85th
John Hurt is bloody brilliant. And even Randy Quaid's not half bad. A story about some who never give up, and others who do only when it's already too late.
Rated 25 Jul 2009
thedicemanTheDiceman
Rated 24 Feb 2007
70
82nd
Great story.
Rated 24 Feb 2007
mentaculusMentaculus
Rated 22 Jul 2016
47
21st
Takes justifiable outrage and misplaces it - turning a corrupt political system into a dumping ground for racism and fear. Stone's script is repressed and fascist, wallowing in its depravity, and outside of the technical achievements and absolute sincerity in its acting, I find nothing redeemable or recommendable about the experience.
Rated 22 Jul 2016
ocelotOcelot
Rated 14 Jan 2010
30
22nd
Bad acting, bad writing, bad camerawork, bad... everything. Well, except the score, I guess. How was this nominated for Best Picture again?
Rated 14 Jan 2010
spoonerspotspoonerspot
Rated 14 Aug 2007
81
71st
Remind me to never do drugs in a foreign country...except Holland and Jamaica
Rated 14 Aug 2007
midnight82midnight82
Rated 14 Aug 2007
100
95th
I was 19, renting film after film to culture myself cinematically, and my mom of all people recommended this to me. I didn't know how I would like it, and I had a feeling, by its cover and storyline, that it was going to be very difficult to watch. Folks, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and it was a measly laptop screen at that! This is my favorite film to date. The story is mind-blowing, the performances are heartbreaking and inspiring, the script is seething with passion, the dir
Rated 14 Aug 2007
insaneinsane
Rated 20 Jan 2007
50
24th
biraz siyasi oldu sanki
Rated 20 Jan 2007
scholar69420Scholar69420
Rated 19 Nov 2023
76
80th
a cautionary tale about the dangers of smuggling hash. buy local, lest ye get banged up in some turkish prison.
Rated 19 Nov 2023
chengmingchengming
Rated 19 Jan 2019
50
20th
Watched this as I was promised shots of old Istanbul, of which there weren't a lot. The score was a nice surprise, the rest was forgettable with a side of racism.
Rated 19 Jan 2019
vandelay1Vandelay1
Rated 24 Aug 2017
70
76th
good movie
Rated 24 Aug 2017
overratedoverrated
Rated 04 Sep 2011
30
21st
Terrible on more than a few levels. Unsympathetic main character, random gay scene without any context, laughable finale... No idea why this is supposed to be so acclaimed.
Rated 04 Sep 2011
forehead1forehead1
Rated 02 Jun 2010
50
48th
Huge gaps are left out of the story in this 'based on' adaptation, and combined with small niggles here and there make it a one-watch job. The direction's okay but not fantastic, and there are some bizarre scenes that pop up suddenly to really knock you sideways (the gay shower music video must be one of the weirdest cuts in any film ever). The Oscar-winning synth score may have been state of the art at the time but now just adds to the b-movie atmosphere. The book might be worth a read.
Rated 02 Jun 2010
febrarofebraro
Rated 04 Jan 2010
65
24th
Sometimes it slips up almost beyond repair, and the acting is pretty bad (John Hurt being the usual exception), but the claustrophobic atmosphere keeps the sense of desperation going.
Rated 04 Jan 2010
paulofilmopaulofilmo
Rated 08 Apr 2008
48
8th
I feel like blaming this for the eighties.
Rated 08 Apr 2008
fyngyrzfyngyrz
Rated 23 Sep 2007
9
62nd
Must watching material for young drug users. The USA is now every bit as bad as the country depicted here. Before you use drugs, get them legalized, or be prepared to have your life destroyed by the idiots who run things.
Rated 23 Sep 2007
nancysidnancysid
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
68th
it sucks to be this guy!
Rated 14 Aug 2007
coffeecoffee
Rated 10 Jan 2007
30
5th
How true the portrayal of Americans in "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq"? That's the level of reality you see about Turkey in this film.
