Midnight Express is the true story of Billy Hayes who is thrown into a turkish prison for trying to smuggle hash out of the country. During the five years he spends in the prison,he suffers emotional,physical and mental torment. The prison is run by a brutal guard played by Paul Smith who seems to have a good time beating the prisoners which makes him a symbol of cruelty. Among with Brad Davis' great performance as Billy Hayes is John Hurt and Randy Quaid who both deliver really great performances as well. Brad Davis I think was overlooked by the academy which surprised me because he displayed his character with so much emotion that you had to feel sorry not just for his character but also for him. Midnight Express is the kind of prison film that makes other prison films too hard to compare. The Shawshank Redemption was also a film I enjoyed but wasn't as gut wrenching or emotional as this film. Midnight Express is in my opinion a film that is too horrifying to ignore which means that this film  should not be ignored. It shouldn't be watched for entertainment value. That isn't why this film was made. Midnight Express I highly recommend.