12 noon - Midnight Express
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | 12 noon - Midnight Express |
| Original title | Midnight Express |
| Country of production |
United States , United Kingdom |
| original language | English , Turkish |
| Publishing year | 1978 |
| length | 121 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 (previously 18) |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alan Parker |
| script | Oliver Stone |
| production |
Peter Guber Alan Marshall David Puttnam |
| music | Giorgio Moroder |
| camera | Michael Seresin |
| cut | Gerry Hambling |
| occupation | |
| |
Midnight Express (Original title: Midnight Express ) is an American - British film drama directed by Alan Parker from 1978. The plot is based on the 1977 book "Midnight Express" by Billy Hayes .
action
The film tells the fictionalized story of the real American student Billy Hayes who tried to smuggle hashish out of Turkey .
Hayes was arrested at Istanbul Airport in 1970 and - on appeal - sentenced to 30 years in prison in 1974. He is mistreated in prison.
Billy wants to escape with fellow prisoners Max and Jimmy, but the plan is revealed. Max wants to kill the informant Rıfkı, but Billy persuades him to steal Rıfkı's hidden money instead. Rıfkı takes revenge by suspecting Max that he is dealing drugs in prison. Max is tortured for this, whereupon Billy kills Rıfkı. Billy is taken to the prison mental hospital.
In 1975 Billy received a photo album with hidden money from his friend Susan. He wants to bribe the guard Hamidou, but he is cheating on Billy. Billy kills him and flees in the uniform of the slain guard. After three days he reached the Greek border.
Reviews
- In the October 16, 1978 issue of TIME magazine , the film was described as a "repulsive sadomasochistic trip" with "strong homosexual undertones" . The influence of Sam Peckinpah has been suspected, accused of unnecessary violence in his films. Leading actor Brad Davis has been described as a "perfect imitation" of James Dean ; he could achieve cult status in "certain circles" . The staging of the film was praised (“wonderfully executed”) .
- Variety magazine praised the cast, the director and the film producers. The "moralizing" script, which was written from the point of view of Anglo-Saxon culture, was criticized .
- The film was described in the lexicon of international film as "deterrent" and was accused of "occasional racist undertones" .
- The editorial staff of Prisma-online.de wrote that the film was a “detailed study of sadism and personality decline ” . She praised the "impressively oppressive pictures" , but criticized some "incredibilities" .
Awards
The film received two Academy Awards in 1979 , namely Oliver Stone for Best Adapted Screenplay and Giorgio Moroder for Best Score . The Oscar nominations were John Hurt for Best Supporting Actor , Alan Parker for Best Director , Gerry Hambling for Best Editing and Alan Marshall and David Puttnam as film producers .
In the same year the film won the Golden Globe Award in the categories of Best Picture - Drama , Best Supporting Actor (John Hurt), young actor and actress (Brad Davis and Irene Miracle), Best Screenplay (Oliver Stone) and Best Original Score (Giorgio Moroder) . Other nominations were made in the categories of Best Director (Alan Parker) and Best Actor - Drama (Brad Davis).
Alan Parker, John Hurt and Gerry Hambling won the British Academy Film Award (BAFTA Award) in 1979 . Brad Davis and the film for Best Picture were nominated.
Alan Parker was nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1978 and the Directors Guild of America Award in 1979 . Oliver Stone won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1979 , Giorgio Moroder the 1978 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and Brad Davis the 1979 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award .
In 1993 the film received the Political Film Society's Special Prize .
synchronization
The production took place at Berliner Synchron based on a dialogue book by Arne Elsholtz and directed by Joachim Kunzendorf .
| role | actor | speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Ahmet | Peter Jeffrey | Wolfgang Völz |
| Billy Hayes | Brad Davis | Tommi Piper |
| Eric | Norbert Weisser | Wolfgang Condrus |
| Jimmy Booth | Randy Quaid | Norbert Gescher |
| Max | John Hurt | Andreas Mannkopff |
| Mr. Hayes | Mike Kellin | Heinz Petruo |
| Susan | Irene Miracle | Joseline Gassen |
| Tex | Bo Hopkins | Dieter B. Gerlach |
Production and grossing
The filming took place in Turkey , Greece and Malta . The cost of production was estimated to be $ 2.3 million and grossing $ 35 million in US theaters.
reception
The screening of the film was banned in Turkey immediately after its release in 1978; it was only broadcast on April 6, 1993 on the commercial broadcaster HBB. The Turkish government saw the film as damaging to the image of Turkey and its inhabitants, which is why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried in 1978 via non-public channels to prevent the showing of the film as a whole or in part in other countries; so the film was not shown in Israel because it denigrated a friendly country.
