Why It Ranks
Victory is the most ambitious soccer film ever conceived. Pelé playing soccer on screen is priceless. The Stallone-Caine pairing is bizarre and entertaining. Huston's direction brings gravitas to an inherently ridiculous premise.
The Film
Victory (also known as Escape to Victory) brings together an impossible cast — Stallone, Caine, and actual football legend Pelé — in a WWII story about Allied POWs who play a soccer match against the German national team as cover for an escape attempt. John Huston directs with old-Hollywood grandeur. The soccer sequences, featuring Pelé's actual skills, are thrilling. It is The Great Escape with a football.
Fun Facts
Pelé performed his own bicycle kick in the climactic match — no stunt double was needed.
Several real international footballers appear, including Bobby Moore and Osvaldo Ardiles.
Stallone insisted on playing the goalkeeper despite having no soccer experience.
Michael Caine was a genuine football fan and relished the opportunity to play alongside Pelé.
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