Midnight Express
1978 Best Picture Nominee

100 Words
It’s a movie about a prison break! The one that started them all! Okay, not really. But there are shades of Shawshank here, in this unfortunately true story, and that’s all I need. Get the popcorn.

Billy gets arrested and sentenced to four years in a Turkish prison for smuggling hash. That’s right. Hash.

When it comes to political pawning, Billy is in the hands of Richard Nixon (uh-oh), so Turkish prison it is, alongside Cousin Eddie. I am in recovery and understand completely the abysmal business of overusing hash (ahem, alcohol), but four years? All aboard the Midnight Express.