Midnight Express

Where are you going? Why don't you walk the wheel with us? What is the matter my American friend? What has upset you? Oh! I know. The bad machine doesn't know that he's a bad machine. You still don't believe it. You still don't believe you're a bad machine? To know yourself is to know God, my friend. The factory knows, that's why they put you here. You'll see... You'll find out... In time, you'll know.

Midnight Express (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Tex: Boy oh boy, you picked a bad time to fly, Billy. They're guerrillas all over the place blowing up planes and all. They hit four planes in four days. But I guess you young people don't read the news anymore. That, and with our people back home kicking up a shitstorm about the flow of heroin from Turkey... Billy Hayes: I didn't have heroin. It was just a little hashish. Tex: That doesn't matter. A drug's a drug. Billy Hayes: It was only two kilos. Tex: It doesn't matter if it was two kilos or 200 kilos. The Turks love catching foreigners. They want to show the rest of the world that they're fighting the drug trade. Billy Hayes: Who are you? What's your name? Tex: That's not important. Billy Hayes: Are you with the American consulate here in Istanbul? Tex: Something like that.

Midnight Express (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Tex: Do you have a family back home? Billy Hayes: Yeah, a mother, father, sister and brother living in Babylon, Long Island. Tex: It's gonna be tough for them. You'll have to tell them about what you're in sooner or later. Say, how much did you pay this joker? The cab driver for the hash you bought? Billy Hayes: $200. It was my last 200. Tex: How much did you expect to make if you had brought that stuff back to the USA? Billy Hayes: I was only gonna share it or sell some of it to by friends. I'm not a pusher. Honest. Tex: [scoffs] Yeah, right. Selling dope always beats working.

Midnight Express (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Tex: You got a girlfriend, Billy? Billy Hayes: Yeah. She was on the plane. Billy Hayes: She didn't know anything about it. I didn't want her to. Tex: Lucky girl. Billy Hayes: She used to say I was the lucky one. Tex: Let's hope you're right, Billy. Let's hope you're right.

Midnight Express (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Billy Hayes: I'm Billy Hayes. Jimmy: I'm Jimmy. Jimmy Booth. I'm an American just like you. This other guy here is Erich... something. I can't pronouce his last name. He's Swedish or something. Erich: Just Erich. Jimmy: Yeah... well, what do you think of this place, Billy? Billy Hayes: [looks around the prison hall and courtyard] Looks like some cheap rundown hotel. Jimmy: Yeah, thought you'd say that. Everyone says that this place looks like a cheap hotel. Billy Hayes: [sees peacocks along the fence of the prison] Peacocks. Why peacocks? Jimmy: The Turks use 'em instead of dogs to patrol the fence because they shriek like hell when they're approached or disturbed. Plus, they don't get rabies. Billy Hayes: Who are the kids? Jimmy: Kids? They're not kids. They're local street urchins the Turks lock up here in a separate wing for the juveniles. Boys as young as nine or ten years old. They're thieves, drug dealers, muggers, con artists, pickpockets, rapists, murderers... you name it, they

Midnight Express (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Jimmy: So... Billy, what are you in for? Hash? Billy Hayes: Yeah. Jimmy: Where'd they get you? Billy Hayes: The airport... trying to get home. Jimmy: You go through customs? Billy Hayes: Yeah, I was busted right at the plane. Jimmy: Aw, man that's heavy. That's very heavy. Erich: It's bad if they get you for smuggling, but if they make it possession, the sentence is lighter. The best thing for you to do, Billy, is try to make bail. If you make bail, you're free. You can easily get yourself a fake passport on the black market, or get yourself across the border into Greece. Jimmy: Dream on, Erich. They'll never grant bail to foreigners whom may be a flight risk. Erich: But if you argue in court about you being innocent... Jimmy: This ain't the good ol' USA! This is Turkey, man! It's a fuckin' accident here if you're innocent! There ain't nobody here that is innocent!

Midnight Express (film), CC BY-SA 4.0