Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Dramatization of a First Class Loser's Experience
Review: Alan Parker and Oliver Stone's revised "true" story of Billy Hayes' nightmarish oddyssey in a Turkish prison in 1970 is brilliant cinematic work; unfortunately, Hayes (played by Brad Davis) as the "hero" of the story hardly deserves sympathy for his idiotic attempt at smuggling drugs out of a Muslim country where penalties are inherently severe. This imbecil could have just gone to Amsterdam, bought all the hash in the world legally and suffered less severe reprecussions if he were caught smuggling it back.In sum, Hayes was nothing more than a victim of his own stupidity; very much like the American youth who was caned in Bankok for vandalizing. As they say, "When in Rome...": Hayes should have remembered that when in Istanbul. In short, Hayes got what was coming to him and had no one but himself to blame for what happened to him. To make a movie about such a pathetic individual is mostly a waste of good film. The movie itself is blatantly jingoistic and ignorant. Who knows, given the horror stories we hear about our own prisons, his fate may have been the same had he been here. One only needs to look at the the U.S. for the horrible prison experiences some have suffered as a result of convictions for drug possession. I hope Hollywood finds better subjects as objects of pity because people to the likes of Billy Hayes are simply too pathetic to deserve any sympathy in a movie such as this one.
Rating: 
Summary: chek this
Review: dis movie is a hott flick cuz u see the life of people in jail in a forieghn country and how it would be like to be there if u didnt understand there launguage this movie is a true story about aman who smuggles hash to the unis states frum turkey and gets caught and he has 2 go thru alot of pain and misunderstanding toward his whole stay in prisom where he learns trust and faith
Rating: 
Summary: Rivetting performance from Brad Davis
Review: Many reviewers ridicule the method used to try and smuggle the drugs in this movie, but back in the early 1970's (when the film was based) these kind of methods actually took place. Yes, people are stupid for doing these things ... but it's hard not to have compassion for them when they are served lifetime sentences. "Midnight Express" explores one man's time in a hellish Turkish prison. The tension of being caught and then beaten in prison are so well captured that you almost don't want to look. One scene that comes to mind is when Davis is hung upside down and beaten so bad, you can almost feel it. Davis performance is exceptional, yet did not give him the career you'd expect. An excellent actor, who died at the age of 41. The DVD itself is excellent too. An impressive widescreen transfer, plus a full screen option thrown in for people who dont know the value of widescreen (ie. a pointless inclusion in my opinion). The DVD also boasts a 1978 documentary of the film, and a trailer. A must own! One of the best prison films to date, along with "Shawshank Redemption".
Rating: 
Summary: System problem shouldn't be generalized on its people!
Review: As a Turkish citizen living in US, I agree strongly there are many human rights issues that need to be improved in Turkiye. However I don't think it is fair to generalize to its people the system problem or politics. Some narrow minded people want to be judgemental with Turks just because of this movie, well I would say go ahead and see your own history with human rights, no need to go through detail here.
Rating: 
Summary: reality check
Review: Barbarism, shmarbarism. The opening 30 minutes of this film were quite possibly the hardest to watch as this doorknob makes one lame-brained move after another. A: Smuggling a large amount drugs, through an AIRPORT, from a country through an with NO MIRANDA LAWS, in the middle of a period of EXTREME international tension from many sides. FREAKIN GENIUS!!!! B: Running from the police after getting caught (you have no money Einstein, how far do you think you are going to get?) C: going directly against what your told after getting incarcerated. All I could think when he was dragged down and chained upside-down was "YES!! BEAT HIS STUPID A$$!!!" Turkey is a wonderful place to visit for people that aren't stupid enough to get involved with narcotics. On that note, I think someone inclined to smuggle drugs through international airports will find a good many countries in many regions of the world (including the U.S.) very unaccomodating, possibly quite ugly. Was a good story nonetheless. I could have done without the homoerotic shower scene
Rating:
Summary: Great movie-disturbing reviews
Review: First of all, i have to say that this is one of my favorate movies. The story is intense, the pacing is perfect, and the acting superb. Brad Davis was a remarkable talent i had never heard of before i recently discovered this movie. John Hurt, too, is brilliant. Randy Quaid is also good in the most dramatic role I've seen him play. I reccomend this movie to any fan of cinema. It is a fine dramatic work which is given even more weight by the fact that it is based on a true story. I don't normally right reviews, but i felt i had to after reading some other reviews. It seems that some people are looking at this movie as representing an entire nation of people. The truth is, Turkey is not a barbaric country. The truth is, Islam is not a barbaric religion. This is not to say that Billy Hayes was not abused and wronged by a corrupt system. He clearly was. But i hope people are not assuming that the country and people of Turkey approved of this. I assure you that is not the case. In fact, Istanbul is not unlike any major american city. I just found myself at a loss when reading a couple of reviews of this film. It seems to me that we need more acceptance and understanding in these times. Taking a movie like Midnight Express as an indictment of a nation is a mistake. This is a movie about the strength of the human spirit against great adversity. If anything this movie brings up questions of US foreign policy. It seems that some reviewers missed the point in the movie where it was made clear that Richard Nixon had completely fouled up relations between the US and Turkey. I apologize for my rant. I was just shocked at some reviews and felt i had to speak my opinion. If you want to see an incredible film, buy Midnight Express. If you are looking for anti Turkey/middle-east propaganda, just read the newspaper.
Rating:
Summary: Oh Billy!
