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Movies / On DVD / Midnight Express
Midnight Express

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Midnight Express (1978)

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94 %
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Reviews Counted: 18

Fresh: 17

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 7.7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Based on William Hayes's autobiography, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS tells the harrowing story of a young American tourist arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison by Turkish authorities for trying to... Based on William Hayes's autobiography, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS tells the harrowing story of a young American tourist arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison by Turkish authorities for trying to smuggle two kilos of hashish out of the country. Billy (Brad Davis), suffering through the harsh realities of the Turkish penal system, sees a glimmer of hope when his father (Billy Kellin) arrives from the States with the intention of securing his son's release. But when that effort fails and the prison's savage environment becomes too much to bear, Billy opts for the only possible solution: breaking out of jail and riding the "midnight express"--prison slang for escape--to freedom. Director Alan Parker (MISSISSIPPI BURNING), aided by Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning script, fastens an unflinching gaze into the darkest recesses of physical and emotional cruelty. Supporting cast members Randy Quaid, John Hurt, and Bo Hopkins give stellar performances, and Giorgio Moroder supplies a jagged yet entrancing soundtrack for a film that is at one and the same time a Kafkaesque nightmare, a riveting exposé, and a testament to the dogged human thirst for dignity. [More]

Starring: Brad Davis, Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Bo Hopkins

Starring: Brad Davis, Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Bo Hopkins, Mike Kellin

Director: Alan Parker

Director: Alan Parker
Screenwriter: Oliver Stone
Producer: Alan Marshall, David Puttnam
Composer: Giorgio Moroder

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Aug 4, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 0
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, French
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish

Features:

  • 1. Commentary With Director Alan Parker
  • 2. The Producers
  • 3. The Production
  • 4. The Finished Film
  • 5. Photo Gallery
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Midnight Express

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Horrific scenes of prison brutality and powerful acting by Brad Davis as the American Billy Hayes help make up for the shortcomings in Alan Parker's sensationalistic tale and Oliver Stone's factual inaccuracies and narrow stereotyping of the Turks.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
03/26/09
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/21/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Director Alan Parker's right. His 1978 riveting prison drama still holds up.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
02/08/08
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

Searing and unforgettable. A harrowing descent into a real-life hell that's so relentlessly intense it will leave you feeling drained.

comment Comment
10/05/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

All modern-day jail flicks owe it a debt.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/07/05
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/15/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

harrowing and involving

comment Comment
05/13/05
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Grim, nightmarish, unforgettabe prison tale

comment Comment
10/19/04
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
04/09/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Suffers from the kind of excess -- and hyperbole -- writer Oliver Stone brought to his own films as director.

comment 1 Comment
03/10/04
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Intense, but somewhat false 'true' story distinguised by Parker's direction.

comment Comment
01/29/04
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Alan Parker's Midnight Express works like a hammer lock on the viewer's mind.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/24/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A genuinely disturbing prison film in the tradition of PAPILLON

comment Comment
03/20/03
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

Anyone thinking of smuggling drugs into a foreign country should watch this first.

comment Comment
02/04/03
Shannon J. Harvey
Sunday Times (Australia)

No review available.

comment Comment
12/30/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
07/27/02
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

One of the most terrifying "prison flicks" you'll ever see.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Midnight Express walks a fine line between portraying Hayes as a victim or a criminal.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike DeWolfe
Apollo Guide
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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