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Midnight Express is a 1978 American / British film directed by Alan Parker and produced by David Puttnam.

It is based on Billy Hayes ' 1977 book Midnight Express and was adapted into the screenplay by Oliver Stone.

It starred Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith, Randy Quaid, Norbert Weisser, Peter Jeffrey and John Hurt.

Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey.

The movie deviates from the book's accounts of the story — especially in its portrayal of Turks — and some have criticized the movie version, including Billy Hayes himself.

Later, both Stone and Hayes expressed their regret on how Turkish people were portrayed in the movie.

The film's title is prison slang for an inmate's escape attempt.

The Motion Picture Association of America ( MPAA ) rated the film " R ".