Midnight Express

Thinking of becoming a drug mule? Watch this true story first! It was disturbing and sad on many levels. Great movie!

Excelente . Llegó rápido.

This is based upon a real life story!It's been featured on National Geographic's show called=Locked up Abroad! In the 70's while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul Airport.A young american named BILLY HAYES is caught attempting to smuggle 2 kilos of hashish out of the country.The drugs were strapped to his body.Uh-Oh things didn't work out like he planned.While his girlfriend that was with him managed to get on the plane.He got nailed & the story will have you glued from there on. He is taken into custody to the powers to be.They laugh & belittle him while stripping him naked{nice tush shot}*For the female fans. He is told that he will be released if he cooperates with the authorities in identifying the person who actually sold him the hash.He didnt sell out! Billy tries to makes a run for it & is recaptured.He is initially sentenced to serve just over 4 years for possession.With no time for the more harsh crime of smuggling drugs. The prison environment is inhospitable in every sense.The prison warden is one mean sadistic animal & he dishes out the worse physical torture as well as mental abuse. The other inmates that had been there for a while were zombies from the torture they had been exposed to.You will be surprised @ one of the americans he makes friends with who is still known in hollywood today. I saw this movie when it came out on the big screen.I had a huge crush on BRAD DAVIS who sadly died from something close of the content of this movies plot.He did fabulous job & he also starred in SYBIL.It starred Sally Field with JO Anne Woodward. This was a gripping story of the real deal{THEN}if you get into trouble transporting drugs overseas.The turkish prison had hellish conditions that unto itself would make any one crazy.I won't spoil the story line{u have to see it for your self}billy i order to survive had too dig deep into the pit of human strength to grab every oz of fight it took to survive the hot mess he got into.There is a breaking point that had producers in limbo & they walked off set.Billy lost it a few times but that time was a bit vivid be prepared.{BLOODY} The movie was based upon BILLY HAYES real life experience who was featured in the highlights in the main menu on the dvd i have & i recently saw his story on Nat/Geo's show called locked up abroad~His account was pretty much close to the same but hollywood amped it up a bit. Ive never forgotten this movie!#1 I adored Brad Davis his death was ironic in lue of the subject matter of this film years later.A shame because he had looks & talent.When i watch this movie now i think how sad that he lived a part in this movie that was ultimately his demise in his real life & death. It's a poignant look into the world of drug smuggling on an individual level no cartels or glamorized drug rings.He was young it was the 70's sad to say "everybody was doing it" here or there.He jus had the foolish guts to do it & it was something he paid for 10 fold.You are not an American w/freedom if you make those types of choices in a country less than the diplomacy we have in U.S.A. The sadistic prison warden i think was harder on him because he was strong fought back & was american.Unlike the native captives under his rule who seemed use to his abuse. It was a matter of making an example out of him power trip per say Billy wasnt the only one that got the henoius physical abuse.From the distain the prison warden who i felt like had hatred any way but focused alot more on americans.The famliy notion in the film as touching as his father tried.It made me think because these things have & do happen to our fellow americans like P.O.W's,Radicals that kidnapp people for political reasons for ransom/& drug smuggling that still happens today. A stunning performance by Brad Davis & his determination along with the struggle within was as good as it gets.He had to fight or fall down & live in the hell he put upon himself!It has a well deserved ending & he lived to tell his story & this movie was about his experience.WATCH IT YOU WILL ENJOY IT...Its one i rewatch from time to time!

