Two Half Times in Hell (1961)

Original title

Két félidő a pokolban

Directed by

Zoltán Fábri

Genre

drama film, association football film

Country

Hungary

Runtime

2h

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 24 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

During World War II, Hungarian labor servicemen who are prisoners of war are forced to play a soccer match against their German captors. The game becomes a desperate act of defiance and survival.

tensebleakpatrioticwar-tornsuspensefulsombergrittyhistorical

What happens

Two Halves in Hell (Hungarian: Két félidő a pokolban) is a 1961 Hungarian war film directed and co-written by Zoltán Fábri. The film is based on a 1942 football match between German soldiers and their Soviet Ukrainian prisoners of war during World War II, known as the Death Match, although in the film the prisoners of war are Hungarian labour servicemen. The film won a critics' award at Boston Cinema Festival 1962. Two Halves in Hell was remade as the 1981 American-British film Escape to Victory, this time with the prisoners of war representing a diverse group of countries. In addition, the 1974 film The Longest Yard, about an American football game between prisoners and their wardens, has been compared to Two Halves in Hell; The Longest Yard has been remade three times. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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