In June of 1972, Billy meets with his lawyer Yesil again with Yesil assuring him of convincing Turkish officials to lose his records before the high court in Ankara can review his case for the right amount of money. Billy is bored and uninterested at Yesil's visit, feeling it's all empty promises. Roger Ebert gave Midnight Express three stars out of four in a review that concluded, "The movie creates spellbinding terror, all right; my only objection is that it's so eager to have us sympathize with Billy Hayes." [13] Gene Siskel gave the film two and a half stars out of four and called it "a powerful film, but we leave the theater thinking it should have been more so. It was for that reason that I was persuaded to read the book, which is where I found the story I had been expecting to see on the screen." He also thought that Brad Davis "is simply not up to the lead role. He appears unsure of himself and, like the film itself, he overacts." [14] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote, "Acceptance of the film depends a lot on forgetting several things," namely that Hayes was smuggling drugs. Nevertheless, he thought Davis gave "a strong performance" and that "Alan Parker's direction and other credits are also admirable, once you swallow the specious and hypocritical story." [15] Charles Champlin, of the Los Angeles Times, was positive, writing that the film "has a kind of wailing, arid authenticity and enormous power. It is strong and uncompromising stuff, made bearable by its artistry and the saving awareness that Hayes, at least, slipped free and lived to tell the tale." [16] Gary Arnold, of The Washington Post, described the film as "outrageously sensationalistic" and "loaded with show-stopping fabrications," and wrote of the protagonist that "there's never a compelling reason for sympathizing with the callow boy he appears to be from start to finish." [17] Allegations of Turkophobia [ edit ] El libro es efectivo en trasmitir la desesperación de su protagonista por sobrevivir, por atravesar las paredes entre las que se encuentra recluido, por volver a su tierra, a lo que considera la vida. En su agonizante recorrido contemplamos los altibajos del alma humana y los golpes a la voluntad como inevitable consecuencia de un sistema judicial corrupto y un coexistir diario con la violencia, la desesperanza y la crudeza. Quest'estate ero in Svizzera, gironzolavo tra le bancarelle di Lugano e da lontano ho visto la copertina di questo libro, non sapevo neanche che prima del film ci fu il libro, potevo immaginarlo certamente, ma ci sono delle cose che dai per scontato e basta. Ammetto che ho tenuto da parte questo libro per un po' perchè avevo una paura folle che mi offuscasse uno dei miei film preferiti. Ma come ormai è regola poteva essere il libro inferiore al film? Certo che no, perchè se il film è maraviglioso, il libro è stupendo e ci sono voluti solo due giorni per leggerlo. A made-for-television documentary about the film, I'm Healthy, I'm Alive, and I'm Free (alternative title: The Making of Midnight Express), was released on January 1, 1977. It is seven minutes long, and features commentary from the cast and crew on how they worked together during production, and the effort it took from beginning to completion. It also includes footage from the creation of the film, and Hayes's emotional first visit to the prison set. [7] Differences from the book [ edit ]

Hayes has now written the sequel books, "Midnight Return (Escaping Midnight Express)" and "The Midnight Express Letters--from a Turkish Prison, 1970-1975", a collection of the original letters written home to family and friends during his imprisonment" There is a fleeting reference to the popular restaurant The Pudding Shop, in the bazaar. It is actually on Divan Yolu, the main avenue through historic Old Istanbul. On July 6th, 1881, a terrible storm raged and hit the Des Moines River valley. Rain poured all day long. Kate and her family watched as the river water kept rising in the Honey Creek. And soon enough the river flooded the banks and the yard.This movie is based loosely on Billy Hayes' book Midnight Express about his five year experience in the Turkish prison system. The movie was exaggerated for dramatic effect. But will she be able to get there in time? And how will she be able to navigate the thundering storm and pouring rain to get to the station? Kate must fight wind, rain and darkness and make her way over another bridge to get to the station. Interview with Billy Hayes about 'Midnight Express' on YouTube". Youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20 . Retrieved 2010-05-20.

But both the book and the movie were very damaging to U.S.-Turkish relations. Americans, as with most people, are only too willing to blame foreigners for their problems. The drug problem was already headline material at the time; President Nixon had declared “war” on the drug trade. I really shudder at those words now. Kate Shelley lived with her mother and younger siblings on a farm in Iowa. Their house overlooked the railroad line which ran over a bridge built on top of Honey Creek river. The movie differs from Hayes' account in his book. Among the differences is a scene in which Hayes kills the prison guard Hamid "the bear," the main antagonist of the story. In fact, the prison guard was killed in 1973 by a recently released prisoner, whose family Hamid insulted while beating the prisoner, years before Hayes' actual escape.Aunque ya sepas como termina la historia (lo cuenta la sinopsis), la pregunta del ¿cómo? se mantiene durante todo el libro. There was a film, screenplay by the wonderful Oliver Stone, which brought the descriptions in the book to life and made the escape much more exciting, as films do. Countries, like people, generally like to show the world only their good side and people certainly sometimes feel shame and humiliation when their unknown, other, darker side is exposed. Turkey certainly felt that the book, and to a much greater extent the film, harmed its international reputation. I wonder if it affected the prison system of the country or they were just careful to have some new, modern, model prisons to show journalists, the UN and other concerned organisations when they come calling? Rifki finds their secret in the kitchen the next morning after their unsuccessful escape attempt and immediately tells Hamidou. Hamidou suspects Jimmy of being responsible after what happened the first time and drags him off for punishment again, and is never seen from then on. Theme from Midnight Express" is sampled on J Dilla's "Phantom of the Synths", which is prominently used on " Gazzillion Ear", produced by J Dilla and performed by MF Doom, released in 2005 and 2009 respectively. [40] [41] That being said apparently the movie was not true to the real story. They changed some things and added others.

Expreso de medianoche nos narra la historia de William, "Billy", el mismo escritor, quién es condenado a 30 años en una prisión de Turquía. Midnight Express Making-Of: a Lesson in Filmmaking History". 6 February 2014. mentorless.com. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018 . Retrieved 6 July 2018. Me gustó mucho que el autor en ningún momento se priva de contar las cosas y los sentimientos que le van surgiendo, incluso en un momento llegó a sorprenderme. Giorgio Moroder's work "The Chase" is often used as bumper music on the American late-night radio talk show radio program Coast to Coast AM. [ citation needed] Flinn, John (9 January 2004). "The real Billy Hayes regrets 'Midnight Express' cast all Turks in a bad light". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012 . Retrieved 14 January 2012.

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Billy Hayes. Στους τίτλους τέλους παρατήρησα ότι πρόκειται για την αληθινή ιστορία του Hayes και η ταινία βασίστηκε στο αυτοβιογραφικό βιβλίο του το οποίο για κάποιο λόγο δεν είχα διαβάσει μέχρι σήμερα 25 περίπου χρονιά αφού είδα την ταινία. Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05 . Retrieved 2010-06-06. Billy Hayes and the Real Midnight Express | Manolith". Archived from the original on 2010-07-03 . Retrieved 2010-10-10. In the end, there are a few conventional, or at least retrospectively familiar aspects found along the overlong path that the film blandly, unevenly and often unsubtly treks, and is made compelling enough by decent scoring, outstanding cinematography, extensive scripting, audacious direction, and strong acting, - especially by Brad Davis - to make Alan Parker's "Midnight Express" a generally engrossing and ultimately rewarding dramatization of the horrors Billy Hayes faced in a problematic prison system. El libro es muy rápido de leer. Es narrado desde la perspectiva del protagonista y nos cuenta cada experiencia dentro de la prisión, a un ritmo muy rápido.