Review: First, I couldn't BELIEVE what that guy said in his review. He said, just because it's based on a true story doesnt mean the prison's in Turkey are exactly like that. ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME MAN?? You obviously dont know jack about Turkish prison's. If anything was real and based on truth in this film, it was the brutality of Turkish police and the prisons. Do any of you people know what they do in Turkey, especially to women? There is a huge revolution going on as we speak. I cant even write down in my review what they do and have done to women, not just prisoners, to visitors, and to civilians. It's sick and brutal! Ok anyways, that was upsetting to hear that guy say that?Because he is wrong. This was a good movie. I'm glad it's one of the first movies to clearly show the world the brutality of the prisons in Turkey. I dont care what a person did to end up in the prison! They do not deserve to be tortured, raped, verbally abused, and driven to insanity. All Billy Hayes did was smuggle some hash for his friends back home. Yes it was highly stupid, but life? They tried to give him life? LIFE??Give me a break!! What about murder. That's not the same. Murder should be a life punishment. The law is so messed up in Turkey. The Turkish police think they can do whatever they want to people. They're evil, sadistic, twisted mothas. And when I say all, I mean it. If just one or two police officers were sick, and the rest were civilized rational good beings, dont u think the brutality would be stopped. And they all stick together. This film reminded me of Murder in the First, which was also a true story. This is a messed up world. I dont know if you people realize what prison alone can do to a person, but when you're also beaten, tortured, raped, and abused for years and years, a person can snap!! Just like William Hayes, and the guy from murder in the first. They were not bad people. They were driven to insanity and I was so glad, oh you have no idea, when Billy escaped at the end. That was his only way to survive, because like his girlfriend said, he was gonna die if he hadnt gotten out of that hell. I first heard of this movie when I watched the Cable Guy, when Jim Carrey did the oh billy scene. That was a good scene wasnt it, in midnight express! Hehe. It was very sad and dramatic. I give this movie 5 stars for the acting, the reality, and the drama. And remember, just because this film was made in the 70's, and about only one guy, it doesnt mean it didnt also happen to thousands of other people. He was just the one lucky enough to escape and tell his story, and have it documented to make a movie about it.... and he survived.
Rating:
Summary: Misleading
Review: This used to be one of my favorite movies but it no longer is. When I was younger I did not bother trying to comprehend the underlying message of this movie, nor any other movie for that matter. The message of this movie is now perfectly clear to me: convicts in Turkish prisons are frequently maltreated and tortured. Turkish prisons are inhumane and the entire justice system is flawed, corrupt and unjust. Moreover, the director of this movie implicitly implies that all Turks are barbarous, intransigent and uncivilized. This is corroborated by the fact that all Turkish characters in this movie are evil and their intentions are always malicious. Also an attempt is made to defame Islam and to show it as a religion which is inhumane, barbaric and merciless. On the other hand, Christians are depicted as humane and infallible. The principal point of this movie is that the Turkish society is flawed and atavistic as its justice system shows no mercy towards drug smugglers, rapists and murderers. Many of these assertions may be true but it would be a gross overgeneralization and oversimplification to claim that all of this is true and that these injustices are unique for Turkey. The director of this movie should have done some research at home before he set out to criticize an entire nation. Consider some of these facts: U.S.A. still has capital punishment; it has been demonstrated in many cases that the application of the death penalty is racially discriminatory (much more blacks are sentenced to death than whites); in many states, minors and mentally retarded are sentenced to death even though this violates the U.S. constitution; the U.S. government incarcarates people without letting them know what they have been charged with and denies them adequate legal representation etc. (Guantanamo Bay in Cuba). If these facts are not indicative of a flawed and unjust justice system, then what is? In my view, it is extremely hypocritical and cynical not to judge our own actions and transgressions by the same standards we apply to others. This is a good movie but it would have been much better had it not been so severely biased and prejudiced.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant story & proof of Turkish barbaric torture
Review: This is a brilliant story based on actual events that occurred in Turkey. The scary thing is that these events happen every single day. Brutal torture and barbaric brutalization of people in Turkey is a fact of life and this film does a fantastic job in dramatizing them. Amnesty International has well-documented cases of such violent acts committed against people that the govt. deems "guilty" of even the most minor offenses. Women are subject to rape and forcible vaginal examination at the hands of deranged policemen and young men are sodomized as punishment for their "alleged" crimes. Ignore the claims of racism made by pro-Turkish pundits that this film supposedly displays. This film is NOT racist. If the truth is racist, then let the truth be shown in its' most brutal detail. What we see in the film are real, actual events that happen to both Turks and non-Turks in Turkey, every single day. While it's true that Billy Hayes did not experience every single act of torture in this film, Oliver Stone and Alan Parker simply culled through the records of Amnesty International and gave voice to the countless victims of a brutal regime that has yet to this day to change its' human rights record. This is a film that should be bought and watched periodically to remind ourselves of the kinds of depraved govts. that exist around the world and how they abuse human rights aimed at not only their own people but to Americans as well. The only things I wish were covered in the film was the real escape by Hayes and how he was helped by Greece and sent back to the U.S. The Greeks could very easily have sent Hayes back across the border to Turkey but in recognition of the cruel beating and rape that awaited him back in Turkey, the Greeks did the right thing and sent him home. Also, what happened to his friend "Max", we are never told.
Rating:
Summary: BANG! Right in the Face!
Review: Hey! Forget about smuggling that hash out of Turkey and watch this movie. It's better to watch it than to be caught. Wow! It really made an impression on me as a young person. Really, instead of showing those stupid 'don't do drugs' commercials, show this movie more often instead. It was truly a smack in the face. It scared the pants off of me. I don't think I'll ever travel abroad.
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