--- title: "Midnight Express: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/midnight-express/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/midnight-express" critics_score: 56 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Midnight Express (1978): what the critics said Critics' score 56 from 11 reviews: 5 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics agree that Alan Parker directs with real force and that the prison itself is convincingly built: a closed, frightening world that several reviews say still holds up decades on. Brad Davis is praised almost everywhere, John Hurt more than once, and Oliver Stone’s screenplay has admirers for its raw momentum. Roughly half the reviews come down in the film’s favour. The split is wide, and it turns on what the film asks us to feel. The reservations cluster on its portrayal of Turks as uniformly corrupt and sadistic, on how far it departs from Hayes’s own account, and on its readiness to let the audience enjoy the brutality while feeling only for the American at its centre. The New Yorker goes furthest, condemning it as xenophobic fantasy; Radio Times gives it full marks while conceding the same criticisms are valid. Empire admires it as exploitation and names its racism in the same breath. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 5/5. Despite valid criticisms of its sympathetic portrayal of drug traffickers, violence and stereotypes, it remains a superbly staged drama that forces consideration of moral themes through its excesses. Directed with power by Alan Parker, it features outstanding performances especially from Brad Davis and John Hurt. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-izonmo/midnight-express/) ## Empire — Adam Smith Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls Alan Parker's film a masterpiece of exploitation cinema that grips the audience through tension and sympathy for the lead. They single out Oliver Stone's bombastic script for praise while noting its misleading basis in fact, racism and gratuitous violence. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/midnight-express-review/) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Rating B-. 6 February 2008. The film converts Hayes' story into an exploitative yet meditative prison drama that succeeds when focusing on the psychological toll but falters with its racist depictions of Turks as uniformly corrupt and sadistic. It features strong work from the cast and a notable synth score but is at war with itself in its handling of extreme material. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/midnight-express-1798203725) ## Time Out — TR Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The film is a heavily fictionalised account of an American on a drug charge enduring hell in a Turkish jail. Performances lend some depth, but it prioritises clear-cut emotional impact over moral nuance and effectively panders to audience instincts as a thriller. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/midnight-express-1) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 1978. The critic praises director Alan Parker's creation of a fully realized prison world and its terror but objects to the film's eagerness to generate sympathy for the protagonist and its over-the-top indignation toward the Turks. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/midnight-express-1978) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1977. The review finds the cast, direction and production very good but faults the muddled, moralizing screenplay for its difficulty in sorting proper empathies and its Anglo-American hand-wringing over alien cultures. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1977/film/reviews/midnight-express-1200424212/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 December 1978. The piece criticizes the film for its relentless savaging of the audience through atrocities and grotesque tirades, noting its changeable morality that allows viewers to thrill to depravity without feeling compromised. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/14/archives/critics-notebook-2-hit-films-without-gimmicks-flops-make-comebacks.html) ## The Times — Ed Potton Rating ★★★★☆. 22 June 2018. The critic describes Alan Parker’s film as one of the most disturbing — and problematic — re-creations of incarceration on film. It taps into the potent fear of losing liberty far from home. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/film-review-midnight-express-1978-08dtvt7f6) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 20 November 1978. The critic condemns the film as a mean-spirited, manipulative exercise in sadomasochistic and xenophobic fantasy that piles on horrors and dehumanizes Turks while sanctimoniously victimizing the protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/11/27/movie-yellow-journalism) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2004. The critic praises the film's enduring power as a hard-hitting account of incarceration, noting its authentic depiction and strong performances, particularly Brad Davis's. They single out the restraint in violence and lack of subtitles for authenticity. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/midnight-express-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## HeyUGuys — Dave Roper Rating 4/5. 20 December 2011. The review highlights the film's powerful indictment of brutality and corruption, commending Brad Davis's performance and Alan Parker's direction. It notes the harshness but finds it worthwhile for its message on justice. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/midnight-express-bluray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md