HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Midnight Express

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

Studio: Sony/Columbia 

Year: 1978 

Rated: R 

Program Length: 121 minutes 

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p 

Languages: English, French, Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1; English Mono 

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish

The Program

Midnight Express is a harrowing tale about a young American, Billy Hayes, who is arrested while trying to fly home from Turkey in 1970 with a modest stash of hashish taped to his body. While under most circumstances it would be difficult to feel sympathy for a drug smuggler, the brutality to which Hayes is subjected will make even the most passionate anti-drug activist root for him. Although Hayes is originally sentenced to a relatively light four-year prison sentence, Turkish law allows prosecutors to appeal sentences with which they does not agree. Less than two months before Hayes is scheduled to be released, the Turkish High Court throws out Hayes’ drug possession conviction and pronounces him guilty of drug smuggling, which carries a sentence of thirty years.

Based upon a true story, but considerably fictionalized, Midnight Express was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay (Oliver Stone) and Best Original Score (Giorgio Moroder). The film also was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Alan Parker), and Best Supporting Actor (John Hurt). It features a bravura theatrical debut by the late Brad Davis as Hayes. Davis took home a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Acting Debut (male). There also is excellent supporting work by Randy Quaid as a fellow prisoner. Irene Miracle, who won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Acting Debut (female), plays Hayes’ girlfriend.

Midnight Express was a difficult sell to the studio, which was expecting more of a thriller and was squeamish about releasing a film which had a convicted drug smuggler as its protagonist. Nevertheless, the film proved to be a major hit, albeit a somewhat controversial one. Turkey complained about the way the country is portrayed in the film, and years later both Oliver Stone and the real Billy Hayes apologized to the Turks – sort of. Stone says that he never actually apologized, though he did express regret that the film was seen by some as anti-Turk.

I recall being on the edge of my seat while watching this film in a theater 31 years ago, and it has lost none of its impact. I guarantee that anyone who watches Midnight Express will always take extra care to avoid antagonizing the authorities while traveling in foreign countries. It is one of the more highly-regarded films of the 1970s and is highly recommended.

The Video

The 1.85:1 1080p widescreen transfer is very nice and smooth. There is a minimal but appropriate amount of grain, good contrast, and accurate flesh tones. There are many dark scenes but shadow detail is reasonably good. The Blu-ray transfer is a noticeable improvement over the 30^th Anniversary DVD, but there are some inherent limitations which prevent it from being a demo disc. Some of the scenes were filmed with a deliberately hazy look, and others are done is slightly soft focus. On the other hand, during the scene where Hayes is being questioned by a customs officer at the Istanbul airport, you can count the beads of sweat on his forehead and face. Sony has been doing an excellent job of late at producing Blu-rays discs of older films which retain the look of film, and Midnight Express is no exception.

The Audio

The original soundtrack was recorded in mono, so fans of the film will be happy to learn that the mono soundtrack has been preserved here. There also is a remixed Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, which adds some dimensionality and sounded perfectly satisfactory to my ears. Both soundtracks convey the dialogue very well and I did not detect any distortion or other annoying anomalies.

The Supplements

The extras include a booklet written by director Alan Parker, which essentially is his memoir of the making of the film. The booklet includes a number of photographs, including a color photo of Brad Davis, John Hurt and Alan Parker with the real Billy Hayes at the Cannes Film Festival. Parker makes some insightful comments about the “truth” of Midnight Express:

Certainly, it was based on a true story. But that doesn’t mean that it was a true story. As I have tried to re-count here, it had gone through too many hands and minds with too many agendas to be totally true. What is truth anyway, with such a project?

There also is a commentary track by the director and three featurettes about the production of Midnight Express, all of which originally appeared on the 30^th Anniversary DVD. “The Producers” focuses on Peter Guber, David Puttnam and Alan Marshall, who produced the film. “The Production” covers how the film was cast, how the locations were chosen, etc. “The Finished Film” relates how the film was marketed, including the decision to have its premiere at Cannes. The featurettes include interviews with Alan Parker, Billy Hayes, John Hurt, and Oliver Stone.

The one extra which did not appears on the 30^th Anniversary DVD is billed as “The Making of Midnight Express,” but it is actually a short film from 1978 entitled “I’m Healthy, I’m Alive and I’m Free.” It runs for seven minutes and intersperses footage from the film with reflections by the really Billy Hayes.

The Packaging

The single disc comes in book-style keep case in which the booklet is bound.

The Final Analysis

Midnight Express is an iconic film of the 1970s and is highly recommended. As Alan Parker says, he had to decide between making a prison film or an escape film, and he ended up making one of the most powerful prison films I have ever seen.

Equipment used for this review:

Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player

Sharp LC-42D62U LCD display

Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver

BIC Acoustech speakers

Interconnects: Monster Cable

Release Date: July 21, 2009