Max: The best thing to do is to get your ass out of here. Best way that you can.
Billy Hayes: Yeah, but how?
Max: Catch the midnight express.
Billy Hayes: But what's that?
Max: [laughs] Well it's not a train. It's a prison word for... escape. But it doesn't stop around here.
First saw this when it came out in 1978, used to work in a hotel in Torquay, had afternoons off and wandered down to the local cinema occasionally. It had quite an effect on me back then, really powerful stuff.
OK, it does not portray the Turkish people in a good light, and it does play fast and loose with the original 'true' story (but then all 'true' stories are always based on, adapted from or something similar...nothing is ever 100% true in a movie version of a true story).
But even today it's still a very brutal, emotional rollercoaster ride of a movie.
Brad Davis was an absolute revalation in the main role of Billy Hayes, he just comptelely immersed himself in the role and embodied that character. An incredibly intense and powerful performance - and I never understood why he never went on to bigger things.
The scene where he is in the courtroom and delivers a devastating speech when he learns of his sentence in quite incredible, as is the moment where he completely loses it and demolishes a washroom.
John Hurt got an Oscar for best supporting actor, Davis got nothing, faded into obscurity and tragically died of aiRAB in the 80's.
And who could forget the big sweaty sadistic guard Hamidou...always slapping people around, punching them or brutally raping them even. He even beats the sh*t out of his own kiRAB in front of the prisoners!
And Rifki...a truly loathsome character, a sort of 'trustee' of the prison who rips off the prisoners by selling them shoddy gooRAB at inflated prices. One of the most powerful moments in the film is when Davis exacts revenge on Rifki, shocking because Davis goes absolutely berserk to the point that he looks like he actually harms himself, then smacks Rifki's head against the edge of a stone staircase, bites his tongue off and spits it out.
I can remember cheers in the cinema whan that scene came on when I first saw it.
If there is any light relief in the film, and there really is precious little, it's provided by Randy Quaid as american Jimmy Booth, who always seems to have a hare-brained scheme in his head to break out...which inevitably fails miserably.
Another scene that always sticks in my mind is the 'wheel', when Hayes is in the sanitarium, and the inmates have a sort of daily exercise routine where they walk around in a circle for hours. Part of the plot of the movie involves Hayes escape and realising he has to get himself in shape mentally if he is to escape - so he goes to the 'wheel' and walks in the opposite direction to everyone else. This is considered sacrilige, as 'a good Turk always walks to the right', and everyone tries to make him turn round and go the other way.
To digress slightly here, I used to have to travel into London on a Friday evening for a late shift at a previous job, and if you ever have to walk through Charing Cross station at 5.30 on a Friday night coming IN to town when everyone else is going OUT...that's exactly what it felt like!
I suppose we have to mention the masturbation scene...something that was probably considered taboo back then and to actually see it on screen was kind of embarassing at the time. But it was usually leavened by the usual nervous laughter in the cinema...and also because I am sure most people like me looked and thought 'what a bloody strange looking pair of t*ts!'
A word too for Giorgio Moroder's evocative and compelling score.
Racial faux pas notwithstanding, it's still a very well made and powerful movie with some stellar performances. Feelgood stuff it ain't, but if you're in the right mood it's still a good watch.
Billy Hayes: Yeah, but how?
Max: Catch the midnight express.
Billy Hayes: But what's that?
Max: [laughs] Well it's not a train. It's a prison word for... escape. But it doesn't stop around here.
First saw this when it came out in 1978, used to work in a hotel in Torquay, had afternoons off and wandered down to the local cinema occasionally. It had quite an effect on me back then, really powerful stuff.
OK, it does not portray the Turkish people in a good light, and it does play fast and loose with the original 'true' story (but then all 'true' stories are always based on, adapted from or something similar...nothing is ever 100% true in a movie version of a true story).
But even today it's still a very brutal, emotional rollercoaster ride of a movie.
Brad Davis was an absolute revalation in the main role of Billy Hayes, he just comptelely immersed himself in the role and embodied that character. An incredibly intense and powerful performance - and I never understood why he never went on to bigger things.
The scene where he is in the courtroom and delivers a devastating speech when he learns of his sentence in quite incredible, as is the moment where he completely loses it and demolishes a washroom.
John Hurt got an Oscar for best supporting actor, Davis got nothing, faded into obscurity and tragically died of aiRAB in the 80's.
And who could forget the big sweaty sadistic guard Hamidou...always slapping people around, punching them or brutally raping them even. He even beats the sh*t out of his own kiRAB in front of the prisoners!
And Rifki...a truly loathsome character, a sort of 'trustee' of the prison who rips off the prisoners by selling them shoddy gooRAB at inflated prices. One of the most powerful moments in the film is when Davis exacts revenge on Rifki, shocking because Davis goes absolutely berserk to the point that he looks like he actually harms himself, then smacks Rifki's head against the edge of a stone staircase, bites his tongue off and spits it out.
I can remember cheers in the cinema whan that scene came on when I first saw it.
If there is any light relief in the film, and there really is precious little, it's provided by Randy Quaid as american Jimmy Booth, who always seems to have a hare-brained scheme in his head to break out...which inevitably fails miserably.
Another scene that always sticks in my mind is the 'wheel', when Hayes is in the sanitarium, and the inmates have a sort of daily exercise routine where they walk around in a circle for hours. Part of the plot of the movie involves Hayes escape and realising he has to get himself in shape mentally if he is to escape - so he goes to the 'wheel' and walks in the opposite direction to everyone else. This is considered sacrilige, as 'a good Turk always walks to the right', and everyone tries to make him turn round and go the other way.
To digress slightly here, I used to have to travel into London on a Friday evening for a late shift at a previous job, and if you ever have to walk through Charing Cross station at 5.30 on a Friday night coming IN to town when everyone else is going OUT...that's exactly what it felt like!
I suppose we have to mention the masturbation scene...something that was probably considered taboo back then and to actually see it on screen was kind of embarassing at the time. But it was usually leavened by the usual nervous laughter in the cinema...and also because I am sure most people like me looked and thought 'what a bloody strange looking pair of t*ts!'
A word too for Giorgio Moroder's evocative and compelling score.
Racial faux pas notwithstanding, it's still a very well made and powerful movie with some stellar performances. Feelgood stuff it ain't, but if you're in the right mood it's still a good watch.