the fresh films reviews

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Midnight Express (1978)

Director:
Alan Parker
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Drama/Thriller
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Midnight Express
RUNNING TIME
121 minutes
Producer:
David Puttnam
Alan Parker
Screenwriter (based on the book by Billy Hayes):
Oliver Stone


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Billy Hayes Brad Davis
Jimmy Booth Randy Quaid
Tex Bo Hopkins
Max John Hurt ½
Hamidou Paul Smith
Mr. Hayes Mike Kellin ½
Rifkin Paolo Bonacelli ½
Yesil Franco Diogene
Stanley Daniels Michael Ensign
Susan Irene Miracle

 

Review

The Turks were mad as, well Turks, at the way their people and prisons were portrayed in this hard-hitting drama from Alan Parker, based on the true story of American Billy Hayes who was arrested for smuggling hashish out of Turkey. If you're able to maintain a critical eye towards the political stance the film offers, however, this is expert storytelling with powerful human observations from start to finish. Oliver Stone's script borders on the speculative, but it is extremely well-written and considerate enough to be highly effective. The young screenwriter romanticises characters and criticises systems - like he has done so many times subsequently in his career. And director Alan Parker, in his first American feature, obviously speaks the same language. They know that the more brutality and hardship they subject Brad Davis, John Hurt and Randy Quaid to, the sweeter the payoff will be. And it works - mainly because Davis gives one of the most incredible physical and emotional performances in the history of modern cinema.

 

Copyright © 23.8.2009 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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