Editing Midnight Express (film) (section)

==Production==
[[File:Fort Saint Elmo in 2018 33.jpg|thumb|The film was mostly shot in the lower parts of [[Fort Saint Elmo]] in Valletta.]]

Although the story is set largely in Turkey, the movie was filmed almost entirely at [[Fort Saint Elmo]] in [[Valletta]], [[Malta]], after permission to film in Istanbul was denied.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fellner |first1=Dan |title=Catching the Midnight Express in Malta |url=http://global-travel-info.com/midnight-express-prison-malta.html/ |website=global-travel-info.com |access-date=23 June 2015 |date=2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623142710/http://global-travel-info.com/midnight-express-prison-malta.html/ |archive-date=23 June 2015 }}</ref><ref name="ToM-010616">{{cite news|last1=Galea|first1=Peter|title=A Valletta blockbuster|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160601/letters/A-Valletta-blockbuster.613904|work=Times of Malta|date=1 June 2016|access-date=1 June 2016|archive-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602105434/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160601/letters/A-Valletta-blockbuster.613904|url-status=live}}</ref> The end credits state the movie was made entirely on location in Malta. However, background shots of Istanbul were taken by a small crew pretending to be making a cigarette commercial.

A made-for-television documentary about the film, ''I'm Healthy, I'm Alive, and I'm Free'' (alternative title: ''The Making of Midnight Express''), was released on 1 January 1978. It is seven minutes long, and features commentary from the cast and crew on how they worked together during production, and the effort it took from beginning to completion. It also includes footage from the creation of the film, and Hayes's emotional first visit to the prison set.<ref>{{cite web |title=Midnight Express Making-Of: a Lesson in Filmmaking History |url=https://www.mentorless.com/2014/06/02/watch-midnight-express-making/ |website=6 February 2014 |date=2 June 2014 |publisher=mentorless.com |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=7 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707011148/https://www.mentorless.com/2014/06/02/watch-midnight-express-making/ |url-status=live }}</ref>