Midnight Express (film)

Midnight Express
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlan Parker
Screenplay byOliver Stone
Based onthe book
by William Hayes
with William Hoffer
Produced by
  • Alan Marshall
  • David Puttnam
CinematographyMichael Seresin
(lighting cameraman)
Edited byGerry Hambling
Music byGiorgio Moroder
Production
company
Casablanca FilmWorks
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 18 May 1978 (1978-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 10 August 1978 (1978-08-10) (U.K.)
  • 6 October 1978 (1978-10-06) (U.S.)
Running time
121 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom[1]
  • United States[1]
Languages
  • English
  • Turkish
  • Maltese
Budget$2.3 million[2]
Box office$35 million[2]

Midnight Express is a 1978 American prison drama directed by Alan Parker and adapted by Oliver Stone from Billy Hayes's 1977 memoir. It stars Brad Davis, with Irene Miracle and Bo Hopkins in supporting roles. The film centers on Hayes, a young American student, who is sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of the country. The film's title is prison slang for his escape attempt.

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.

Midnight Express received generally positive reviews from critics. The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for Parker at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Stone and Best Original Score for Giorgio Moroder. It also won six Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and BAFTA Awards for Best Direction, Best Editing and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (for Hurt).

  1. ^ a b "Midnight Express (1978)". Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Midnight Express (1978)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2012.