Rated 10 Jan 2007
hotsakehotsake
Rated 03 Jul 2023
60
51st
I can see how this could've been a shocking movie when it first came out but it's not that good overall in my opinion. The acting is weak, especially from Brad Davis, The writing is simplistic at best and the soundtrack was pretty hit or miss.
Rated 03 Jul 2023
war_machineWar Machine
Rated 14 Jun 2022
75
66th
Basedontrue-1970+batsolesoffeet+sounacceptablelol+stabassturkishrevengelol+kissguylol+1stactedlikegettingbailthengot4yearsmaybe3-nowactedlikemonthishleftthengavelifelol+bites itch tongue out-insanesection+takeitoffloldoes/jackin+killedguy/gotout+neverfallingdown
Rated 14 Jun 2022
mysticMystic
Rated 06 Jul 2021
3
42nd
Sort of dullish. -1 when you read about the real Billy Hayes story, and you come to realize that the events depicted are not entirely based on reality; a lot of leeway is taken to depict the dramatic moments. Also, hasn't aged very well.
Rated 06 Jul 2021
kasperlKasperL
Rated 30 Jan 2021
55
39th
The best part of the film is the very strong beginning which is really tense. Randy Quaid is pretty good, but I wasn't crazy about Hurt's performance, and Davis lack of restraint comes close to ruining the film. And why Stone won an Oscar for the script, I'm not at all sure.
Rated 30 Jan 2021
velvet_croweVelvet Crowe
Rated 05 Aug 2019
60
62nd
A lot of decisions in this film don't work - the music choices are cheesy, the cinematography is static and rote, the changes from the book are really lame, and there are a lot of scenes that are awkward as hell (notably the gay scene, but the scene with his girlfriend around the end was odd too). The film's depiction of history and the Turkish people is laughable, but I look at it as more of a display psyche in a prison setting. On that front, it works in parts, but it isn't always good.
Rated 05 Aug 2019
larmorlarmor
Rated 12 Feb 2019
24
12th
The ideology of this movie is violent and obnoxious. It is standard american propaganda, where as usual, a few americans make small mistakes while the other nations are just wholly and systematically corrupt. It is clear that the depiction of turkish prisons is less based on reality and more the joint product and cause of the american collective mindset. There's a quality to the above-than-average-Hollywood photography and cameraworks, but it doesn't redeem anything.
Rated 12 Feb 2019
timon88Timon88
Rated 24 Dec 2018
64
57th
Visually very strong. Just try not to think about the many moral implications too much. A '70's classic.
Rated 24 Dec 2018
director26director26
Rated 16 Nov 2018
61
4th
Yapacağınız filmin Türkçe konuşan karakterlerini sikeyim. Delirdim birader zor bitirdim filmi. Muhteşem hikayesi olan bir filmin anasını sikmissin Oliver Stone. Hikaye gerçeğin abartilmasindan ibaret(yaşayan kişi röportajında belirtiyor)ve filmin yavaş akması ve Türkçe konuşmaların boktanligi işi kötüye götürüyor. 6.1/10 Adam 30 yıl yemiş 2 kilo esrar yüzünden. Adaleti sorgulayabiliriz kesinlikle ama filmin gerçekleri çarpıttığı yaşayan kisinin anlattıklar
Rated 16 Nov 2018
evilmangoesEvilMangoes
Rated 28 Jan 2018
96
90th
A
Rated 28 Jan 2018
neonmanNeonman
Rated 25 Oct 2017
81
66th
I was expecting the roughest and toughest prison film ever, and although it underwhelmed in that department, it's still a fantastic film about a foreigner in the worst area of a foreign land. Although not a prison film to add much new to the stories of this genre, its qualities stem from the simple, yet thoughtful dialogue which is brought to life with terrific performances.
Rated 25 Oct 2017
theescapistTheEscapist
Rated 06 Sep 2017
47
4th
This was a dread getting through, I don't think I even finished it. The Locked Up Abroad TV epsiode is much more entertaining. Too long and bleak for my taste.
Rated 06 Sep 2017
closedmouthclosedmouth
Rated 26 Jun 2016
70
41st
Seemingly a pretty typical Alan Parker movie: good elements overwhelmed by cheese and melodrama with a completely absurd, abrupt ending. My favourite thing was probably the way it demonstrates how stupid drug sentencing laws are, and how they turn people who made one bad decision into hardened criminals just through their attempts to survive prison. So dumb.
