Midnight Express

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Midnight Express

R

1978

2h 1m

Drama

Biography

Crime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is a young American caught by Turkish police while attempting to smuggle hash out of Istanbul. He's tried and sent to prison for four years, where he endures all manner of privation and abuse. As he finishes up his time, he's shocked to learn that the Turkish High Court has added a further 30 years to his sentence. He is now thoroughly demoralized, and his life in prison grows increasingly unbearable until he concludes that escape is his only option.

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Critics Consensus

Raw and unrelenting, Midnight Express is riveting in its realistic depiction of incarceration -- mining pathos from the simple act of enduring hardship.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Midnight Express is single-minded in its brutal manipulation of the audience: this is a clear-cut case of the use of film technique split off from any artistic impulse.

Sep 18, 2023

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Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

Just another prison break movie... but I liked it.

Aug 11, 2022

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Ed Potton

The Times (UK)

It's a film that probably wouldn't be made today, but it taps into a potent fear: losing your liberty far from home.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 22, 2018

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

An emotionally gripping drama.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 6, 2025

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Its strict adherence to facts isn’t necessarily as potent as the cinematic cautionary tale that it generates, though the depicted events will surely inspire further research into Hayes’ genuine plight.

Rated: 6/10

Aug 9, 2023

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

Brutal, dated prison drama has drugs, language, stereotypes.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 3, 2021

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Shaun R

What a film!!! If this isn’t an education in not f’in about abroad, then I don’t know what is. I watched this at a young age and never forgot it and it’s something I think about to this day everytime I go abroad. Still as powerful now as it’s ever been. It catches the filth of the place and the pain endured more than most films put together.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/17/25

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Jack M

Parker succeeds in making the prison into a full, real, rounded world, a microcosm of human behavior;

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/30/25

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thiago s

Filme mais ou menos para bacaninha, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é mais ou menos, o elenco é mais ou menos, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, só do meio para o final, que o filme começou a ficar mais ou menos para bacaninha, e o final é bacaninha.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/18/25

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EE D

The movie opens up slowly as for me it was annoying to see how a kid who decided to do a stupid thing wasn't happy about the outcome but after that when we see what's happening in the Turkish jail i did start to root for him

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/24/25

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Tim F

only the cartunish style makes it barable, otherwise one would drown in its depth. has a lot of ,,The Chorus,, And ,,Apocalzpse now,,

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/24/25

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K W

Amazing performances, great writing and direction

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

Full Review

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Alan Parker

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Brad Davis

Billy Hayes

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Synopsis

Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is a young American caught by Turkish police while attempting to smuggle hash out of Istanbul. He's tried and sent to prison for four years, where he endures all manner of privation and abuse. As he finishes up his time, he's shocked to learn that the Turkish High Court has added a further 30 years to his sentence. He is now thoroughly demoralized, and his life in prison grows increasingly unbearable until he concludes that escape is his only option.

Director: Alan Parker
Producer: Alan Marshall, David Puttnam
Screenwriter: William Hayes, William Hoffer, Oliver Stone
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Biography, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 1, 1978, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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