I finally saw this movie for the first time some months ago. I also recall the T. V. ads back in 1978 but of course, I was too young too see such a thing.

Since the storyline has been told here before I'll simply state that in terms of telling a true to life story, this movie at times excels and at other times seems just 'slightly' over the top, but it doesn't deplete anything in my viewing of the film.

Hard as the violent scenes are to watch,it would not have done justice to the film to sanitize these realities. I'm just glad they didn't actually show the children getting their feet struck with a heavy board,that would have been too much.

Hayes hatred of the Turks that he states in the courtroom is not something he came into the country with, he was justifiably angry and at his wits end with their supposed system of justice.

While it's wrong to break the law, there should always be a limit and a measure of what is the suitable price one should pay for their actions.

Davis was a fine actor and his performance is spectacular. He is absolutely electric when his character goes on a physical rampage and ends up in the insane asylum.

The actors playing the Turks who run the prison don't budge an inch from their roles as virtual monsters who revel in the violence and cruelty they are allowed to get away with.

Randy Quaid gives one of the best performances I've ever seen him in and I really felt bad for his character who is sent into the "sanatarium" twice and beaten senseless. The Georgio Moroder score certainly punctuates every scene that it's used in.

I'll gamble most have seen how Hayes escapes his captors but I'll just say , I thought it was very clever thinking, yet very risky.

I can honestly rate this movie 10 stars. I recommend it 100% but only for those with a strong skin and mind that can tolerate the violence depicted.

Ten Stars (END)

It is generally believed that "Midnight Express" is one of those rare films which must have had a long life of maximum television reruns in USA thanks to its disputatious content.Those who have seen it will have no qualms in affirming that even after 30 years of its release, Midnight Express continues to offend Turkish people as it had portrayed their nation as a barbaric third world country which has scant respect for human rights.All the fuss is created due to the shocking yet sympathetic portrayal of an American citizen William Hayes who is put in a Turkish prison after his arrest on drug peddling charges.It is true that director Alan Parker and script writer Oliver Stone have done a good job by showing that some prisons can turn out to be absolute hell.What did not work in their favor is the fact that most of scenes related to prison life and William Haye's treatment by Turkish authorities have been grossly exaggerated. To state that British director Alan Parker's film Midnight Express is a highly controversial work of art would be akin to twisting history.It is a film entirely based on perceptions.One must watch "Le Trou" by Jacques Becker if somebody is looking for a commendable film based on prison life.

Ok I'll try not to be subjective as the movie itself while judging it, whereas it'll be hard. Now, it has its pluses and minuses like all the movies ever made in the history of cinema. Nothing wrong with that for sure. What's wrong, though, is that, the minuses override the pluses in this movie BIG TIME! Life in a Turkish prison might not be anywhere close to a vacation in Hawaii, but the situation is exaggerated 5 million times in this movie. First of all, foreigners are always treated nicer than locals in Turkey, in all aspects of society, including the prisons. Second, this Hayes guy wasn't imprisoned just because everyone in the prison was ugly and the prison needed a handsome detainee, he was imprisoned because he was trafficking DRUGS! Even in Holland, where the law permits the use of hash, trafficking so much stuff would be enough to make one look at the world through the jail bars. For those who don't know: There was another American guy who went to prison in Turkey at about the same time as Hayes, for the same crime. And upon watching this revolting movie, he wrote a book about his experience in the "tourist cell" of a Turkish prison, and he clearly states Hayes is a big time BS thrower and his life in the Turkish prison was exactly as good as a life in any prison could have been. So one could easily tell that the storyline on this movie is not necessarily imaginary, but an absolute exaggeration of the reality.

Enough about the story, now let's talk about the cinematography itself. Well.. It's BAD! The Turkish lawyer and the Turkish prisoners speaking Turkish with an Italian accent, the Turkish judge speaking Turkish with an American accent, the Turkish prosecutor played by an Armenian terrorist speaking in a terrible Armenian accent.. That's hillarious! Also, everyone who plays a Turkish role in the movie is ugly as hell. Women all wear ninja-suits. Well, what else? Or do we need any other reason to say this movie is a failure? It's so obvious that the director is tearing up his rear to make Turks and Turkey look bad. And if it takes such an obvious try to do that, it means his filmmaking skills are not good enough to manifest his message.

If you want to see a movie that's showing things 0 out of which are the least bit real, and if you want to lose all your respect to director Alan Parker, go watch this movie right now! But if you just want a good movie, avoid it at all costs, it'll make you nauseous.