MIDNIGHT EXPRESS [1978 / 2009] [Deluxe Limited Edition DigiBook] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
It’s About Never Giving Up Hope! Brilliantly Made . . . Frighteningly True!
‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ is the harrowing story of Billy Hayes [Brad Davis], a young American tourist condemned to a Turkish prison for his futile attempt to smuggle hashish out of the country. A victim of ineffectual diplomacy, where Billy Hayes is made an example by a corrupt legal system. Sentenced to 30 years and must overcome some ruthless brutality and his own descent into madness in order to survive and hopefully escape.
‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ is powerfully directed by Alan Parker, who inspires searing performances from Brad Davis, John Hurt and Randy Quaid. It is an unforgettable look at one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, and one man’s fight to get home.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1978 Cannes Film Festival: Nomination: Palme d'Or for Alan Parker. 1978 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Music for Giorgio Moroder. Nomination: Best Picture. Nomination: Best Director for Alan Parker. 1979 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Oliver Stone. Win: Best Music for an Original Score for Giorgio Moroder. Nomination: Best Picture for Alan Marshall and David Puttnam. Nomination: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for John Hurt. Nomination: Best Director for Alan Parker. Nomination: Best Film Editing for Gerry Hambling. 1979 Golden Globes: Win: Best Motion Picture in a Drama. Win: Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for John Hurt. Win: Best Motion Picture for a Male Acting Debut for Brad Davis. Win: Best Motion Picture for a Female Acting Debut for Irene Miracle. Win: Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture for Oliver Stone. Win: Best Original Score in a Motion Picture for Giorgio Moroder. Nomination: Best Director in a Motion Picture for Alan Parker. Nomination: Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Brad Davis. 1979 BAFTA Film Awards: Win: Best Direction for Alan Parker. Win: Best Film Editing for Gerry Hambling. Win: Best Supporting Actor for John Hurt. Nomination: Best Actor for Brad Davis. Nomination: Best Film. Nomination: Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for Brad Davis. 1979 Directors Guild of America: Nomination: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Alan Parker. 1979 Writers Guild of America: Win: Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium for Oliver Stone.
FILM FACT No.2: Although the story is set largely in Turkey, the movie was filmed almost entirely at Fort Saint Elmo in Valletta, Malta, after permission to film in Istanbul was denied. Ending credits of the movie state: "Made entirely on location in Malta and recorded at EMI Studios, Borehamwood by Columbia Pictures Corporation Limited 19/23 Wells Street, London, W1 England." In the movie, Billy Hayes is in Turkey with his girlfriend when he is arrested, but in the original story, he is alone. Although Billy Hayes spends 17 days in the prison's psychiatric hospital in 1972 in the book, he never bites out anyone's tongue, which in the film, leads to him being committed to the section for the criminally insane.
Cast: Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith, Randy Quaid, Norbert Weisser, John Hurt, Mike Kellin, Franco Diogene, Michael Ensign, Gigi Ballista, Kevork Malikyan, Peter Jeffrey, Joe Zammit Cordina, Yashar Adem, Raad Rawi, Tony Boyd, Zanninos Zanninou, Michael Yannatos, Vic Tablian, Ahmed El Shenawi and Alan Parker (Long-Haired Man at Airport) (uncredited)
Director: Alan Parker
Producers: Alan Marshalls, David Puttnam and Peter Guber
Screenplay: Oliver Stone (screenplay), William Hayes (book) and William Hoffer (book)
Composer: Giorgio Moroder
Cinematography: Michael Stephen Seresin, O.N.Z.M., B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Surround
English: 1.0 LPCM Dolby Digital Mono Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Surround
Português: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Surround
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Português and Spanish
Running Time: 121 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Alan Parker's ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ is a tough, troubling, difficult picture. It's thoroughly unpleasant to watch, loaded as it is with brutal assaults and grisly torture and people losing their minds; it also includes some cringe-inducing xenophobic attitudes and dialogue (which screenwriter Oliver Stone later apologised for). It's structurally wobbly, and full of odd interludes. But you can't deny director Alan Parker's ability to work over an audience; his direction is tight and sometimes unbearably tense, and he manages to draw us in to a story with a serious shortage of sympathetic characters, primarily through the sheer brute force of his imagery.