Rated 26 Jun 2016
chemical404chemical404
Rated 28 Apr 2016
68
78th
Turkish ministry of tourism presents. Interesting and powerful prison movie, although often its feet through repetitive 'over-the-top-drama' motions. Rating breakdown by country stats for this movie are quite interesting, turkish people, you don't like?
Rated 28 Apr 2016
schnofelschnofel
Rated 27 Mar 2015
81
92nd
There's something base and unreflected to this - something that translates into constant action and beats, but more than that into the sort of hollow scream that you utter in a nightmare. Its visual pleasures (oriental sets with sunlight coming in from all sides) make it watchable.
Rated 27 Mar 2015
maknelamaknela
Rated 21 Dec 2014
60
3rd
Orientalism is just too painful. So is the heroic portrayal after actually killing a person. But on the other hand, ban in Turkey says there must be some truth in the treatment of prison guards.
Rated 21 Dec 2014
ricemushricemush
Rated 31 May 2014
55
8th
Beginning and end are pretty good. The rest isn't. Good score. Garbage acting. Davis' performance is laughably bad and makes it difficult to take the film seriously. Some people believe that it puts a negative light on Turkish people, but it's simply an issue of the characters being poorly written. The fact that they're Turkish doesn't matter.
Rated 31 May 2014
glm01glm01
Rated 23 Mar 2014
86
87th
86.000
Rated 23 Mar 2014
laikalaika
Rated 27 Oct 2013
89
94th
Paints an entire nation as cruel and barbaric which is pretty reprehensible, but this is still an effective and excellently made close-to-true-life tale.
Rated 27 Oct 2013
eric_janeric-jan
Rated 26 Aug 2013
70
54th
Must see! Pretty gruesome real life story about a man who is stupid enough to smuggle drugs out of Turkey and goes to a horrible prison where he's tortured, tries to escape, kills someone and ends up having to go to a nuthouse. The only thing I dont understand is how this movie could possibly have a happy ending? !!!! I mean, the guy was soooooo far gone.... Cool to see John Hurt in it :D
Rated 26 Aug 2013
wicheWiche
Rated 05 Jun 2013
71
60th
Very good, detailed and realistic movie about the circumstances in Turkish prisons. However I loved the acting and directing, I felt somewhat dissapointed by some of the loose ends.
Rated 05 Jun 2013
dougiedDougieD
Rated 03 Sep 2012
90
81st
A true story about a young man who is sent to a turkish prison for attempting to smuggle hash onto an airplane. Tension-filled prison drama that has superb performances from Brad Davis, John Hurt and Randy Quaid.
Rated 03 Sep 2012
evranaevrana
Rated 24 Jul 2012
0
0th
I expected to watch a movie about prison brutality, but I ended up watching a sensationalist, hyperbolic story. I'm glad that I watched it after 30 years, because now I watch it as a testament to how the rest of the world was viewed in the western world. The message I got from it was " How dare you arrest our drug smugglers, you backwards third world animals?" At some point, it became downright nasty. Also, it was done very sloppily in many accounts. It is one of the few films I really hated.
Rated 24 Jul 2012
glmglm
Rated 10 Jul 2012
88
87th
87.625
Rated 10 Jul 2012
aicheAICHE
Rated 19 Mar 2012
81
81st
"dilla dilla dilla , beats beats beats "
Rated 19 Mar 2012
myfavchordsmyfavchords
Rated 18 Dec 2011
79
78th
Wow the main character sure goes through a lot in this film. This is an interesting story about a person making one mistake that radically changes their entire life.
Rated 18 Dec 2011
spuddingspudding
Rated 05 Nov 2011
87
80th
A wicked movie, that tells the true story of a man who gets punished for his mistake. Not really much to say about the plot. The characters (except Billy) needed some more development. The part in the asylum is chilling to the bone.
