← Apex Mountain

Midnight Express

1978 · directed by Alan Parker · 121 min
23,815 feet · Prominence
966th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw60

Lifetime worldwide gross $35m, re-releases included; about $177m in 2026 money.

Rank1,903 of 11,051In 197817 of 58

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise87

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics75 baseAwards96 signal → +12 lift

Oscars2 won Adapted Screenplay, Original Score4 nominated Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Film Editing
Golden Globes4 won Motion Picture, Lead acting, Supporting Actor, Screenplay2 nominated Lead acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs3 won Direction, Actor, Editing2 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy45

Judged directly: Once notorious, now largely faded.

Verdict45 of 100IMDb7.5 from 94kWikipedia30k views a monthAge48 years

Scored beside it · 1,344 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 60 praise 87 legacy 45averages 64, placing it at23,815 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Brad Davis▲ Paolo Bonacelli

In these careers — elevation for this film

John Hurt19,862 ftBrad Davis19,510 ftRandy Quaid18,419 ftPaolo Bonacelli18,105 ftBo Hopkins17,883 ftIrene Miracle17,848 ft