Oldie but great movie. Except for the one English dude in the shower.. Just fast forward that 30sec. Lol

Midnight Express (1978) is one of those few films I heard a great deal about, but haven't had the opportunity to see...until recently. Based on a book written by a man who committed a crime in another land, went to trial, was convicted and imprisoned, eventually escaped, and wrote a book about his experiences, a lot of controversy seems to be generated over the whether or not various events in the film actually happened. Given Hollywood's penchant for changing elements in stories so that they may best come across the screen, I decided, even though the film was based on a true story, to take that with a grain of salt and just watch the film as a film.Directed by Alan Parker (he was nominated for an academy award for this film), screenplay by the seemingly always controversial Oliver Stone (he won for best adaptation of a screenplay from another medium), the film stars Brad Davis (Chariot's of Fire) as Billy Hayes, the man who escaped and wrote the book the movie was based on...also appearing are John Hurt (he won best supporting actor for his role), Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie from the Vacation movies) and Paul Smith (Bluto, from Robin Williams' Popeye movie).The film begins with Billy Hayes strapping packets of heroin to his body, prior to his leaving the country of Turkey. Tsk, tsk Billy...possession is one thing, but smuggling? So very naughty...anyway, due to increased terrorist attacks, all passengers traveling by airplane are searched thoroughly, and Billy gets caught. No big surprise there...if he hadn't, this would have been a pretty short film. Imagine getting arrested in a foreign country, one where you don't speak the language. Pretty scary, I would think. Anyway, things actually don't appear that bad for Billy, but we know different. Eventually Billy receives 4 years on a possession charge (the prosecutor was looking for a smuggling charge, which carries a life sentence in Turkey). Conditions are poor, to say the least, in the prison, as Billy suffers many of the things you'd expect one to suffer being in prison. Attempts by his family, his lawyer, and American government officials are for naught as Billy serves his time. Shortly before his time in prison is up, Billy learns that a higher court has ruled that the possession charge he was originally convicted on has been reviewed by a higher court, and they have now decided to charge him with smuggling, increasing his term to 30 years, or, basically a life sentence, given the quality of life in the prison. At this point Billy explodes in the court as the ruling is handed down, and he reacts badly, understandably so, calling the court and its' members a `bunch of pigs' (probably not the words I would have used, as they certainly won't endear you to your captors, but whatever). Now a matter of life or death in Billy's mind, he decides he has no choice but to escape. And try he does...eventually he does, returns home, and decides to write a book about his experience, one that becomes a movie one day, adapted for the screen by Oliver Stone...isn't this where we began?Now first of all, I have to say, for the life of me, I just couldn't develop any sympathy for the main character. Let's face it...he was a criminal, got caught, and sent to prison. Here's a tip for the youngsters out there...if you are planning to commit a crime, especially in a foreign country, it's probably a good idea to research the consequences, specifically how much jail time is involved if you get caught (for instance smuggling drugs in Turkey will get you a life sentence). The film seemed to spend a lot of time focusing on the brutal and sadistic conditions within the prison, and trying to give the audience justification for Billy's need to escape (that was the way I saw it), but again, he committed a crime, and got caught, so I still found it extremely difficult to feel sad for Billy. Just because he was an American, he shouldn't be bound by whatever laws exist in the particular country he's in? I don't think so...I did think Brad Davis did a great job caught up in forces he didn't understand. I thought John Hurt was good as Max, a perpetually drugged out Englishman in prison with Billy, but I didn't feel he was Academy Award good. I did think Randy Quaid was really good as another prisoner named Jimmy Booth, a constantly angry man whose entire existence seemed to be based on devising a means to escape from prison (his crime was stealing two candlesticks from mosque, a very serious, and stupid, crime, apparently). So how much of the story was real and how much of it was exaggerated? I suppose only Billy knows, but I think there is a clear message here, and it's not that people shouldn't visit Turkey. No, I the message I got was don't commit crimes in Turkey, or any other country, for that matter. Having to go to prison sucks, and I am sure the quality of life within these prisons varies greatly, but regardless, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Pure and simple. Ultimately, as far as prison films go, this is a gripping, sometimes harsh to view yarn, but not the best one I've ever seen. One of the best, in my opinion, is Papillon (1973), starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, which, oddly enough, is also based on a true story.Provided on this DVD is both the wide screen and full screen formats. I've only watched the wide screen format, and while the picture is good, I felt it could have been better, maybe cleaned up a little, giving us a better tone throughout. Special features include a theatrical trailer and a short featurette with the real Billy Hayes (nice perm, dude) on location of the movie shoot.Cookieman108

