Midnight Express

For many the 1970’s was the second golden age of filmmakers. The polish of the Hollywood system had started to wear off in the 60’s and, with the harsh realities of the hippie movement, the Vietnam War, and the counter-culture movement lead to a grittier, uglier ascetic that would permeate the films of the decade. Many films of this decade had a gritty rawness to them rarely seen in cinemas before and, in the right hands, that rawness could be harnessed to tell the type of story hitherto impossible to depict without serious concessions or else risk not getting distributed at all. Brutal depictions of violence and debauchery could accompany a compelling drama and be viewed as serious cinema instead of mere exploitation. Directors like Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone came up in this system and found their voice during this era. Alan Parker, director of Midnight Express, also got his start during this time, directing his first feature in 1971. By the late seventies he was an established director, willing and able to tackle the harsh realities depicted in this multi Academy Award nominated biographical picture.

In 1970, American college student Billy Hayes (Brad Davis), while on vacation with his girlfriend in Istanbul, Turkey, was stopped before boarding the plane that was to take him home. He was found to have 2kg of hashish strapped to his body and was immediately arrested. Initially charged for possession only and sentenced to four years, that sentence was eventually overturned and upped to life imprisonment for possession and smuggling. This is the true-ish story of Billy Hayes and how he eventually escaped his imprisonment and made his way home. Based on the autobiography by the same name this film takes several liberties with the source material, liberties that initially upset the real Billy when it was released to theaters in 1978. 

Billy’s father travels to Turkey and hires a lawyer in an attempt to get his son released. When this fails Billy spends the next three years in harsh prison conditions, getting beaten on his first night for securing a blanket for himself because of how cold it was. Prison yard brawls are a regular thing as is homosexual activity. He makes friends with several other long-timers: Jimmy Booth (Randy Quaid), an American who was arrested for stealing two candlesticks; Erich (Norbert Weisser), a Swedish drug smuggler; and heroin addict Max (John Hurt). When Billy’s sentence, nearing completion, gets extended to life imprisonment, Billy, Jimmy and Max make an attempt to escape by chiseling out several bricks from a wall and escaping through the catacombs but find the way riddled with dead ends and are forced to return. 

Fellow prisoner and snitch Rifki discovers their secret tunnel and reports it to the guards. Jimmy is taken away and beaten, never returning to the jail and Max, reliant on his glasses, has them crushed by the head guard rendering him effectively blind. Billy, in a fit of rage, attacks Rifki, killing him. For this he is moved to the prison’s insanity ward where his emotional condition worsens. It is during this time that his girlfriend, Susan (Irene Miracle) visits him in prison and, seeing just how debilitated he has become, takes steps that will lead to his eventual escape from the prison and the country.

When Midnight Express released in cinemas there were two main complaints, both of which were justified. The first was that it painted the Turks in a very one-sided way making them all look like heartless savages without an ounce of compassion or empathy. It’s such a narrow view of a rich and beautiful culture that the Turkish government took objection to it, refusing to allow the film crew to shoot their movie there. Only a few shots were actually in the country and those were the result of subterfuge on the part of the director. The other complaint is with that of the protagonist, Billy. Billy is not being held for no good reason. He not only was in possession of hasheesh but attempted to smuggle it out of the country. His intention was to profit by selling it ostensibly to just his friends but even if that is true it is still smuggling drugs with the intent to sell, a crime that carries a life sentence in Turkey. I’m reminded of a similar situation recently involving Brittney Griner getting arrested in Russia for drug possession. The age old saying “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” comes to mind in both cases. The prison conditions depicted here are overly harsh but Billy brought it on himself when he strapped the drugs to his body in the first place. He knew it was illegal.

This is a bleak film and it can at times be hard to watch. Locked away from the outside world the men turn to whatever avenues they have for even a semblance of relief. To some that means engaging in homosexual behavior. Others rely on self gratification. Billy has one moment where he and Erich share a kiss, finding intimacy in a moment of darkness, but we never see if it goes beyond that. Much later, while in the insane wing of the prison, Billy’s girlfriend visits him and we get the sense he hasn’t seen a female in a very long time. Just the sight of her gets him aroused and, in his broken mental state, he asks her to open her blouse, then starts masturbating to the sight of her bare breasts. There is nothing erotic about this scene and he quickly descends into deep and uncontrollable sobs as she tries to comfort him through the glass, horrified for the broken man she sees before her.

When freedom finally does come for Billy the moment is abrupt. He attempts to bribe Hamidou, the head guard (Paul L. Smith), to let him escape, Hamidou takes him into a private room and attempts to rape him, instead. Billy fights back and Hamidou is instantly killed without much of a struggle. The real tension of the situation comes from Billy impersonating a guard and walking out of the prison unnoticed. After nearly two solid hours of demoralizing abuse we get the one real moment of levity here when the movie ends on a freeze frame of Billy jumping for joy like he’s at the tail end of a television sitcom. It’s meant to signal his absolute joy at finally being free but realistically he isn’t free yet and could very easily get picked up a minute later. Not until he escapes into Greece is he truly free. This film should have faded to black before this leap of joy; it would have felt more true to the rest of the picture. 

Academy Award Nominations: 

Best Picture: Alan Marshall and David Puttnam

Best Director: Alan Parker

Best Supporting Actor: John Hurt

Best Adapted Screenplay: Oliver Stone (won)

Best Film Editing: Gerry Hambling

Best Original Score: Giorgio Moroder (won)

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Release Date: October 6, 1978

Running Time: 121 Minutes

Rated R

Starring: Brad Davis, Irwne Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Randy Quaid, John Hurt and Paul L. Smith

Directed By: Alan Parker