Midnight Express (1978)

Midnight Express lost to The Deer Hunter for Best Picture at the 1978 Academy Awards, but beat it for Best Picture at the Golden Globes. I have not seen The Deer Hunter (I know, shoot me), but I can almost guarantee everyone that The Deer Hunter is better than Midnight Express. Does that mean Midnight Express is a bad film? Of course not! Released in 1978, the film was directed by Alan Parker and the screenplay was written by Oliver Stone. This film gave Stone his very first Oscar nomination and win for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film tells the true story of Billy Hayes (Portrayed by Brad Davis), an American college student who was caught attempting to smuggle hashish out of Turkey while he was there on holiday. He was sent to prison and had to survive the brutal conditions of the squalid prison, with the help of some fellow prisoners such as fellow American Jimmy (Randy Quaid), English heroin addict Max (John Hurt), and Swedish drug smuggler Erich (Norbert Weisser). Billy also has to face off against not only the flawed Turkish legal system, but also the sadistic prison guard Hamidou (Paul L. Smith) and the hated prison trustee Rifki (Paolo Bonacelli). Eventually, Billy plots to escape when he realizes that he won’t be getting out anytime soon... The film was criticized upon first being released due to its portrayal of Turkish people. I have to agree with that criticism, only one Turkish person is portrayed somewhat positively, the rest of them are portrayed as villains. All of the heroes are foreigners from somewhere that’s not Turkey. The real life Billy Hayes didn’t like this film, much like most of the people whose stories are portrayed in films written and/or directed by Stone. All in all, the film is interesting and engaging, but is flawed in many aspects. If you like prison break movies, you should give this film a watch. I rate it GOOD on the scale.