Editing Midnight Express (film)

{{Short description|1978 prison drama film directed by Alan Parker}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{for|the 1924 film|The Midnight Express (film){{!}}''The Midnight Express'' (film)}}
<!-- Split film/book article intentional please do not remove this comment -->
{{Infobox film
| name           = Midnight Express
| image          = Original poster for Midnight Express, 1978.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Alan Parker]]
| producer       = {{plainlist |
* [[Alan Marshall (producer)|Alan Marshall]]
* [[David Puttnam]]
}}
| screenplay     = [[Oliver Stone]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Midnight Express (book)|Midnight Express]]''|[[Billy Hayes (writer)|Billy Hayes]]<br /> William Hoffer}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Brad Davis (actor)|Brad Davis]]
* [[Irene Miracle]]
* [[Bo Hopkins]]
* [[Randy Quaid]]
* [[John Hurt]]
* [[Paul L. Smith]]
}}
| music          = [[Giorgio Moroder]]
| cinematography = [[Michael Seresin]]
| editing        = [[Gerry Hambling]]
| studio         = [[Casablanca Records|Casablanca FilmWorks]]
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released       = {{film date|1978|5|18|[[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|1978|8|10|U.K.|1978|10|6|U.S.|df=y}}
| runtime        = 121 minutes
| country        = {{plainlist|
* United Kingdom<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6be95845|title=Midnight Express (1978)|access-date=20 November 2019|archive-date=14 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114205935/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6be95845|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* United States<ref name=bfi/>
}}
| language       = {{plainlist|
* English
* Turkish
* Maltese
}}
| budget         = $2.3 million<ref name=BOM/>
| gross          = $35 million<ref name=BOM>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=midnightexpress.htm |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]] |title=Midnight Express (1978) |access-date=27 January 2012 |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505081138/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3026355713/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
'''''Midnight Express''''' is a 1978 [[prison film|prison]] [[drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed by [[Alan Parker]] and adapted by [[Oliver Stone]] from [[Billy Hayes (writer)|Billy Hayes]]'s [[Midnight Express (book)|1977 memoir of the same name]]. The film centers on Hayes (played by [[Brad Davis (actor)|Brad Davis]]), a young American student, who is sent to a [[Prisons in Turkey|Turkish prison]] for trying to smuggle [[hashish]] out of the country. The film's title is [[prison slang]] for his escape attempt. The cast also features [[Irene Miracle]], [[John Hurt]], [[Bo Hopkins]], [[Paul L. Smith]] and [[Randy Quaid]].

Upon release, ''Midnight Express'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Many praised Davis's performance as well as the cast, the writing, the direction, and the musical score by [[Giorgio Moroder]]. Hayes and others criticized the film for portraying the Turkish prison men as violent and villainous and for deviating too much from the source material.<ref name="Stone">{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Helena|title=Stone sorry for Midnight Express|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/16/turkey.film|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|access-date=14 January 2012|date=16 December 2004|archive-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828231617/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/16/turkey.film|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Flinn|first=John|title=The real Billy Hayes regrets 'Midnight Express' cast all Turks in a bad light|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/The-real-Billy-Hayes-regrets-Midnight-Express-1134196.php|newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|agency=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=14 January 2012|date=9 January 2004|archive-date=22 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022152413/http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/The-real-Billy-Hayes-regrets-Midnight-Express-1134196.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for Parker at the [[51st Academy Awards]] in 1979, and won [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]] for Stone and [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]] for Moroder. It also won six [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globes]], including [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]] and [[BAFTA Awards]] for [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]], [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] and [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] (for Hurt).

==Plot==
On vacation in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]], on 6 October 1970, American college student [[Billy Hayes (writer)|Billy Hayes]] straps {{cvt|2|kg}} of hashish bricks to his chest. As he and his girlfriend Susan are about to board a plane back to the US, Billy is frisked by soldiers (who are on high alert for terrorist attacks) who discover the drug. Billy is then arrested by the police and strip-searched.

A shadowy American — whom Billy nicknames "Tex" for his thick [[Texan English|Texan accent]] — arrives and accompanies Billy to a police station and translates for him. Billy claims he bought the hashish from a taxicab driver. He offers to help police locate the driver in exchange for being released. At a nearby market, Billy points out the driver to police, who arrest him, but they have no intention of releasing Billy. He attempts to escape, only to be recaptured at gunpoint by Tex.

