Midnight Express (1978)

Directed by Alan Parker. Starring Brad Davis, John Hurt, Randy Quaid, Paolo Bonacelli, Bo Hopkins, Paul L. Smith, Franco Diogene, Norbert Weisser, Peter Jeffrey, Mike Kellin, Irene Miracle, Kevork Malikyan, Gigi Ballista. [R]

Harrowing story of Billy Hayes (Davis), an American caught at Istanbul Airport trying to smuggle a couple kilos of hashish out of Turkey. Authorities make an example out of him and he is given a lengthy prison sentence where he’s subjected to relentless punishment and sadism. Grim and powerful drama without a worthy subject, as Hayes only earns sympathy through basic pleas for humanity and mercy, and Davis’ uncertain performance never crafts an added dimension to his unconvincing transition from amoral narcissist to tyrannized victim. The film also suffers from its narrative reduction to a raft of torturous horrors, and the relentless anti-Turkish stereotyping and vilification (which screenwriter Oliver Stone apologized for many years later), but Parker’s authority over the material—much of it exaggerated or outright fictionalized—can’t be dismissed, and a few of the supporting performances are excellent (especially fellow prisoner Hurt, a frail British heroin addict). Geoffrey Kirkland’s production design and Evan Hercules’ art direction of the prison are vivid and hard to shake; Giorgio Moroder’s throbbing, fevered music won an Academy Award (the first for a fully-synthesized score). Stone’s script also won an Oscar, adapted from Hayes and William Hoffer’s book.

75/100