Customer Reviews

Victory [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Despite the obvious knocks on some of the acting, which really isn't bad, and the Hollywood style presentation style of the film, "Victory" is most certainly the greatest soccer film ever, and a real classic.

An inspirational movie set in the late WWII era inside a POW camp, Max Von Sidow, a high-ranking Nazi commandeer, agrees to arrange a "football" match between the POW's and the German national team. This is a propaganda stunt, something which really isn't all that unrealistic considering the Nazi philosophy at the time.

Sylvester Stallone is the star of the film, as the tough American who has an escape plan, but needs to be on the soccer team in order to carry it out. That is arranged through a classic scene in which the real goalkeeper's arm is broken purposely over two bed boards by Michael Cain, a co-star in the film. Cain, of course a Brit POW, is also in on the plan, along with the rest of the team.

A story of human courage and triumph, the inspirational play of the POW football team and the once inconceivable possibility that they can actually win the match against the Nazi's, proves irresistable for the POW's.

The contacts Stallone makes in his brief escape from the camp previously, sets up a half time breakout through the POW team's locker room. Of course when they arrive through the shattered floor of a huge tub via the underground sewer system, Stallone is the first to bail. But would the rest of the team? Will Stallone return to help defeat the Nazi's in a politically charged football match for the ages? You'll have to watch it to find out.

Ultimately this is a great film, the soundtrack is absolutely perfect, the actors and non-actors alike are all very entertaining and the uniquely inspiring storyline makes it an American classic.

Even if you are not a fan of football, this movie can be watched and enjoyed by people of any age. An underappreciated film, undeservingly so, but one that should be on every good American's list!

I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys sheer entertainment as well as some great, memorable actors along with what could be the only up-close look at the great Pele. For a $13 DVD price, it is your duty to own this one.

I didn't know about this movie, but I bought it based on the Amazon customers' positive reviews. This movie will NOT disappoint.

As you get closer and closer to the climax - a soccer match between a ragged bunch of POWs and an elite German national team - you already sense it's going to be something spectacular.

And then the match...the POWs down by 4 goals in front a now quiet and dejected crowd...it is at this point the movie truly lives up to its tagline..."now is the time for heroes"

Get ready for an emotional and stunning fight back.

Even though the story is totally unrealistic, it really is one of my guilty pleasures in my DVD collection. I have to agree with many of the good points that have already been said (good soccer footage, great music score, etc). The one item that people get wrong is that Stallone's character is NOT and American, but rather a Canadian soldier, who during WWII would've fought alongside British troops.
It was a good idea also to let the actors carry the story (albeit, a little clunky at times) and limit the lines of the "real" players used in the film. This film should be in every serious soccer players dvd collection!

Okay... so it's the world's only WWII soccer picture. Still, I have to admit, I love this movie. I'm not the world's biggest soccer fan, but I love WWII films, and this one manages to be a very good WWII POW escape movie. It helps that it has some really fine actors, a gifted director, and a first rate musical score. Unfortunately, the crowd/escape scene at the end of the movie kind of dates the film. When you look closely at the people running around on the soccer field, trying to conceal the players and help their escape, you can see too many of them whose hairstyles and clothes mark them out as being from the late 70s/early 80s period, rather than the 1940s. Still, that's a minor quibble. What could have hurt the film far more is the rather implausible plot. But it's handled well enough by the script writer and director that you can easily manage to suspend disbelief, and sit back and enjoy the movie.

Oh, I must correct a misapprehension by a previous reviewer. Hatch, Sylvester Stallone's character, IS American, not Canadian. He's referred to a few times as a "Yank" by other POWs, and by Michael Caine (who tells him heatedly at one point not to play "that bloody American style" when he's trying to make the team. Stallone defensively says: "You play English I play American", which would be a strange thing for a Canadian to say. Von Steiner, played by the great Max von Sydow, twice refers to him as "the American". And when the senior British officer in the camp asks Hatch if he's American, he replies: "mm hmm, enlisted Canadian army '38, transferred commandos." So Hatch is an American, he's just one who, like the AVG and Eagle Squadron pilots, joined a foreign force because he wanted to get into the fight. I suppose it's no surprise that an American picture wouldn't be made without an American character to play the hero.

In any case, no matter whether the hero is American or not, this is a very enjoyable picture. Now if only they'd release a widescreen version.