During his first night in [[Sultanahmet Jail]], a freezing-cold Billy sneaks out of his cell and steals a blanket. He is later rousted from his cell and brutally beaten by chief guard Hamidou for the theft. A few days later, Billy awakens in [[Bayrampaşa Prison|Sağmalcılar Prison]], surrounded by fellow Western prisoners Jimmy (an American who stole two candlesticks from a [[mosque]]), Max (an English heroin addict), and Erich (a Swedish drug smuggler). Jimmy warns Billy that the prison is dangerous for foreigners and says no one can be trusted, not even young children.

Billy meets with his father, a U.S. representative, and a Turkish lawyer to discuss his situation. During Billy's trial, the prosecutor makes a case against him for drug smuggling. The lead judge is sympathetic to Billy and gives him a four-year sentence for drug possession. Billy and his father are devastated, but their Turkish lawyer insists it is a good result because the prosecutor wanted a [[Life imprisonment|life sentence]].

Jimmy wants Billy to join an escape attempt through the prison's subterranean tunnels. Billy, due to be released soon, declines. Jimmy goes alone and is caught, then brutally beaten. Fifty-three days before his release, Billy learns the [[Court of Cassation (Turkey)|Turkish High Court]] in [[Ankara]] has overturned his sentence after an appeal by the prosecution. The prosecutor who originally wanted Billy convicted of smuggling rather than the lesser charge of possession finally had his way. Billy has been resentenced to serve 30 years.

In desperation, Billy accompanies Jimmy and Max to try to escape through the catacombs below the prison. They give up after running into endless dead-ends. A particularly sycophantic prisoner, Rifki, who routinely acts as an informant in exchange for favors, notifies the guards about the escape attempt. Hamidou suspects Jimmy of being responsible for what happened during the first escape attempt. Jimmy is taken away again for punishment and is never seen again. Billy's imprisonment becomes harsh and brutal: terrifying scenes of physical and mental torture follow one another, and Billy has a breakdown. He brutally beats Rifki, killing him. He is sent to the prison's ward for the insane, where he wanders about in a daze among the other disturbed prisoners. Max is sent there, too. He is seen running from guards for an unknown infraction and is grabbed by Hamidou and severely injured.

In 1975, Billy's girlfriend Susan visits him. Devastated by Billy's condition, she tells him he must get out or die. She leaves him a scrapbook with money hidden inside to help Billy escape. Her visit strongly helps Billy to regain his senses. Billy says goodbye to an almost dead Max, telling him to stay alive and promising he'll come back for him. Max awakens and is somewhat conscious. Billy tries to bribe Hamidou to take him to the prison hospital, but instead Hamidou forces Billy to a room, then tries to rape him. Billy becomes infuriated. They struggle until Hamidou is killed after being pushed into the wall, his head impaled upon a coat hook. Billy dons the guard's uniform and bluffs his way with his Turkish language skills, walks out of the front door and runs to freedom.

The epilogue shows that in October 1975, Billy crossed the border to [[Greece]] and arrived home three weeks later.

==Cast==
{{cast listing|
* [[Brad Davis (actor)|Brad Davis]] as [[Billy Hayes (writer)|Billy Hayes]]
* [[Irene Miracle]] as Susan
* [[Bo Hopkins]] as "Tex"
* [[Randy Quaid]] as Jimmy Booth
* [[Paolo Bonacelli]] as Rifki
* [[John Hurt]] as Max
* [[Paul L. Smith]] as Hamidou
* [[Norbert Weisser]] as Erich
* [[Mike Kellin]] as William Hayes, Billy's father
* [[Franco Diogene]] as Necdit Yesil, Billy's lawyer
* [[Michael Ensign]] as Stanley Daniels, U.S. consul
* [[Gigi Ballista]] as the judge
* [[Kevork Malikyan]] as the Turkish prosecutor
* [[Peter Jeffrey]] as Ahmet
* [[Yashaw Adem]] as the airport police chief
* Raad Rawi as the airport security chief
* Joe Zammit Cordina as the airport customs officer
* [[Michael Giannatos]] as the court translator
* [[Zannino]] as the police detective
* Tony Boyd as Aslan
* [[Vic Tablian]] as Star
* Ahmed El Shenawi as Negdir
* Alan Champion (uncredited) as Cell Neighbour #4}}

