The best movie about football/soccer ?

Rating: 5/10 (4 August 2013)

To enjoy "Victory" or "Escape to victory" (as it was called in some countries) you should watch it as a lighthearted war comedy. As a serious drama this movie fails . "Victory" is actually based on real story (see the IMDb trivia for this movie) . The authors of this movie originally wanted to make it a serious drama and a sad movie . To be honest I would love to see the serious version of this story . In the end they decided to make the light version . Maybe they felt the 80's were coming ? If this was made in the 70's it would be as serious movie. Every dramatic conflict that appears here is emotionally flat and the whole movie just shouldn't be treated as a serious one.
Anyway , I like what we got here . The movie feels like a mix between "Rocky" and "The great escape " . It gives the whole picture a sense of freshness . It's also probably the best movie with/about football/soccer (depends from where you are from) I've seen.
The characters here are rather empty . Michael Caine , Sylvester Stallone and Max von Sydow are the only actors who have got something to play for . They made their one dimensional characters enjoyable. Caine is a smart leader , Stallone is a wise guy and von Sydow is a gentleman. Other characters are truly instrumental . The football/soccer fans will be delighted to see many legends as the prisoners , including Pele and Bobby Moore . I'm proud that Poland here is represented by Kazimierz Deyna.
Bill Conti gives the movie very fun and uplifting music score . The football match itself feels very natural . It's well photographed, realistic and emotional . It has something that other football movies failed to capture – the beauty of this sport. The last fifteen minutes of the match is indeed done in real life time.
There are two really great movie scenes here – one with the radio and the second with von Sydow standing up. Yes , in the end the movie becomes a little kitschy , still it works a sort of fairytale to make you feel better. It has certain charm and is quite well directed by famous director John Huston ("Maltanese falcon").
If you're in a mood for some lighthearted entertainment and you like football or Stallone (or both ) this is not a bad way to spend your time. I give it 5/10.