Review of Midnight Express (1978) by Jonathan C — 01 Mar 2013

Haven't seen this in almost 10 years and it felt like the first time again. Whether or not the story is completely true to the actual events that took place, it's still fantastic. Edge of your seat from the very beginning in the airport till the very end.

And extremely powerful throughout giving a glimpse into Turkish criminal punishment. Director Alan Parker & writer Oliver Stone pretty much give their audience every reason to never step foot in the country.

Performances top to bottom are outstanding, especially Davis, Hurt and Quaid. Characters are wonderfully written. So many moving scenes; the dead cat, the masturbation, the spankings, the shower, the revenge on Rifki.

My favorite scene has to be after Billy talks to Susan and he's seen walking the circle in the opposite direction of his fellow insane inmates, before deciding to flea. And as he's walking towards the light, the Harvard professor stops to remind him he's a bad machine.

Midnight Express never loses energy which is what I love most about it.