The film is based on the true story (reportedly much exaggerated) of Billy Hays [Brad Davis]. An American on vacation in Istanbul with his girlfriend Susan [Irene Miracle] in 1970, Billy Hays tries to smuggle a couple of kilos of hash back to the United States, only to get busted and sent, indefinitely, into a Turkish prison (the film single-handedly made "Turkish prison" synonymous with "living hell"). With the help of his father Mr. Hayes [Mike Kellin], in a fine performance of deeply felt frustration and an expensive lawyer, he gets a three-year sentence for possession, but fifty-three days from the conclusion of that term, a higher court overturns the sentence and instead finds him guilty of smuggling for a thirty-year stint. This is around the time he starts looking to escape, and by the time that fails, he has gone a little bit crazy.
The strength of Oliver Stone's screenplay and Alan Parker's direction is in its portrayal of Billy Hayes slow, steady descent into real madness; it's that old saw about how, if you treat a man like an animal, he'll turn into one. When Hayes makes the switch, Alan Parker is ready with a full arsenal of stylistic tricks: slow-motion photography, scary music, abstract sound, and plenty of blood and gore. But it's a slippery slope to get him there; the primary difficulty with telling this particular story is that you're asking an audience to sympathize and identify with a protagonist who is, semantics and connotations aside, a drug smuggler. And at the time he commits that crime that is literally all we know about him, Alan Parker and Oliver Stone parachute into the action at the last possible moment, beginning the film with Billy Hayes strapping the hash to his body and heading to the airport. There's no denying how unnerving the customs sequence is to watch; it's scored with heartbeat percussion and builds up some genuine tension, in spite of the fact that we know he's not going to get away with it, if he did, there'd be no film. But that speaks to the skill of Alan Parker's filmmaking; since we know nothing about this guy, we've got no good reason to want him to get away with it. In the scenes that follow, Oliver Stone's best notion for getting us on the protagonist's side seems to be making Billy Hayes into a dumb, naïve kid, and letting us see how he is ruined by this corrupt, foreign, evil system (never mind that the good ol' U.S.A which is not exactly renowned for the common sense proportionality of drug sentencing).
Not long after that, Billy Hayes finds himself in court, having his sentence upped. This is one of the more troublesome scenes in the picture; his big courtroom speech, which includes some of the most obviously anti-Turkish sentiments of the film, is full of the less-than-subtle dialogue and reckless hyperbole that have been a thorn in the side of Oliver Stone's critics in the years to come. For all of its problems, however, ‘Midnight Express’ is unquestionably effective. Parker seems to see it, first and foremost, as an antsy, jittery mood piece, he doesn't let a lot of sunshine in to his frames, and his handling of the story's violence is demanding and relentless. The direction is particularly compact during a nervy escape attempt; he shoots and cuts the sequence with razor sharpness, made stronger by the choice to go without music. The score itself, by Giorgio Moroder, is a mixed bag; renowned at the time for its innovative use of synthesizers, it was the first all-synth score to win an OSCAR®, the dread-filled music works beautifully in the first act, but is alternately bombastic, syrupy, and button-pushy through the rest of the film. We've seen before how nothing can date a film quicker than an inappropriate score, and that's often the case here. But as you will hear from the Extras, that Vangelis was Alan Parker’s preferred choice and I feel it would have been a far more of a superior music score and I think Alan Parker was rather miffed at being over ruled by the studio executives.
