Midnight Express - coming out in '78 - gave us a cinematic view into the Middle East that the three-network evening news at the time didn't provide. The clash of cultures and values in this movie really stood in contrast to the "malaise" period in America (as Jimmy Carter put it). The film became more relevant when it was on television a few years later during the Iranian hostage crisis, with the clash of cultures playing out in real life. The idea of hell being a "Turkish prison" was popularized with this movie. Also the idea that America's post 60's values had become trivial compared to a world much older than it's just celebrated bicentennial. I think Alan Parker really made his mark with his direction of this movie. I followed many of his later efforts on the strength of this film. It's both brutally real and hallucinatory at the same time. There's a feeling of relief at the end of this movie like no other "prison escape" movie. The film is also notable as being one of Oliver Stone's early efforts as a screenwriter. This new dvd effort should improve on the 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, which came out in the "early authored" dvd days of 1998. There are few more extras on this edition so it's a worthy upgrade and a definite must have if one is looking for a film that's an insight to the time, the cultures and even some perspective on where we are now.