Posted on 12/15/2004 6:52:08 PM PST by Pikamax
Stone sorry for Midnight Express
Helena Smith Thursday December 16, 2004 The Guardian
The Hollywood writer and director Oliver Stone has apologised for offending Turkey with his Oscar-winning film Midnight Express, which featured powerful images of appalling prison conditions and brutality that have haunted the country for decades. Visiting Turkey for the first time since the movie was released in 1978, Stone admitted "over-dramatising" the screenplay, which he wrote. It was one of his early forays into cinematography for a film that was directed by Alan Parker.
The script, which won Stone an Oscar in 1979, was based exclusively on interviews with Billy Hayes, the American sentenced to 30 years in prison for smuggling drugs into Turkey.
In the film, Mr Hayes, who was played by the actor Brad Davis, eventually escapes.
"It's true I over-dramatised the script," Stone told reporters in Istanbul before holding talks with Turkey's culture and tourism minister, Erkan Mumcu. "But the reality of Turkish prisons at the time was also referred to ... by various human rights associations."
Stone said he had been fearful of visiting Turkey for a long time because of the effect the hard-hitting movie had had on the country. "For years, I heard that Turkish people were angry with me and I didn't feel safe there," he told the mass selling Millyet daily.
"The culture ministry gave me a guarantee that I would be safe, so I feel comfortable now," said the American, who went on to direct Born on the 4th of July, Platoon, Evita and, most recently, Alexander.
Echoing the view of diplomats who said that, if anything, foreigners were often treated better than locals in Turkish jails, Stone said that the country had improved greatly since 1974, when a brief visit to Istanbul had given him the impression of being in a "very Ottoman" place.
In Ankara yesterday, Stone's remarks were greeted with relief. Turks have long accused the film of exacerbating racist attitudes towards their country.
Many expressed horror and hurt at the way the prison drama had formulated views of Turkey, despite the evident progress it had made on human rights in recent years.
"It was an awful movie and very humiliating, especially if you were a Turk living abroad," said Harvard graduate Banu Revan.
"Whenever you said you were from Turkey, Americans would automatically say, 'Oh yes, I've seen Midnight Express. Isn't that the place where they cut the hands off people who are caught stealing?' as if we lived in Saudi Arabia! It was ridiculous."
Stone's apology came with just days to go before the EU's crucial decision on whether to launch membership talks with Ankara.
"Mr Stone's expression of regret doesn't heal the wounds our nation [has suffered] but it's still important," Mr Mumcu said after meeting the director.
"There was a time when, worldwide, many artists and intellectuals heavily criticised Turkey which resulted in our country having a bad image," he added.
The Hollywood director was not alone in changing his mind, the minister said.
"Before, people like Joschka Fischer [Germany's foreign minister] were also critical of Turkey and now they've be come very good friends in Turkey's EU membership bid," he said.
"If Turkey wants to give the right message to the world, it has to have the right dialogue with the messenger, just as we have had with Mr Fischer and Oliver Stone."
Plant to Make Clean Power from Turkey Droppings
The above story is right under this. I wonder if they are related? Turkey droppings and Oliver Stone are very similar.
I have to admit, that's what I thought of when I was reading this.
Oliver get that ego in check! I bet there aren't a thousand people in Turkey who know Oliver Stone and MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, and the majority of them aren't Turks! He should be apologizing for ALEXANDER and NATURAL BORN KILLERS and HEAVEN AND EARTH and ......
I loved the movie and didn't know it was Oliver Stone until this post.
Fine. When is he going to apologize for the rest of his "work?"
Actually John Hurt was really good in that movie. I didn`t even know it was him until years later.
WRONG!!! Turkey droppings are far more useful!
Yeah, nothing like having a perfectly good movie ruined.
It was over dramatized and wasn't necessarily factual. Billy Hayes was a real creep of a guy at that time, so I've heard (from someone who would know). Also, wasn't he trying to smuggle drugs OUT of Turkey?
Oh well. Nice of him to apologize. Whatever.
LOL
I've seen this movie a dozen times and never caught that either.
That was a really good movie. I'm surprised Oliver Stone made it.
Oliver Stone didn't make it. The article is unclear. He wrote the screenplay which won an Oscar. It was made by British filmmaker Alan Parker.
John Hurt is a fantastic actor.
He was simply superb in 'The Field' with the MAGNIFICENT Richard Harris!
I lived in Turkey from 1971 to 1973 and believe me he has no reason to apologize....i guess since it's a foreign government he has the need to apologize but all the lies he's told about the US he has no regards for the truth or any need to apologize.
Alan Parker has made some great movies.
Quite a good director.
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