Fuga per la vittoria

This is the antithesis to the "chick-flick" and up there with the great "male bonding" cameraderie movies such as "great Escape" and "The Man Who Would Be King", and let's not exclude "The Longest Yard". Best scene by far in the movie is Pele's jaw-dropping upside-down kick, followed by Max Von Sydow's sportsmanlike and awestruck applause, followed by glares of hatred from his German brethren. I can guarantee you that that scene is worth the price of the admission(video rental) alone. As far as the non-soccer star cast goes, Michael Caine more than compensates for Sylvester Stallone, and the rest do a credible job, with highest marks to Von Sydow as a 'good guy' on the other side.

I loved this film as a kid because I am such a huge fan of the sport and more so because it used real life footballers. I often wonder and hope with the popularity of the sport today and the level of talent why hasn't anyone tried rebooting or remaking this film. Could you imagine a film with Messi, Rinaldo, Neymar, Rooney, Suárez, etc? I would definitely recommend it be a period piece film again during WW2 and you could use some of Germany's current day greats like Klose, Mueller, Lahm, Ozil, etc. This film will always be a timeless classic for me personally.

Many people have passed negative comments about this film.If you study it closely, though, you will notice many positive and original scenes.

The football is not exaggerated like many other sporting Movies.

I first saw it when it was released in 1981/82 and thought it was very good. As a War film it is only average, but as a Football spectacle it is very interesting. The fact that the makers used real life footballers, including the great man himself "Pele" is original. We are actually seeing first class football players do their stuff in a controlled Movie enviroment... Heck some of them even try to act!

I think Michael Caine and Sly would have enjoyed making this Movie.

The message from the Movie is that Football is a game which is understood by everyone and will always be played under any circumstances. It is the Universal game and always will be!

Any football fans out there? If you haven't seen Escape To Victory either at Christmas, when it is usually on at a ridiculous time of the morning, or hired/bought it on DVD then you are really missing out.

There is a fair amount of disbelief suspending that needs to take place before you settle down. But, if you can numb your brain to the idea of Micheal Caine playing professional football or indeed, Sylvester Stallone doing the same in goal, you're in for a treat.

As a football fan, it was a real thrill to see the great Bobby Moore kicking a ball in anger and, against the Germans too (remember what I said about suspending disbelief).

OK, it isn't the greatest film ever made. But it isn't supposed to be. It's a bit of bubblegum that is just supposed to kill a couple of hours. A feat the movie accomplishes handsomely.

I defy any football fan not to cheer when the goals go in or to curse when the Germans do well. Similarly, try and stifle your guffaws when you see Mr Caine trying to look like he knows what he's supposed to be doing. Is it just me or does he become more cockney when he tries to convey excitement in any of his roles?? Probably one of England's more one dimensional acting talents.

If you don't enjoy it, you're missing the point of it. Nobody will ever forget horror of war, it's ingrained. That isn't what this film is about although it does have a stab at giving the viewer a clue about the life of a POW in WWII.

No, the film is about entertainment. And, on that level, it's one of the good ones.

If the part where the football match takes place was omitted, "Victory" would be a "5 stars out of 10" film. The reason is that although it features two very good actors (Michael Caine - Max von Sydow), there is not much to stand out: A rather incredulous WW2 plot, an average acting (what could you expect from professional footballers or from Stallone?), and a simply decent direction, produce an average result. Thankfully, there is more than that, as I will explain in more detail later.

"Victory" is about some inmates in a WW2 prison camp, who have a passion for soccer. Captain J. Colby (Caine), a former footballer, is the leading figure in the camp matches that take place. One day, he is spotted by football-fan Major Steiner (Max von Sydow) who proposes him the idea of organizing a match between allied POWs vs. Germans. Colby agrees, as he believes this will be a great morale-booster and a chance for better prison conditions for those involved; however, more senior inmates are skeptical, as they believe this will be a propaganda stunt for the Germans. In the end, they also concur but only after they have convinced the team's goalie Capt. Hatch (Stallone) to arrange the team's escape during the match. The difficulty is that both Colby and his team are more interested in this game than in their freedom, so they are hesitant on what they should finally do...

As I said, the movie is just watchable during its first part. And yet, when we start to watch the Allied - Germans match, things get much better: We watch terrific football from stars such as Pele, Ardiles, and Bobby Moore, with scenes such as Pele's goal being memorable to all sports fans. Of course, if you are not into soccer, then perhaps you won't get that excited (although the spectacle can be exciting for non-fans, too). But if you like the King of Sports, then you will certainly enjoy this film. 7/10.