Director Alan Parker defended the film in an interview with the London Observer on May 30, 1982: “I was shocked when people said it was anti-Turk. We hadn't meant it to be racist. We thought we were making a film about injustice ”. ("I was shocked when it was said that the film was against Turks. We had no intention of making a racist film. We thought we were making a film about injustice".)
Billy Hayes , whose real story provided the basis for the film, criticized Oliver Stone and the film in an interview in 1999 for the fact that all Turks were portrayed negatively without exception. He also saw his stay in prison more positively than shown in the film. Hayes regretted that the negative image of the backward and unlawful Turkey was possibly based on the film.
In December 2004, screenwriter Oliver Stone visited Turkey for the first time since the film was released and apologized to the Turkish people for his portrayal of the conditions in Turkish prisons, which he said he had "over-dramatized".
The German-Turkish director and screenwriter Fatih Akın used elements from Midnight Express in his film In July . In his film, the main characters also end up in a Turkish prison, but there they are treated with respect and decency. Akın also saw this as a counter-image to what Midnight Express conveys: “I also wanted to pull these elements through the cocoa a bit. There is a lot of irony in this whole prison situation. "
literature
- Ekkehard Ellinger, Kerem Kayi: “It was done with incredible simplicity…”. The portrayal of Turkey in English and American films. In: Ingeborg Hauenschild (ed.): Scripta Ottomanica et res altaicae. Festschrift for Barbara Kellner-Heinkele on her 60th birthday. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 3-447-04537-X , pp. 15-48.
- Dilek Kaya-Mutlu: The Midnight Express (1978) Phenomenon and the Image of Turkey. In: Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 25 (2005), No. 3, pp. 475–496 ( full text as PDF).
Web links
- 12 at night - Midnight Express in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- 12 noon - Midnight Express at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Criticism in "TIME"
- ↑ Critique in "Variety" ( Memento from April 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ 12 noon - Midnight Express. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ criticism from Prisma-online.de
- ↑ German synchronous index: German synchronous index | Movies | Midnight Express - 12 noon. Retrieved September 13, 2017 .
- ↑ Filming locations for Midnight Express
- ^ Business Data for Midnight Express
- ^ Dilek Kaya-Mutlu: The Midnight Express (1978) Phenomenon and the Image of Turkey. In: Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 25 (2005), No. 3, pp. 475–496 ( full text as PDF), here pp. 482 and 490.
- ^ Rifat N. Bali: Model Citizens of the State. The Jews of Turkey during the Multi-Party Period. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-1-61147-536-4 , p. 201 . Further to the reception Haluk Şahin: “Midnight Express” 20 Years Later. A Turkish Nightmare. In: New Perspectives Quarterly 15 (1998), No. 5, pp. 21 f. ( Preview ); Sean O'Sullivan: Midnight Express Revisited. In: Prison Services Journal (2005), No. 159, pp. 37-41; Dilek Kaya-Mutlu: The Midnight Express Phenomenon. The International Reception of the Film Midnight Express (1978-2004). (= Analecta Isisiana: Ottoman and Turkish Studies ). Isis Press, Istanbul 2005, ISBN 978-1-61719-119-0 ( publisher's advertisement ).
- ^ History Channel re the movie Midnight Express. In: www.cbsc.ca. June 17, 1999, archived from the original on September 9, 2007 ; accessed on July 2, 2013 .
- ↑ Billy Hayes of 'Midnight Express' Interviewed. In: LiveLeak .com , February 18, 2007. The interview can also be seen on YouTube ( Part 1 , Part 2 ).
- ^ 'Midnight Express' Man Returns to Turkey to Mend Fences. ( Memento from July 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Hürriyet Daily News , June 18, 2007.
- ^ Helena Smith: Stone Sorry for Midnight Express. In: The Guardian , December 16, 2004, accessed October 21, 2006.
- ↑ Hartwig Tegeler: Fatih Akin on his film "In July", his two hometowns Hamburg and Istanbul, and his cinema vision of Turkish prisons. ( Memento of July 15, 2001 in the Internet Archive ). In: Morgenwelt.de , August 21, 2000.