MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978)

Today’s Must see Movie is MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978), in recognition of the talents and career of Alan Parker, who sadly passed away one year ago on this day.

Although the Oscar winning screenplay by Oliver Stone took liberties from the source material, an account of Billy Hayes’ experience in a Turkish prison as told in a non-fiction book of the same name, the bold direction from Parker establishes a strong sense of a place and dread. Mixed in with the legendary music track, ‘Chase’ by Giorgio Moroder (who won an Oscar for score), and the solid performances from Brad Davis and others such as John Hurt, and what we have is a tense watch. Starting with the opening sequence and then we descend into grave despair and endurance, and then equally tense final scene, heart beats and all, the emotions the film evokes lingers well after the story resolves.

A testimony to the strength of Parker’s direction is that even though we know what is about to happen we still get caught up in hoping for different results, even in follow-up viewings.

What’s also interesting to me is where the film has landed with connections with pop culture, which includes comedic references in AIRPLANE! (1980) and THE CABLE GUY (1996), the inspiration for a wrestling tag team, and the theme music for the overnight talk radio show “Coast to Coast” that most often is exploring paranormal topics or conspiracy theories.

Although one conspiracy the show could cover is why didn’t MIDNIGHT EXPRESS propel Brad Davis into a bigger career, he was nominated for a BAFTA and won a Golden Globe for the role.

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS is available for streaming through Crave and CTV apps.