Midnight Express

Midnight Express, motion picture drawn from the true story of an American student in Turkey caught and imprisoned for trying to smuggle hashish out of the country, and based on the bestseller by Billy Hayes and William Hoffer. Released in 1978, this Academy Award-winning film stars Brad Davis as author Hayes. The Turkish government decides to make an example of the smug student and sentences him to 30 years in prison without parole. Conditions in the Turkish prison are terrifying. A gigantic, brutish guard continuously tortures the prisoners and eventually Hayes begins to lose his mind. He is sent to a wing of the prison for the insane, where the near-comatose men walk endlessly around a large stone pillar. There are rumors, though, of an underground escape system, known as the Midnight Express. Future director Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay for this film.

Director

• Alan Parker

Cast

• Brad Davis (Billy Hayes)
• Randy Quaid (Jimmy Booth)
• Bo Hopkins (Tex)
• John Hurt (Max)
• Paul Smith (Hamidou)
• Mike Kellin (Mr. Hayes)
• Norbert Weisser (Erich)
• Irene Miracle (Susan)
• Paolo Bonacelli (Rifki)
• Michael Ensign (Stanley Daniels)
• Franco Diogene (Yesil)
• Kevork Malikyan (Prosecutor)
• Mihalis Yannatos (Translator)
• Gigi Ballista (Chief judge)
• Tony Boyd (Aslan)
• Peter Jeffrey (Ahmet)
• Ahmed El Shenawi (Negdir)
• Zanninos Zanninou (Turkish detective)
• Dimos Starenios (Ticket seller)

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Music—Original Score (1978): Giorgio Moroder
• Academy Award for Best Writing—Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (1978): Oliver Stone
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama (1978)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Acting Debut—Female (1978): Irene Miracle
• Golden Globe Award for Best Acting Debut—Male (1978): Brad Davis
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (1978): John Hurt
• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score—Motion Picture (1978): Giorgio Moroder
• Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay—Motion Picture (1978): Oliver Stone