==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>

==Release==
The film screened at the [[1978 Cannes Film Festival]]. It opened at the [[Odeon Haymarket]] in London on Thursday, 10 August 1978 grossing $3,472 in its opening day, a [[Columbia Pictures]] record in the UK.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=London Precedes US|date=16 August 1978|page=4}}</ref> It opened in New York on 6 October 1978 before opening nationwide in the United States on 27 October.<ref name=dates>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Midnight Express (advertisement)|date=25 October 1978|page=11}}</ref>

===Home media===
The film was first released on [[VHS]] and [[Betamax]] by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment]] in 1979. It made its DVD debut in 1998. A 30th Anniversary DVD of the film was released in 2008, and a Blu-ray was released in 2009.

==Reception==
According to the film [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 90% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 29 reviews with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Raw and unrelenting, ''Midnight Express'' is riveting in its realistic depiction of incarceration -- mining pathos from the simple act of enduring hardship."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/midnight_express |title=Midnight Express (1978) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |access-date=20 September 2023 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310163021/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/midnight_express |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/midnight-express |title=Midnight Express Reviews |work=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613220100/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/midnight-express |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gave ''Midnight Express'' three stars out of four in a review that concluded, "The movie creates spellbinding terror, all right; my only objection is that it's so eager to have us sympathize with Billy Hayes."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midnight-express-1978 |title=Midnight Express |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=6 October 1978 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=16 December 2018 |archive-date=18 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218010403/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midnight-express-1978 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] gave the film two and a half stars out of four and called it "a powerful film, but we leave the theater thinking it should have been more so. It was for that reason that I was persuaded to read the book, which is where I found the story I had been expecting to see on the screen." He also thought that Brad Davis "is simply not up to the lead role. He appears unsure of himself and, like the film itself, he overacts."<ref>Siskel, Gene (30 October 1978). "Book-to-screen trip bumpy for 'Express{{'"}}. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 2.</ref> Arthur D. Murphy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "Acceptance of the film depends a lot on forgetting several things," namely that Hayes was smuggling drugs. Nevertheless, he thought Davis gave "a strong performance" and that "Alan Parker's direction and other credits are also admirable, once you swallow the specious and hypocritical story."<ref>Murphy, Arthur D. (24 May 1978). "Film Reviews: Midnight Express". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. 27.</ref> [[Charles Champlin]], of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', was positive, writing that the film "has a kind of wailing, arid authenticity and enormous power. It is strong and uncompromising stuff, made bearable by its artistry and the saving awareness that Hayes, at least, slipped free and lived to tell the tale."<ref>Champlin, Charles (22 October 1978). "Brief Review of 'Express{{'"}}. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 7.</ref> Gary Arnold, of ''[[The Washington Post]]'', described the film as "outrageously sensationalistic" and "loaded with show-stopping fabrications," and wrote of the protagonist that "there's never a compelling reason for sympathizing with the callow boy he appears to be from start to finish."<ref>Arnold, Gary (28 October 1978). "Sensationalistic Trip on The 'Midnight Express{{'"}}. ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B4.</ref>

=== Allegations of Turkophobia ===
''Midnight Express'' was also criticized for its unfavorable portrayal of Turkish people. In her 1991 book ''Turkish Reflections: A Biography of Place'', [[Mary Lee Settle]] wrote: "The Turks I saw in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' and ''Midnight Express'' were like cartoon caricatures, compared to the people I had known and lived among for three of the happiest years of my life."<ref name=fer33>{{cite book | author = Mary Lee Settle| year = 1991 | title = Turkish Reflections| publisher = Prentice Hall Press| location = New York | isbn = 0-13-917675-6}}</ref> [[Pauline Kael]], in reviewing the film for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', commented, "This story could have happened in almost any country, but if Billy Hayes had planned to be arrested to get the maximum commercial benefit from it, where else could he get the advantages of a Turkish jail? Who wants to defend Turks? (They don't even constitute enough of a movie market for [[Columbia Pictures]] to be concerned about how they are represented.)"<ref name=fer44>{{cite book| author = Pauline Kael| year = 1980| title = When the Lights Go Down| publisher = Hall Rinehart and Winston| location = New York| isbn = 0-03-042511-5| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/whenlightsgodown00kael}}</ref> One reviewer, writing for ''World Film Directors'', wrote: "''Midnight Express'' is 'more violent, as a national hate-film than anything I can remember', 'a cultural form that narrows horizons, confirming the audience's meanest fears and prejudices and resentments'."<ref name=fer22>{{cite book | editor = John Wakeman| year = 1988 | title = World Film Directors| publisher = T.H. W. Wilson Co| location = New York}}</ref>