Dvd was in perfect condition and the story is so good

Me parece una gran película y un excelente digibook

Based on a true story. The authorities decide to make an example of Billy Hayes when he attempts to smuggle drugs through customs at the airport before boarding a plane and gets caught resulting in 4.5 years in a Turkish prison, which is later extended to life (30 years) after the court reviews it. A terrifying experience. Billy is imprisoned in a very run down prison controlled by sadistic guards, one in particular Hamidou. Billy has no choice and attempts to escape through the old Christian Catacombs under the prison along with 'Max the Englishman' and 'Jimmy' who is American. The idea nearly works but their escape is blocked by a bricked up wall and they have to return to the prison. Their escape route is discovered. Rifki who finds and reports their escape route is later assaulted by Billy and Billy bites his tongue out. Billy is sent to a ward for the insane where he wanders about a broken man, staring emptily into space and walking around in circles. Max has been sent there too. Billy begins to loose his mind and after a visit from his girlfriend Susan, who is shocked as his mental and physical condition, is encouraged to either escape or die. Susan shows Billy some money that is hidden in a scrap boot she gives him to help him escape. Her visit helps Billy regain his senses. Billy tries to bribe Hamidou with the money to take him to the hospital but is dragged into a room where Hamidou tries to rape him. Billy defends himself and kills Hamidou when Billy pushes him backwards so that Hamidou's head is impaled against a coat hook on the wall and literally drops down dead. Billy carries out a very daring escape changing into Hamidou's uniform, walking out of the prison and across the boarder to freedom. 'Midnight Express' is slang that means 'escape' in Turkish and has nothing to do with a train. Billy is very lucky. The ending to the film is stunning. If I could give this film ten stars I would.

