Escape to Victory
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| Escape to Victory | |
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| Directed by | John Huston |
| Produced by | Mario Kassar Gordon McLendon Andrew G. Vajna |
| Written by | Jeff Maguire Djordje Milicevic Yabo Yablonsky |
| Starring | Sylvester Stallone Michael Caine Max Von Sydow Pelé |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
| Editing by | Roberto Silvi |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures Warner Bros. (DVD) |
| Release date(s) | July 30, 1981 |
| Running time | 110 minutes. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Escape to Victory is a 1981 film about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a Nazi prison camp during World War II. It was directed by John Huston and stars Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone. The film received great attention, as it also starred football superstars Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, and Pelé. The script was written by Yabo Yablonsky. In some locations, such as the United States, the film is known as Victory.
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[edit] Football
Football (which most Americans refer to as soccer) plays an integral part of the film. The prisoners of war (POWs), coached and represented by John Colby (Michael Caine) agree to play an exhibition match against a German team, only to find themselves involved in a Nazi propaganda tournament. In the end, the POWs can leave the Nazi camp only to play the match; they are supposed to return to the camp after the game. During the match, despite the match officials being heavily biased towards the Nazis, a draw is achieved after great performances from Luis Fernandez (portrayed by Pelé) and Arthur Hayes (John Wark). American soldier Robert Hatch (Sylvester Stallone) plays the goalkeeping position, and makes excellent saves including one last save on a penalty kick as time expires to deny the Nazis the win.
Some team members plan to escape at halftime (in an escape led by Hatch) but the rest of the team (led by Russell Osman saying "but we can win this") want to carry on with the game, despite being behind at halftime. They manage to escape at the end of the game, amidst the confusion caused by the crowd storming the field after Hatch preserves the draw.
[edit] Basis of the Story
The film was inspired by the story of Dynamo Kiev's players, who defeated Nazi soldiers while the Ukraine was occupied by Nazi troops in World War II. According to myth, as a result of their victory, the Ukrainians were all shot. The true story is considerably more complex, as the team played a series of matches against Nazi teams, emerging victorious in all of them, before finally being sent to prison camps by the Gestapo. Most of the team were killed there, but a few survived.
[edit] Actors and footballers
Escape to Victory was unusual in that it featured a great many professional footballers as both the POW team and the German team. Many of the less famous footballers came from the Ipswich Town squad, who were at the time one of the more successful teams in Europe.
[edit] Selected cast and characters
| Michael Caine | Captain John Colby |
| Sylvester Stallone | Captain Robert Hatch |
| Max von Sydow | Major Karl von Steiner |
| Pelé | Corporal Luis Fernandez |
| Bobby Moore | Terry Brady |
| John Wark | Arthur Hayes |
| Osvaldo Ardiles | Carlos Rey |
| Kazimierz Deyna | Paul Wolchek |
| Paul Van Himst | Michel Fileu |
| Werner Roth | Baumann (German team captain) |
| Mike Summerbee | Sid Harmor |
| Hallvar Thoresen | Gunnar Hilsson |
| Russell Osman | Doug Clure |
| Kevin O'Callaghan | Tony Lewis |
| Søren Lindsted | Erik Ball |
| Co Prins | Pieter Van Beck |
| Laurie Sivell | Schmidt (German goalkeeper) |
| Robin Turner | German player |
| Amidou | André |
| Anton Diffring | Radio announcer |
| Carole Laure | Renee |
Les Shannon, ex-Burnley F.C. player, choreographed the actual game presented in the film. The movie also credits Pelé as the designer of plays.
[edit] External links
- (Escape to) Victory at the Internet Movie Database
- Escape To Victory Website
- The Game of Death — Australian National Centre for History Education, concerning the events this film was based on.