[[David Denby (film critic)|David Denby]] of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' criticized ''Midnight Express'' as "merely [[Anti-Turkism|anti-Turkish]], and hardly a defense of prisoners' rights or a protest against prison conditions."<ref name="Denby, D. 1978">Denby, D. (16 October 1978). One Touch of Mozart. ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'', 11(42), 123.</ref> Denby said also that all Turks in the film – guardian or prisoner – were portrayed as "losers" and "swine", and that "without exception [all the Turks] are presented as degenerate, stupid slobs".<ref name="Denby, D. 1978"/>

The well-known Spanish film magazine ''[[Fotogramas]]'' had this to say: "One of the most sibylline exercises in [[racism]] ever produced, and one peddled under a progressive label to boot. The true story of an American arrested in Turkey for drug trafficking becomes a nightmare resolved with a [[sensationalism]] that is impactful yet worthy of a better cause, as is always the case in [[Alan Parker|its director]]'s career".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fotogramas.es/peliculas-criticas/a2031/el-expreso-de-medianoche/ |title=Película El expreso de medianoche - crítica El expreso de medianoche |publisher=Fotogramas.es |date=29 May 2008 |accessdate=16 March 2022}}</ref>

[[Norman Stone]] described it as a "brilliant, but quite misleading, film".<ref>Norman Stone, Introduction to 2009 Penguin edition of 'Journey into Fear'.</ref>

===Box office===
The film was made for $2.3 million and grossed over $35 million worldwide.

In 1978, the Turkish government unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the film from being screened in Israel.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Charny |first1=Israel W. |title=Israel's Failed Response to the Armenian Genocide: Denial, State Deception, Truth Versus Politicization of History |date=2021 |publisher=Academic Studies Press |isbn=978-1-64469-523-4 |language=en|page=48}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Recipient
! Result
|-
| rowspan="6"| [[51st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]<ref name="Oscars1979">{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979 |title=The 51st Academy Awards (1979) Nominees and Winners |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-date=17 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017075832/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Alan Marshall (producer)|Alan Marshall]], [[David Puttnam]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Alan Parker]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[John Hurt]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| [[Oliver Stone]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Gerry Hambling]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| [[Giorgio Moroder]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="6"| [[32nd British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1979/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1979 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1979 |access-date=16 September 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1979}}}}</ref>
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| rowspan="2"| Alan Parker
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| [[Brad Davis (actor)|Brad Davis]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
| John Hurt
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| Gerry Hambling
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]]
| Brad Davis
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[1978 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]]<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1973/year/1978.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Midnight Express |access-date=20 May 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |archive-date=7 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807020639/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1973/year/1978.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| rowspan="2"| Alan Parker
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[31st Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1970s/1978.aspx?value=1978|title=31st DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref>
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="8"| [[36th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/midnight-express |title=Midnight Express – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=12 August 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1979}}}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Brad Davis
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
| John Hurt
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Alan Parker
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Oliver Stone
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score – Motion Picture]]
| Giorgio Moroder
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor|Best Motion Picture Acting Debut – Male]]
| Brad Davis
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Best Motion Picture Acting Debut – Female]]
| [[Irene Miracle]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[21st Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special]]
| Giorgio Moroder, [[Billy Hayes (writer)|Billy Hayes]], Oliver Stone
| {{nom}}
|-
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1970-79/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79 |website=kcfcc.org |date=14 December 2013 |access-date=15 May 2021}}</ref>
| Best Actor
| Brad Davis
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[1978 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lafca.net/Years/1978.php |title=The 4th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |website=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Alan Parker
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music|Best Music Score]]
| Giorgio Moroder
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1978|National Board of Review Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1978/ |title=1978 Award Winners |website=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|6th Place}}
|-
| Political Film Society
| colspan="2"| Special Award
| {{won}}
|-
| [[31st Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551|title=Awards Winners|work=wga.org|publisher=Writers Guild of America|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551|archive-date=5 December 2012|access-date=6 June 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium]]
| Oliver Stone
| {{won}}
|}