Inspiré d’une histoire vraie, Alan Parker met en scène la véritable histoire de Billy Hayes, un touriste américain arrêté et incarcéré en Turquie pour détention de drogue, Midnight Express est une charge sans concession contre un système carcéral inhumain, qui réduit les prisonniers à l’état de bêtes sauvages, manifeste une brutalité gratuite par l’intermédiaire de ses matons, physiquement semblables, réduits à des stéréotypes physiques (des Turcs, donc tous des moustaches). Hayes est victime d'un système corrompu et va devoir faire preuve de courage et d'acharnement pour retrouver sa liberté. Le film dénonce l'univers carcéral avec le mépris de la dignité humaine, la peur, la brutalité et les corruptions. Il dénonce aussi l'impuissance du gouvernement Américain face a une telle situation.Les premières minutes du film installent une tension palpable, du gros plan fixant la ceinture de Billy, jusqu’à son arrestation dramatique sur le tarmac de l’aéroport, à deux pas de la passerelle d’embarquement. Les battement du cœur de Brad Davis transpirant la grosse goutte en impactant son système nerveux sont d'une puissance incroyable. Il joue avec ses tripes, la dureté de ses scènes sont à couper le souffle. à cause d'une fausse alerte à la bombe que les autorités définissent cette ceinture autour de sa taille comme étant du haschich. Le script confié au jeune Oliver Stone qui se base exclusivement sur le témoignage de Billy Hayes, tout en le modifiant considérablement. Pour le scénariste, il s’agit donc d’une commande initiée par le producteur Peter Gruber qui a acheté les droits d’adaptation des souvenirs de Hayes.Face à un système juridique corrompu, Hayes ne pourra rien. La justice n’a d’équité plus que son nom : noire reine au sourire malin, Thémis pue le scandale. Hayes, poussé aux extrêmes limites de la condition humaine, tour à tour insultera la nation turque, plein d’une rage saline, arrachera, Arès en extase, la langue de Rifki, fourbe compagnon de cellule, côtoiera la folie dans les limbes et se masturbera comme une bête face à sa belle en pleurs. Dérangeant ? Oui, évidemment, mais non. Le scandale, c’est la cause. Le moins que l’on puisse dire, c’est que les geôliers de Hayes n’y sont pas allés de main morte. Et que l’on se figure maintenant la chose suivante : (William) Hayes a bel et bien existé, et, si le film de Parker est loin d’être un rendu fidèle de son enfer, il n’en a pas moins de terribles accents de vérité. On chiale et l’on mord la poussière, gorgé de désespoir. L’un se fait sodomiser par son geôlier, l’autre briser les os aussi indifféremment que l’on bat les cartes. Même si les prisons turques sont décrites de manière choquante, on peut légitimement penser que la situation réelle de l’époque n’était pas si différente de ce qui est dépeint dans le film. Le réalisateur était capable d’assouplir l’acteur et de lui faire accepter des scènes difficiles comprenant des abus physiques ou des séquences homosexuelles, seuls moments d’affection dans un film brutal et choquant.La distribution réunit en plus de Brad Davis : Randy Quaid, Bo Hopkins, John Hurt (au bord de la folie), Paul L. Smith et Mike Kellin. Du propre aveu d’Alan Parker, le tournage de Midnight Express est l’un des plus intenses et éprouvants qu’il ait connus, en raison de conditions de tournage très difficiles (rythme effréné, climat hostile, sujet violent…). Une scène a particulièrement marqué les esprits : celle où Hayes arrache la langue de l’un de ses compagnons de cellule. Horrifiée devant tant de violence, l’équipe a quitté le plateau pour laisser le réalisateur seul avec ses deux acteurs. Brad Davis devait ainsi transporter une langue de porc pour les besoins de cette scène. N’hésitant devant aucune outrance, Alan Parker se complaît à filmer la crasse, le délabrement et signe de nombreuses séquences d’anthologie comme celle de la vengeance de Billy Hayes contre un détenu qui balance ses camarades. La scène où le protagoniste principal arrache avec ses dents l’oreille de son comparse reste ancrée dans toutes les mémoires. Elle est aussi pour beaucoup dans la détestation d’une partie de la critique, car elle instaure une dimension cathartique qui peut, en fonction du regard que l’on porte, soit condamner ou au contraire valoriser la violence brutale.Profondément ancré dans le contexte géopolitique d'une époque où la Turquie subissait plusieurs attentats, et était prête à tout pour montrer qu'elle luttait avec acharnement contre le trafique de drogue, "Midnight Express" est la critique acerbe et violente d'une société régie par des élites corrompues, un regard sans concession sur une justice aléatoire et sur des conditions d'emprisonnement tout à fait scandaleuses, qui conduira d'ailleurs à des négociations entre la Turquie et les USA sur l'échanges de prisonniers. Mais