Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the “Midnight Express”.

Midnight Express (1978)
  • Rating: (30,776 votes)
  • Taglines:A story of triumph. » Busted for drugs and condemned to the nightmarish hell of a Turkish prison, there was only one escape [Australia Theatrical] »
  • Runtime:121 minutes
  • Director: Alan Parker
  • Countries:UK, USA
  • Actors:
    Billy Hayes
    Brad Davis
    Susan
    Irene Miracle
    Tex
    Bo Hopkins
    Rifki
    Paolo Bonacelli
    Hamidou (as Paul Smith)
    Paul L. Smith
    Jimmy Booth
    Randy Quaid
    Erich
    Norbert Weisser
    Max
    John Hurt
    Mr. Hayes
    Mike Kellin
    Yesil
    Franco Diogene
  • Genres:Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
  • Producers:
    Peter Guber
    executive producer  
    Alan Marshall
    producer  
    David Puttnam
    producer  
  • Plots: On October 6, 1970 while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul Airport, American Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle 2 kilos of hashish out of the country, the drugs strapped to his body. He is told that he will be released if he cooperates with the authorities in identifying the person who actually sold him the hash. Billy's troubles really begin when after that assistance, he makes a run for it and is recaptured. He is initially sentenced to just over four years for possession, with no time for the more harsh crime of smuggling. The prison environment is inhospitable in every sense, with a sadistic prison guard named Hamidou ruling the prison, he who relishes the mental and physical torture he inflicts on the prisoners for whatever reason. Told to trust no one, Billy does befriend a few of the other inmates, namely fellow American Jimmy Booth (in for stealing two candlesticks from a church), a Swede named Erich, and one of the senior prisoners having already served seven years, an Englishman named Max, the latter two also in for hash related charges. One prisoner not befriended is Rifki, who wields power in the prison as the unofficial eyes and ears for the guards. As Billy, his family and his girlfriend Susan attempt through legal and diplomatic channels for Billy's release, Max tells him that the only way out is to "catch the midnight express" aka escape, which is what Jimmy is continually trying to do. When Billy's situation changes, he becomes more desperate in every sense of the word. It seems as if Billy has only two options: to let the prison ultimately figuratively then literally kill him, or to somehow regain control of his life through whatever means available. Written by Huggo
Midnight Express
  • User's comment:An Alan Parker film : One of the most controversial films about life in a prison by Lalit Rao (cpowerccc@yahoo.com)

    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.


  • Quotes: Ahmet: Where are you going? Why don't you walk the wheel with us? What is the matter my American friend? What has upset you? Oh! I know. The bad machine doesn't know that he's a bad machine. You still don't believe it. You still don't believe you're a bad machine? To know yourself is to know God, my friend. The factory knows, that's why they put you here. You'll see... You'll find out... In time, you'll know. Billy Hayes: For a nation of pigs, it sures is funny you don't eat'em! 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 fuck your sons and daughters because they're pigs! You're a pig! You're all pigs. Billy Hayes: I just wish for once that you could be in my shoes, Mr. Prosecutor, and then you would know something that you don't know: mercy! That the concept of a society is based on the quality of that mercy; its sense of fair play; its sense of justice! But I guess that's like asking a bear to shit in the toilet.
  • Also known as: Midnight Express (France), Midnight Express (Japan), Midnight Express (West Germany), Expreso de medianoche (Argentina), Expreso de medianoche (Mexico - imdb display title), O Expresso da Meia-Noite (Brazil), O Expresso da Meia-Noite (Portugal), Éjféli expressz (Hungary), 12 Uhr nachts (West Germany), 12 Uhr nachts - Midnight Express (West Germany), Ekspres o pólnocy (Poland), El expreso de medianoche (Spain), Express Shel Hatzot (Israel - Hebrew title), Expresso da Meia-Noite (Portugal - DVD title), Fuga di mezzanotte (Italy), Geceyarisi ekspresi (Turkey - Turkish title), Keskiyön pikajuna (Finland), L'express de minuit (Canada - French title), Midnattsexpressen (Finland - Swedish title), Ponocni ekspres (Serbia), Pulnocní expres (Czechoslovakia), To express tou mesonyhtiou (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title),

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