Escape to Victory (1981)

Directed by

John Huston

Genre

drama film, war film, prison film, association football film

Country

United States, Hungary

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 1,013 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Allied prisoners of war in a German camp during World War II are forced to play a football match against a German team. They use the game to plan their escape.

inspiringtenseoptimisticsuspensefulunderdogpatrioticexcitingcrowd-pleasing

What happens

Escape to Victory (released as Victory in some markets) is a 1981 American sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during the Second World War who play an exhibition match of football against a German team. The film received great attention upon its theatrical release, as it starred professional footballers Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna, Paul Van Himst, Mike Summerbee, Hallvar Thoresen, Werner Roth and Pelé. Numerous Ipswich Town players were also in the film, including John Wark, Russell Osman, Laurie Sivell, Robin Turner and Kevin O'Callaghan. Other Ipswich Town players stood in for actors in the football scenes: Kevin Beattie for Michael Caine, and Paul Cooper for Sylvester Stallone. Yabo Yablonsky wrote the script and the film was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Two Half Times in Hell (1961)
• The Great Escape (1963)
• Das Boot (1981)
• The Fifth Seal (1976)
• Night and Fog (1956)
• A Man Escaped (1956)
• Mephisto (1981)
• As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me (2001)