Midnight Express
A film poster for Midnight Express.
Directed by	Alan Parker
Produced by	Alan Marshall David Puttnam
Written by	Billy Hayes (book) William Hoffer (book) Oliver Stone
Starring	Brad Davis Randy Quaid John Hurt Irene Miracle
Music by	Giorgio Moroder
Cinematography	Michael Seresin
Editing by	Gerry Hambling
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Released	October 6, 1978 (USA)
Running time	121 min.
Language	English Turkish
Budget	$2,300,000
IMDb profile

Midnight Express is a 1978 fictionalized biographical film, based on the story of Billy Hayes, a young American sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey to the US. It stars Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith, Randy Quaid, Norbert Weisser and John Hurt. The screenplay was adapted by Oliver Stone from the book by Billy Hayes and William Hoffer. Alan Parker directed and David Puttnam produced. Image File history File links Midnight_express. ... Alan Parker on the set of Pink Floyd The Wall Sir Alan Parker (born February 14, 1944) is a British film director, producer, writer, and actor. ... Sir David Terence Puttnam, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE film producer and politician. ... Billy Hayes is a convicted drug smuggler whose story inspired the film Midnight Express. ... Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is an Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... Brad Davis (November 6, 1949 - September 8, 1991) American actor, was born in Tallahassee, Florida to Eugene Davis and Anne Creel, respected Southeners descended from Jefferson Davis. ... Randy Quaid Randall Rudy Randy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor. ... John Hurt (Mississippi John Hurt is an early American folk and country blues singer, 1893–1966) John Vincent Hurt CBE (born January 22, 1940) is an Academy Award nominated English actor. ... Irene Miracle in Dario Argentos Inferno (1980) Irene Miracle (born August 20, 1954 in Stillwater, Oklahoma) is an American film and television actress. ... Giorgio Moroder (born Giorgio Moroder on April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is a German-speaking Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on techno and electronic music in general. ... Columbia Pictures current logo. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // Events February 1 - Bob Dylans film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the Rolling Thunder Revue tour premieres in Los Angeles, California March 1 - Charlie Chaplins coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery 3 months after burial March - Leigh Brackett completes the first draft for Star Wars Episode... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... Billy Hayes is a convicted drug smuggler whose story inspired the film Midnight Express. ... These lollipops, above, were found to contain heroin when inspected by the DEA. Smuggling is illegal transport, in particular across a border. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Brad Davis (November 6, 1949 - September 8, 1991) American actor, was born in Tallahassee, Florida to Eugene Davis and Anne Creel, respected Southeners descended from Jefferson Davis. ... Irene Miracle in Dario Argentos Inferno (1980) Irene Miracle (born August 20, 1954 in Stillwater, Oklahoma) is an American film and television actress. ... Bo Hopkins is an American actor, with several film appearances to his name, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti and Midnight Express. ... Paolo Bonacelli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Paul L. Smith (born February 5, 1939 in Everett, Massachusetts) is a Hollywood character actor. ... Randy Quaid Randall Rudy Randy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor. ... John Hurt (Mississippi John Hurt is an early American folk and country blues singer, 1893–1966) John Vincent Hurt CBE (born January 22, 1940) is an Academy Award nominated English actor. ... A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. ... Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is an Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... Alan Parker on the set of Pink Floyd The Wall Sir Alan Parker (born February 14, 1944) is a British film director, producer, writer, and actor. ... Sir David Terence Puttnam, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE film producer and politician. ...

Synopsis

On October 6, 1970, after a stay in Istanbul, an American citizen, named Billy Hayes, is arrested by the wary Turkish police as he is about to leave the country by plane with his girlfriend, after being found with several packets of hashish, about two kilograms total, taped to his body. He's sentenced to an "exemplary" four years and two months imprisonment. In the remand centre, he meets and befriends other western prisoners and quickly prepares an escape plan, which fails. But in 1974, his sentence turns into a 30-year life term imposed by the Turkish High Court in Ankara. His stay becomes a living hell: terrifying and unbearable scenes of rape and physical and mental torture follow one another, where bribery, violence and insanity rule the prison. Monstrous wardens cruelly force the prisoners to undergo the worst brutalities. Some work for the prison administration as "informers". In a fit of madness, Billy Hayes kills one of the prison informants who has denounced his escape plan. In 1975, after being committed to the prison's insane asylum, Billy again tries to escape, this time by attempting to bribe the warden-in-chief. He ends up killing the warden, as the latter wanted to rape him, and Billy puts on an officer's uniform and manages his escape by walking out the front door. October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Satellite image of Istanbul and the Bosphorus Istanbul (Turkish: Ä°stanbul) is Turkeys largest city, and its cultural and economic center. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Differences between the book and the film

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled Midnight Express. (Discuss)

There are some differences between the cinematographic and the literary versions of Midnight Express. Major liberties were taken with the real events, which, while defensible from the point of view of dramatic cinema, have upset Turkish viewers. Here are some obvious liberties taken with regard to the book: Image File history File links Splitsection. ...

• In the movie Billy Hayes is in Turkey with his girlfriend, whereas he was alone in the original story. Nevertheless, in the movie, the love story is a main dramatic driving force.

• The rape scenes are also fictional. Billy Hayes never claimed to be raped by his Turkish warders or that he ever suffered any sexual violence.

• In the movie insults are aimed at Turks as a people that do not occur in the book and which the screen writer Oliver Stone later apologized for. They reach a paroxysm when the Hayes character, learning of his life sentence, pronounces violent abuse on the country, shocking many Turks, but understandable in the context of the film.

• The endings of the cinematographic and literary versions of Midnight Express differ from one another. While in the narrative, the hero is moved to another prison from which he escaped by sea, in the movie this passage has been replaced by a violence scene in which he murders the warder in chief.

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is an Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ...

Screenwriter's apology

When he visited Turkey in 2004, screenwriter Oliver Stone, who won an Academy Award for his adaptation, apologized to Turkey for the film. Read the AP article below: Academy Awards The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ...

Oliver Stone 'makes peace' with Turkey following 'Midnight Express'

.c The Associated Press

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Oliver Stone said Tuesday that he regretted that ``many hearts were broken in Turkey following the release of his 1978 film ``Midnight Express and added that he had been misunderstood.

Officially, Stone was in Istanbul to promote his new historical epic ``Alexander, but attention quickly focused on his 1978 film, which Turks complain tarnished the country's image abroad.

``Oliver Stone came to make peace, the daily Sabah said Tuesday.

In a written statement in Turkish handed out by the Turkish distributor of his film, Stone said he regretted ``being misunderstood and that ``many hearts were broken in Turkey over ``Midnight Express. Stone also met Tuesday with Culture Minister Erkan Mumcu.

Although Turkey has long had a struggling human rights record, Turks say the film, which showed a young American being caught for drug-smuggling and brutalized by Turkish jailers, was grossly exaggerated.

Filming location

Although the film is set largely in Turkey, most of the location work was done in Malta, using local actors along with some Greeks and Armenians playing Turks.

Awards

The film won Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Score (Giorgio Moroder) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Stone). It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hurt), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... Giorgio Moroder (born Giorgio Moroder on April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is a German-speaking Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on techno and electronic music in general. ... The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Directing is an accolade given to the person that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels was best director of the past year. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the awards are voted on by other people within the industry. ...

External links

• Midnight Express at The Internet Movie Database