Is Midnight Express banned in Turkey?

Banned (and never released theatrically) in Turkey until 1992 when the private television channel HBB broadcast it. Billy Hayes courteously declines the amorous advances of one of his fellow inmates.

Why is Midnight Express controversial?

“It [Midnight Express] became a huge part of pop culture and it also had political ramifications,” the director says. “It was probably the most hated film ever in Turkey.” The prison warders are portrayed as sadistic, lazy and corrupt. The Turkish legal system likewise comes out of the film very badly.

What does Midnight Express stand for?

Midnight Express is a 1978 prison drama film directed by Alan Parker, produced by David Puttnam and written by Oliver Stone, based on Billy Hayes’s 1977 non-fiction book Midnight Express. The film’s title is prison slang for an inmate’s escape attempt.

What happened to the real guy in Midnight Express?

Hayes was imprisoned at Sağmalcılar prison in Istanbul after having spent one night in Sultanahmet Jail. On May 12, 1975, the Turkish Constitutional Court declared amnesty for all drug offenses, which shortened Hayes’ sentence from life to 30 years; he was transferred to İmralı prison on July 11, 1975.

When did the movie Midnight Express come out?

October 6, 1978 (USA)
Midnight Express/Release date

Is Midnight Express accurate?

The film was based on Hayes’ memoir of his time in a Turkish prison, during which he was beaten, had a mental breakdown, and saw his sentence increased from four years to life just as his original term was nearing its end. After five years, he made a dash for freedom – and, as it happened, a fair degree of fame.

Is Brad Davis still alive?

Deceased (1949–1991)
Brad Davis/Living or Deceased

What happened to William Hayes?

Hayes was arrested and jailed for trying to smuggle 4 ½ pounds of hashish out of Turkey in 1970. Caught at the airport as he was about to board his US bound plane, Hayes subsequently spent five years in jail in Turkey. He escaped from prison and upon his return to the US wrote a novel titled Midnight Express.

How Old Is Billy Hayes?

74 years (April 3, 1947)
Billy Hayes/Age

How old is Brad Davis?

87 years old
On Oct. 20, 2015, Davis was also inducted into the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The station’s owner confirmed Davis died Tuesday night. He was 87 years old.

Was Billy Hayes raped in Midnight Express?

In the book, Hayes is beaten once, but in the film his years behind bars are filled with horrific physical and mental torture. Stone’s version has a guard rape Hayes, but he was never sexually assaulted. And the consensual sexual relationship he had with another prisoner is left out.

Why was Billy Hayes in Turkey?

What is the story behind the book Midnight Express?

The…book and a movie later called “The Midnight Express”…was written by Billy Hayes who was caught smuggling hashish and then wrote about his experiences. He was from Long Island, a nice but naive young man. He was caught at the Istanbul airport with a whole pack of stuff on him — much too much to pretend that it was only for personal use.

Why did Billy Hayes go to jail in Midnight Express?

Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History. The 1978 movie “Midnight Express,” based on a book by Billy Hayes, and adapted into a screenplay by Oliver Stone, shows Hayes’ arrest for trafficking in hashish, his beatings and the squalid prison conditions. Though originally sentenced to a relatively mild four years, just two months before his release date,…

Is there a brutal treatment in the movie “American Beauty”?

When the movie was made, it included not only brutal treatment — there is a particularly savage scene in the movie when the young American bites the lip of a Turkish prison official who was abusing him. I don’t think any of those incidents ever occurred.

How did Billy escape from the Turks?

Billy finally escaped from his jail which was down on the Sea of Marmara. He walked off one day. I suspect that the Turks let him go, although no one has ever told me so. There were reasons to believe that the Turks knew that he would try to escape and that they let it happen.