The performances are interesting, if not altogether successful. A young, thin Randy Quaid is a little over the top, but Paul Smith is a terrifying presence, and John Hurt turns in a quiet, skilful performance. Brad Davis's performance mostly works and he does the turn from in-too-deep bonehead to a slobbering mess, believably and done very smoothly. His only real fumble comes in the scene where he finds out about the change in his sentence and loses his cool; Brad Davis, at least in this film, is better in reactive mode, and he can't quite land this scene where he blusters and yells and must command the screen. But for the most part, he is a fine anchor for this graphic, vivid, forceful film.
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS MUSIC TRACK LIST
INSTANBUL BLUES (Written by Oliver Stone and William Hayes) (Arrangement and lyrics by David Castle) (Acoustic / Electric Guitars by Patrick McClure) (Drums, Percussion: Jerry Summers) (Strings: Fritz Sonnleitner, Sid Sharp) (Bass: Rick Tierney) (Piano, Electric Piano, Clavinet: David Castle) [Vocals by David Castle].
LOVE’S THEME (Composed By Giorgio Moroder) (Arranged By Harold Faltermeyer and Giorgio Moroder)
(Theme From) MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Vocal) (Music composed by Giorgio Moroder) (Arranged By [String And Horn] Greg Mathieson and Harold Faltermeyer) (Vocals and Lyrics By Chris Bennett) [Performed by Chris Bennett]
THE CHASE (uncredited) (Music composed by Giorgio Moroder)
SEVEN GÖZLERIM (uncredited) [Performed by Biricik] (Starting train station scene)
BIT SANS DAHA VER (uncredited) [by Huri Sapan / Published by Elenor Müzik]
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ makes its high-definition debut with a very good solid 1080p image presentation and it also looks quite good at the same time, especially for a film that was released in 1978. Skin tones are very natural looking, fine grain is present but not distracting, and the 1.85:1 aspect ratio looks equally impressive. There are no scratches, dirt, or other age artefacts. Alan Parker and Cinematographer Michael Stephen Seresin work gives us an almost earth like colour palate, especially heavy on the browns, and some of the wide shots, particularly in the opening sequence, are almost sepia-toned. But within its limited saturation, the colours are rich and full and the same goes for the black levels, a considerable feat in which we view scenes in the film with the dark scenes, especially when Billy Hayes emerges from a dense swath of darkness, is particularly notable, and also captured is the wonderful silhouette shot of John Hurt smoking and calling out for his cat. The attention to detail is marvellous, particularly the grime and muck of the prison walls. With no compression artefacts, edge enhancement, this is about as good a presentation as we could hope for.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ is presented with a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD surround mix isn't quite as impressive, primarily because the picture's claustrophobic sound design doesn't present many opportunities to spread the audio throughout the soundstage. Most of the noteworthy environmental sound work comes early in the film, during an Istanbul street scene and subsequent chase. The rest of the audio is mostly geared towards the front channels, with the exception of some distributed music cues. Dialogue is mostly audible and clear; though the entire track is mixed a bit too low and I had to crank my system up much higher than usual.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Alan Parker: Alan Parker delivers a cogent talk in which he reminisces about the production. There is some repetition of content with the booklet essay, but Alan Parker attempts to focus here more on the production logistics, his directorial choices, and his desire for "authenticity." In both the essay and the commentary, Alan Parker is very frank about his difficult working relationship with Oliver Stone.
Special Feature: The Producers [2009] [1080i] [1.78:1] [26:00] Part One of the documentary features interviews with producers Peter Guber, David Puttnam and Alan Marshall. They cover the genesis of the project, the hiring of Stone, the casting and the studio wanted Richard Gere; Dennis Quaid was also in the running, and working off the studio radar with a low budget. We also get an interview with Brad Davis (archive footage) (uncredited).
Special Feature: The Production [2008] [1080i] [1.78:1] [25:00] Oliver Stone describes writing with a sense of anger and urgency. Alan Parker explains how he got attached to the project, scouting locations, shooting in Malta, and working with John Hurt. Contributors include: Alan Parker, David Puttnam, Billy Hayes, Oliver Stone, Alan Marshall, Peter Guber, John Hurt, Brad Davis (archive footage) (uncredited) and Paul L. Smith (archive footage) (uncredited).