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name         = Midnight Express: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| type         = soundtrack
| artist       = [[Giorgio Moroder]]
| cover        = 
| caption      = 
| alt          = 
| released     = 6 October 1978
| recorded     = [[Musicland Studios]], [[Munich]], [[Germany]]
| venue        = 
| studio       = 
| genre        = [[Disco]]
| length       = 37:00
| label        = [[Casablanca Records]]
| producer     = [[Giorgio Moroder]]
| prev_title   = [[From Here to Eternity (Giorgio Moroder album)|From Here to Eternity]]
| prev_year    = 1977
| next_title   = Music from "Battlestar Galactica" and Other Original Compositions
| next_year    = 1978
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Midnight Express: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
 | type        = soundtrack
 | single1     = [[Chase (instrumental)|Chase]]
 | single1date = 1978
}}}}
Released on 6 October 1978, by [[Casablanca Records]], the soundtrack to ''Midnight Express'' was composed by Italian [[synth]]-[[Innovator|pioneer]] [[Giorgio Moroder]]. The score won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]] in [[51st Academy Awards|1979]].
# "[[Chase (instrumental)|Chase]]" – Giorgio Moroder (8:24)
# "Love's Theme" – Giorgio Moroder (5:33)
# "(Theme from) Midnight Express" (Instrumental) – Giorgio Moroder (4:39)
# "Istanbul Blues" (Vocal) – David Castle (3:17)
# "The Wheel" – Giorgio Moroder (2:24)
# "Istanbul Opening" – Giorgio Moroder (4:43)
# "Cacaphoney" – Giorgio Moroder (2:58)
# "(Theme from) Midnight Express" (Vocal) – [[Chris Bennett (musician)|Chris Bennett]] (4:47)

===Charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Chart (1979)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=282}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 26
|}

==Legacy==

The quote "Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?", in the American comedy film ''[[Airplane!]]'' (1980), is a reference to ''Midnight Express''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Airplane! is the Greatest Movie of All Time |author=Nieratko, Chris |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/skinema-airplane-is-the-greatest-movie-of-all-time/ |work=Vice Magazine |date=19 February 2009 |access-date=25 February 2019 |archive-date=25 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225103204/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bn7d94/skinema-airplane-is-the-greatest-movie-of-all-time |url-status=live }}</ref>

Susan's prison visit was spoofed in the 1996 film ''[[The Cable Guy]]'', where Jim Carrey opens his shirt, presses his naked breast against the glass, and cries, "Oh, Billy!"

An amateur interview with Billy Hayes appeared on [[YouTube]],<ref>{{YouTube|pHjLMnGkedU|Part 1}}, {{YouTube|_JTRs8e-FRk|Part 2}}</ref> recorded during the 1999 [[Cannes Film Festival]]. He describes his experiences and expresses his disappointment with the film adaptation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMsNPCVbNhw |title=Interview with Billy Hayes about 'Midnight Express' on YouTube |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=20 May 2010 |archive-date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920094146/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMsNPCVbNhw |url-status=live }}</ref> In an article for the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'', Hayes is reported as saying that the film "depicts all Turks as monsters".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/156011_midnightexpress.html |title=The real Billy Hayes regrets 'Midnight Express' cast all Turks in a bad light |work=Seattle Post Intelligencer |date=10 January 2004 |access-date=20 May 2010 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305165731/https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/The-real-Billy-Hayes-regrets-Midnight-Express-1134196.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

Giorgio Moroder's work "The Chase" is often used as [[bumper music]] on the [[United States|American]] late-night [[radio talk show]] radio program ''[[Coast to Coast AM]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 July 2012 |title=John Titor - Art Bell Coast to Coast AM 4/5/2000 Time Travel Episode |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-viB_iEm0ms |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Youtube}}</ref>

In pro wrestling, several tag teams were called [[Midnight Express (professional wrestling)|The Midnight Express]]. Original member [[Dennis Condrey]] said the name reflected how they dressed in black, drove black cars and partied past midnight. The most popular iteration, [[Bobby Eaton]] and [[Stan Lane]], used the film's theme, "Chase", as their entrance music.