c'est également un hymne bouleversant à la liberté sous toutes ses formes, passant d'un suspense implacable à une horreur presque surnaturelle (la section psychiatrique filmée comme des limbes dont on serait à jamais prisonnier), en passant par une puissante émotion, notamment dans les rapports déchirant entre Hayes et son père, incarné avec force par Mike Kellin.L'ambiance de son film est aussi étouffante que le soleil qui brille au-dessus de la tête des condamnées. Dans ces cellules transformées en véritables poubelles humaines et de chiottes publics, les prisonniers sont régulièrement rudoyés et même torturés par des chiourmes pitoyables. Dans ces cellules transformées en véritables poubelles humaines et de chiottes publics, les prisonniers sont régulièrement rudoyés et même torturés par des chiourmes pitoyables. C'est un incroyable parcours du combattant, Mais aussi émotionnelle, portant à dénoncer cet univers carcéral de manière puissante et pertinente, un récit tragique narré de façon profonde parfait symbole d’espoir et de liberté, vivant en marge d'un monde hostile. Dans un système où les prisonniers perdent leur identité et toute forme de dignité dès qu’ils franchissent cette enfer carcéral. L'espoir subsiste et redonne un soupçon d’humanité en contraste avec la violence sans merci qu’ils y subissent. Drame humain émotionnellement saisissant, Alan Parker nous livre un véritable message d’espoir et faisant de l’optimisme non pas quelque chose de réservé aux idéalistes, mais bien un remède au mal dont l'évasion est un échappatoire. Dans l'isolement grisâtre, la folie et le désespoir se reliant, mort de l'essence vitale. Tragédie des caractères humaines, Dans le noir de la nuit, englouti en le plus obscur des gouffres, l'homme désire seulement une faible lumière morte, Ainsi qu'un espoir qui mène à la liberté.Oliver Stone a admis avoir « surdramatisé » la mise en scène qu'il avait écrite Brad Davis offre une très belle interprétation qui aurait mérité au moins d'être nommé aux oscars car il montre très bien le combat d'un homme pour rentrer chez lui et les second rôle sont parfait avec John Hurt en drogué marrant, Randy Quaid en homme violent et déterminer et Paolo Bonacelli en fouine drôle mais détestable. Bien que le film se déroule largement en Turquie, il a été tourné entièrement à Malte, après le refus d'Ankara d'accueillir le tournage. La majorité des acteurs sont donc des Maltais locaux ainsi que quelques Italiens, Américains, Grecs et Arméniens jouant des Turcs. Quelques anachronismes et exagérations jalonnent le film. Par exemple certains Turcs y portent le fez alors qu'il n'est plus porté en Turquie depuis l'abolition des couvre-chefs symboliques ottomans en 1923 par la république turque. D'ailleurs l'État turc protesta officiellement lors de la sortie du film, les ambassadeurs turcs en Grande-Bretagne et aux États-Unis furent rappelés pour consultation. L'État turc déplora que les prisons turques soient présentées comme des taudis, avec des gardiens homosexuels ; il affirma que les prisons turques ressemblaient à celles qui existaient aux USA et en Europe et déplora que la Turquie soit montrée comme un pays corrompu, où la torture est banalisée, où l'on rend les prisonniers fous, ce qui est faux, et qui est une grave erreur, voire une offense pour les autorités turques. Le film a pourtant rencontré un accueil critique favorable et a rencontré un succès commercial dès sa sortie en salles : aux États-Unis, le film a récolté 35 000 000 dollars de recettes au box-office, permettant ainsi au film d'être rentable en comparaison du budget de 2,3 millions de dollars. En France, le film obtient un large succès commercial, en totalisant 5 973 335 entrées, se hissant en tête du box-office français de 1978. Le parfum de scandale étant aujourd’hui un peu dissipé, Midnight Express reste une œuvre d’une rare puissance visuelle, préfigurant les évolutions esthétiques des années 80. Dotée d’une magnifique photographie de Michael Seresin, très critiquée à l’époque pour son aspect publicitaire, Rythmé par la musique hypnotique du célèbre Giorgio Moroder, il a réussi a retranssmettre toute l'intensivité des émotions exprimées dans ce film devenu classique qu'est Midnight Express, en une B.O. incroyable, dont les compositions confèrent une atmosphère pesante, Entièrement composée au synthétiseur, Elle angoisse. Un choc visuel, d'une intensité rarement égalée, Quand on voit le film et que l'on se dit que c'est vraiment arrivé, cela nous fait un froid dans le dos en pensant a ce qu'a vécu cet homme et pour conclure une phrase impressionnante du film "ça m’étonne que des cochons comme vous ne mangent pas de porc". C'est puissant, choquant, révoltant.

Enjoyed this dvd

Superbe trouvaille!! Un classique du cinéma sur Bluray et surtout dans la langue de Molière!!!