Victory (1981) on Netflix
At a German prison camp, an officer proposes a soccer match against a German team. English captain John Colby agrees to lead the squad. American Robert Hatch, planning an escape, wants in.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.7/1036,333 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes70%
Trailer
Plot summary
During an inspection of a German prison camp, a German officer traveling with the Swiss inspectors sees the inmates playing soccer and recognizes John Colby, a professional footballer for England before the war. He proposes a match between his own men and a team of prisoners. Colby agrees, provided his players receive certain amenities. Robert Hatch, an American in the Canadian Army, is working on an escape of his own, and he needs to be with the squad for it to succeed, so he talks Colby into taking him on as trainer. Colby's superior officers push him to turn the match into an escape attempt; he refuses, fearing it would get his players killed. They promise Hatch help reaching the French Resistance in Paris if he will ask the underground to help the team.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
- Co Prinsas Pieter Van Beck - The Players: Holland
- Russell Osmanas Doug Clure - The Players: England
- Søren Lindstedas Erik Ball - Allied Soccer Player - The Players: Denmark (as Soren Linsted)
- Kevin O'Callaghanas Tony Lewis - Allied Goalkeeper - The Players: Ireland (as Kevin O'Calloghan)
- Hallvar Thoresenas Gunnar Hilsson - The Players: Norway
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Victory (1981)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film was inspired by the now discredited Death Match story: FC Dynamo Kyiv defeated German soldiers in occupied Ukraine and, by the myth, were all shot for it. In truth the team won a series of matches before the Gestapo sent any of them to prison camps, and four players were killed long after those wins.
- Pelé's character, Corporal Luis Fernandez, is identified as being from Trinidad, not Brazil, since Brazilians did not officially join the war against the Axis powers until late August 1942, with the first contingents arriving in Italy in July 1944.
- Despite not appearing on screen, English World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks and Alan Thatcher were closely involved in the film, working with Sylvester Stallone on his goalkeeping scenes.
- American composer Bill Conti's score borrows heavily from the first and last movements of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, the Leningrad Symphony, particularly the march theme of the first movement, which is quoted almost verbatim.
- The set with the POW barracks and soccer field took two months to construct, and other Budapest locations included Keleti Railway Station and the historic Metro Line 1; Sylvester Stallone broke his finger during filming while trying to block a penalty kick from Pelé.
- Other Ipswich Town players stood in for actors in the football scenes: Kevin Beattie for Michael Caine, and Paul Cooper for Sylvester Stallone.