When he visited Turkey in 2004, screenwriter Oliver Stone - who won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for writing the screenplay for ''Midnight Express'' - apologized for the portrayal of the Turkish people in the film.<ref name="Stone" /> He "eventually apologized for tampering with the truth".<ref>Walsh, Caspar. [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/may/30/ten-best-prison-films The 10 best prison films] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927173927/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/may/30/ten-best-prison-films |date=27 September 2016 }}. The Observer. 30 May 2010</ref>

"Theme from Midnight Express" is sampled on [[J Dilla]]'s "Phantom of the Synths", which is prominently used on "[[Gazzillion Ear]]", produced by J Dilla and performed by [[MF Doom]], released in 2005 and 2009 respectively.<ref name="whosampled-1">{{cite web|url=https://www.whosampled.com/sample/67810/J-Dilla-Phantom-of-the-Synths-Giorgio-Moroder-Theme-From-Midnight-Express/|title=J Dilla's 'Phantom of the Synths' - Discover the Sample Source|website=[[WhoSampled]]}}</ref><ref name="whosampled-2">{{cite web|url=https://www.whosampled.com/sample/18063/MF-DOOM-Gazzillion-Ear-J-Dilla-Phantom-of-the-Synths/|title=MF DOOM's 'Gazzillion Ear' - Discover the Sample Source|website=[[WhoSampled]]}}</ref>

Hayes, Stone, and Alan Parker were invited to attend a special screening of ''Midnight Express'', with prisoners in the garden of an L-type prison in Döşemealtı, Turkey, as part of the [[47th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival]] in October 2010.<ref name="TDN01">{{cite web |title='Midnight Express' team to watch film with Turkish prisoners |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=geceyarisi-ekspresi-ekibi-cezaevinde-mahkumlarla-film-izleyecek-2010-05-20 |work=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |date=20 May 2010 |access-date=31 July 2010 |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505081213/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dialogue from ''Midnight Express'' was sampled in the song "Sanctified" on the original version of ''[[Pretty Hate Machine]]'', the debut album from [[Nine Inch Nails]]; the sample was removed from the 2010 remaster, for copyright reasons.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

In 2016, Parker returned to Malta as a special guest during the second edition of the [[Valletta Film Festival]] to attend a screening of the film on 4 June at [[Fort St Elmo]], where many of the prison scenes were filmed.<ref name="ToM-010616" />

==See also==
* ''[[Return to Paradise (1998 film)|Return to Paradise]]''
* ''[[Brokedown Palace]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{AFI film|56945}}
* {{IMDb title|77928}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|midnight_express}}
* [http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Expressfinal.PDF#search=%22script%20Midnight%20Express%22 Script of movie by Oliver Stone (PDF)]

{{Alan Parker}}
{{Oliver Stone}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Midnight Express''
|list =
{{GoldenGlobeBestMotionPictureDrama 1961-1980}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight Express (Film)}}
[[Category:1970s biographical films]]
[[Category:1978 crime drama films]]
[[Category:1978 independent films]]
[[Category:1978 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1970s prison drama films]]
[[Category:Films set in 1970]]
[[Category:Films set in 1975]]
[[Category:American biographical films]]
[[Category:American films about cannabis]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:American prison drama films]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:British biographical films]]
[[Category:British films about cannabis]]
[[Category:British independent films]]
[[Category:British prison drama films]]
[[Category:British LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Best Drama Picture Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Biographical films about drug traffickers]]
[[Category:Cannabis in Turkey]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:Drama films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films scored by Giorgio Moroder]]
[[Category:Films based on autobiographies]]
[[Category:Films directed by Alan Parker]]
[[Category:Films produced by David Puttnam]]
[[Category:Films set in Greece]]
[[Category:Films set in Istanbul]]
[[Category:Films set in prison]]
[[Category:Films set in Turkey]]
[[Category:Films shot in Malta]]
[[Category:Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Direction BAFTA Award]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films about prison escapes]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Oliver Stone]]
[[Category:Films about torture]]
[[Category:Works about cannabis trafficking]]
[[Category:American neo-noir films]]
[[Category:Biographical films about writers]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:1970s British films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Alan Marshall (producer)]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related crime drama films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Films set in 1972]]
[[Category:Films set in 1974]]
[[Category:English-language biographical films]]
[[Category:Film censorship in Turkey]]
[[Category:Crime drama films based on actual events]]