"Victory" has the patriotism and under-doggishness of "Rocky" and the locations and style of music (including almost as catchy theme music) of "The Great Escape." "Victory" seems to take much of its style from these two movies, and I would say that fans of either of these movies (especially "Rocky") will find this movie very enjoyable. Sure, it borders between plausible and fantastical, but it's a credit to the directing genius of the legendary John Huston that the tension is sustained and we buy into all of it, getting caught up in the story.

Don't let the price of this DVD fool you; the video quality is phenomenal. Colors are very vibrant and blacks are pitch black. Buying this DVD (...), I was expecting mediocre-to-decent video quality and was blown away. (...) Perhaps the fact that it was directed by Huston prompted this... or maybe there's just a soccer fan at the WB digital labs. Anyways, I would definitely recommend the purchase of this DVD on the video quality alone. Nothing thrills me more with DVD than to watch a movie in 2.35:1 with a top-notch transfer.

I can't for the life of me understand why I watch this film whenever it is on TV. Maybe because I adore Michael Caine; or because I am hung up on POW camp movies; or because Stallone is at the peak of his good looks??? The first time I watched it years ago, I was in disbelief when the POWs chose not to escape into the sewers...it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Yet, I overlook it time after time to watch the movie. Certainly, the last half hour is the best, with the crowd being as big a part of the action as the actors and player themselves. Anyway, I have to go now, as it's on TV.

THe movie itself from plot to actors' performance has already been reviewed throughly by other reviwers, but there is a lack of opinion asto actual quality of picture and sound of the DVD. Amazon.com's review of picture quality is pretty much a dead-on assestment of the situation. Not so much agreement on sound assestment.

Very true that in scenes shot outside there's a very noticable problem with contrasting. It looks like two totally different movies when comparing outside and inside scenes more so than other movies. There's a bit of a problem with dark scenes also. There's hardly any pixelation worth noting. I would love to see what the theatrical release quality looked like since in the other two mediums I've seen it, broadcast TV and video release the quality doesn't look so great. This is DVD is pretty much the best qualityI've seen it. Once you compare Victory to other big budget Warner movies of the time you'll sense they didn't use the best camera at the time.

As for sound I don't really hear the hissing Amazon.com speaks of. For being Dolby Surrond 2.0 it sounds good since there is no icredible sound to begin with just dialogue. French track also sounds good.

Up until the final 40 minutes, the match, "Victory" (or "Escape to Victory" outside the US) is your slightly-above-average POW movie, even though Caine, Von Sydow, and even Sly deliver good performances.

But it's the football match that really shines. For one, staged as it might be, where else will you see Pele, Moore, and Ardiles playing together? More importantly, it still embodies what football is about and why it matters so much to the world. Football is the perfect metaphor of life, for it demands teamwork, sportsmanship, toughness, grace, and individual talent. It is the most egalitarian game of all, for the ball is round, the score is 0-0, and the strong have no significant advantage over the weak. Moreover, these things apply to all involved: players, fans, and even referees. For these reasons, football has been a massive power in history, capable of moving masses and bringing people together where other endeavors have separated them (much the same can be said about rugby, by the way). Nazi-occupied France during WWII is then the perfect venue for a football match, and Huston is able to capture exactly why this is The Beautiful Game.

If this one match had actually happened and if the Allies had won, it would have almost made up for the war. It would have been like: "We don't care about your politics, your army, your atrocities: we beat you on the football pitch and that's all that matters." This is how important this game is to the world, and especially to Europeans. In this sense, the final scene--with fans covering the players in coats and leading them to safety--is poignant with strong symbolism.

Bravo Huston!

i think anyone interested in WWII or Football (soccer) has to watch this movie, you really get great performance from Michael Caine and Max Von Sidow. These guys really make you believe the story, which for anyone who ever played football soccer for even a minute and got the bit of enjoyment, it wont be hard to follow and this movie will be excilarating. Aside the story of propaganda and Stallone as the stubborn hero, the team really comes together, which is another reason why this movie is good for both afficionados, sport enthusiast and WWII interested

For the time that this movie was made it has one of the best visuale effects that i have witnessed in a long time. It was one of the most entertaining and intrigueing movies that i have witnessed in a while. It really captured the moment of the games.Although the movie was great i still think that they should have stuck to more of the historical accuracy of the Dynamo team in Kiev,Ukraine.