Victory (aka Escape to Victory) (1981)

Today Matt & Todd return to the HBO classics of our early days with 1981’s Victory (also known as Escape to Victory).

Before soccer was a mainstream American pastime, before the FIFA movie, HBO introduced many of us to a strange, earnest, unexpectedly thrilling hybrid: a World War II prison‑camp adventure mashed together with 30 minutes of genuinely great football choreography. The film was released in theaters but did not perform well, and didn't enjoy a wide release. Some sleepy HBO Saturday is probably the first time a lot of us saw this film.

Released in the summer of 1981, Victory tells the story of Allied POWs challenged to a football match staged for Nazi propaganda. Despite its star power, Sylvester Stallone is here in full “I can do anything” mode, the film landed softly in the U.S. but resonated strongly in Europe and South America, where the sport and its legends were already cultural monoliths.

And that’s the secret weapon: Pelé.

The Brazilian megastar (and Whit Bissell co‑winner) choreographed the on‑field action, designing plays and sequences executed by real professional players cast as POWs and German guards. The result is a thrilling, authentic stretch of football cinema that still holds up—fast, clever, and caps an unforgettable ending.

Victory is also a remake of the 1961 Hungarian film Two Half‑Times in Hell, itself inspired by disputed accounts of real matches played in occupied Ukraine between former Dynamo and Lokomotiv Kiev players and their Nazi overseers. The details vary, but the myth endures: sport as resistance, pride, and survival.

Forgotten by many in the U.S., Victory remains a fantastic film worth revisiting, especially now that soccer has finally found its footing here and we're still close to a world cup hangover. Much like the sport itself, you may discover it’s actually pretty great.

Main Cast:

Sylvester Stallone as Captain Robert Hatch

Michael Caine as Captain John Colby

Whit Bissell Award Winner Pelé as Corporal Luis Fernandez

Max von Sydow as Major Karl von Steiner

Gary Waldhorn as Hauptmann Rainer Mueller, German coach

Tim Pigott-Smith as Major Rose

Julian Curry as Wing Commander Shurlock

Whit Bissell Award Winner Anton Differing as Commentator

The Players

Victory's thrilling footlball moments brought by a long list of international pros listed here (by country of birth):

(Argentina)

• Osvaldo Ardiles (Allied Player)

(Belgium)

• Paul Van Himst (Allied Player)

(Brazil)

• Pelé (Allied Player)

(Denmark)

• Søren Lindsted (Allied Player)

(England)

• Michael Caine (Allied Player)
• Bobby Moore (Allied Player)
• Mike Summerbee (Allied Player)
• Russell Osman (Allied Player)
• Mike Summerbee (Allied Player)
• Robin Turner (German Player)
• Laurence Sivell (German Player)

(Hungary)

• Sándor Egervári (German Player)
• Ferenc Fülöp (German Player)
• Imre Boda (German Player)

(Ireland)

• Kevin O'Callaghan

(Netherlands)

• Co Prins (Allied Player)

(Norway)

• Hallvar Thoresen (Allied Player)

(Poland)

• Kazimierz Deyna (Allied Player)

(Scotland)

• John Wark (Allied Player)

(USA)

• Sylvester Stallone (Allied Player)
• Werner Roth (German Player)

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