Midnight Express is a 1978 Alan Parker film based on Billy Hayes' book of the same name adapted into screenplay by Oliver Stone. Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey. The movie deviates from the book's accounts of the story, especially in its portrayal of Turks, to such a level that many have criticized the movie version, including Billy Hayes himself. Later, both Oliver Stone and...
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Midnight Express is a 1978 Alan Parker film based on Billy Hayes' book of the same name adapted into screenplay by Oliver Stone. Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey. The movie deviates from the book's accounts of the story, especially in its portrayal of Turks, to such a level that many have criticized the movie version, including Billy Hayes himself. Later, both Oliver Stone and Billy Hayes expressed their regret on how Turkish people were portrayed in the movie. It starred Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith, Randy Quaid, Norbert Weisser, Peter Jeffrey and John Hurt. Alan Parker directed and David Puttnam produced. The film's title is prison slang for an inmate's escape attempt.
The film is described as "one of ... earlier coups" of Kirk Kerkorian -who then was the owner of MGM. The coup was to "green light Midnight Express" which depicts Turkey "with insult". New York Magazine...
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