Rated 05 Nov 2011
rufamRufam
Rated 20 Jul 2011
70
57th
"Midnight Express" is a powerful dramatization of an apparently not-so-true story. Parker's direction is potent and assured, Stone's script is one of the tightest he's ever written, while the acting is excellent, especially that of Davis and Hurt. Although the inaccuracies, as well as the questionable moral (Turks are bad?) bring this down quite a lot, it remains a thoroughly engrossing and forceful film.
Rated 20 Jul 2011
purplemindpurplemind
Rated 07 Mar 2011
0
0th
This movie is not deserve to be called even a movie. Full of unrealistic accusations to mislead people.
Rated 07 Mar 2011
johnny_geojohnny geo
Rated 20 Feb 2011
67
53rd
moroder's soundtrack score :90
Rated 20 Feb 2011
johnsandwichJohnSandwich
Rated 08 Aug 2010
75
74th
i won't be smuggling drugs any time soon i don't think
Rated 08 Aug 2010
fantastardfantastard
Rated 18 Apr 2010
73
48th
Classic, but not the best
Rated 18 Apr 2010
theshmotheshmo
Rated 28 Dec 2009
78
51st
This film is brutal, raw, and engrossing. I am aware that the film deviates heavily from the book written by Hayes particularly in terms of his treatment by the Turkish guards. But, when taken on it's own as fiction it can be better enjoyed. The opening scene leading up to Hayes' capture is my favorite. I knew what had to happen in order for the film to progress but I was still on the edge of my seat. I must admit though, I had trouble feeling empathy for the American drug smuggler.
Rated 28 Dec 2009
davidblastDavidBlast
Rated 13 Dec 2009
80
80th
A fine film about the perils of drug smuggling. Best scene is where imprisoned protagonist, having been thrown into the section for the mentally ill, asks his girlfriend to strip during a visit, and then masturbates in front of her - whilst crying. Then you're pretty fucked...
Rated 13 Dec 2009
tedted
Rated 25 Oct 2009
87
86th
Riveting. John Hurt is incredible. The homosexuality element was handled strangely though.
Rated 25 Oct 2009
isobelmoonIsobelmoon
Rated 03 Feb 2009
78
76th
A strong story well-performed.
Rated 03 Feb 2009
dziekieldziekiel
Rated 28 Jan 2009
91
72nd
BILLY!!!! (rub breasts on window)
Rated 28 Jan 2009
irvinejumpirvinejump
Rated 10 Oct 2008
65
51st
Some major changes from the book (though Giorgio Moroder's score is neato) but not as great as it could be
Rated 10 Oct 2008
miss_jesusmiss jesus
Rated 25 Apr 2008
68
64th
It's movies like this one that make me question what a good movie really is; this is technically excellent, with great acting, and all the hallmarks of an Oscar winner. But I don't enjoy watching it at all--it's painful, sad, and reminiscent of depressing political issues.
Rated 25 Apr 2008
silentjakesilentjake
Rated 19 Feb 2008
78
77th
beautiful pictures of istanbul. the story is not completely true but the cinematograpy is great.
Rated 19 Feb 2008
dobrekkdobrekk
Rated 16 Feb 2008
75
86th
Seen it in my grand ma house when i was 10
Rated 16 Feb 2008
merhellermerheller
Rated 19 Oct 2007
10
0th
this was way too painful for me to watch
Rated 19 Oct 2007
djrossdjross
Rated 14 Aug 2007
30
12th
Aside from its numerous other flaws, this movie consistently attempts to appeal to the baser instincts.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
svicciarellisvicciarelli
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
82nd
Wonderful movie about a bad mistake.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 09 Apr 2007
78
88th
If you can forgive the many dramatic deviations from Billy Hayes' actual true story (the entire ending sequence for example differs completely from his account), and put aside the fact that all Turks in the movie are represented as meanies (I'm sure the filmmakers didn't intend to stigmatize), then this is actually a very good prison movie.
Rated 09 Apr 2007
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 02 Jan 2007
32
13th
My ★★ review of Midnight Express on Letterboxd https://boxd.it/57NwMn
Rated 02 Jan 2007

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