Special Feature: The Finished Film [2008] [1080i] [1.78:1] [24:00] Here we get more stories about Brad Davis's eccentricity, the decision to avoid subtitling the foreign dialogue, the photography, the score, and the film's controversial reception at Cannes. Contributors include: Alan Parker, John Hurt, Alan Marshall, Peter Guber, Oliver Stone, David Puttnam, Brad Davis (archive footage) (uncredited), Mike Kellin (archive footage) (uncredited) and Paul L. Smith (archive footage) (uncredited).
Special Feature: The Making of ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ [1977] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:27] Here we are presented with a very grainy, but wonderful piece and it’s on-screen title is "I'm Healthy, I'm Alive, and I'm Free." This documentary treats film fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS,’ the now-classic film about a young man arrested in Turkey for drug smuggling and thrown into a horrifying prison hell. Includes footage of the filming process, as well as interviews with members of the cast and crew, who give their insights into what it was like working together on this project and the efforts it took to bring the film to completion. The heavy-handed voice-over narration by Ken Minyard, introduces us to the real William Hayes (aka Billy Hayes) as he roams the streets of New York, before showing us clips from the film and on-set interviews with William Hayes and Peter Guber, plus a New York interview with William Hayes Sr. (William Hayes's father). Contributors include: Ken Minyard (Narrator), William Hayes, Peter Guber, William Hayes Sr., Brad Davis (archive footage) (uncredited), Michael Ensign (archive footage) (uncredited), Mike Kellin (archive footage) (uncredited), Irene Miracle (archive footage) (uncredited) and Paul L. Smith (archive footage) (uncredited).
Special Feature: Photo Gallery [2009] [1080p] [1.78:1] [13:00] It includes a few shots from the set, but mostly presents a montage of production photo images from the film.
Theatrical Trailers: Several SONY Blu-ray titles, we get clips for ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ‘A River Runs Through It,’ ‘Not Easily Broken,’ ‘Obsessed,’ ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Damages Season One’ though, unfortunately, the Trailer for ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ isn't one of them, round off the bonus features.
BONUS: Includes a fascinating and amazing 32-page booklet that includes many glossy photos, storyboard sketches, and an in-depth essay by director Alan Parker about his experiences of making the film and the difficult problems he had with Oliver Stone. The essay is very thorough; in fact, it covers pretty much all of the information repeated in the special feature documentaries included on the Blu-ray disc.
Finally, superbly crafted and emotionally involving, the film ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ often defeats the moral quagmire as presented in the film and the controversial aspects of its screenplay through sheer film making brilliance. Managing to turn a drug-smuggling character into a sympathetic figure due to his disdainful treatment in a totally brutish and hellish foreign prison and taking liberties with a true story for dramatic and artistic licence. ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ certainly deserves the accolades bestowed upon it at the Academy Awards® despite the subject matter and the controversial depiction thereof makes it a rather unique film in the annals of cinema history. No matter one's take on this representation of William Hayes's story, there is no denying the artistic merits of ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ that brings to the table, its superb technical achievements reason alone to watch. This Blu-ray release of ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ enhances the film and there is plenty of bonus materials information with this brilliant beautiful "DigiBook." Since its release in 1978, ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ continues to impress. However harrowing and unpleasant, the film delivers a strong sense of dynamic verisimilitude (meaning “the appearance of being true or real”) and creates a good look at a very desperate and miserable situation for William Hayes. The Blu-ray offers better than expected picture quality, acceptable audio presentation, and a few nice interesting extras; the audio commentary proves particularly enjoyable, but slightly pedestrian and matter of fact and ever since I viewed this film, it has always burned an amazing image of viewing a great directed film, that deserved all the awards it garnered and on top of all that it also a very character driven film with a stunning screenplay and now it has gone pride of place in my Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
