After many decades in Hollywood directing classics such as The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, John Huston was nearing the end of his highly regarded career when he agreed to make a story about a group of men facing seemingly insurmountable odds. Victory is based on the Hungarian film Two Halves in Hell, and it tells the story of a group of Allied prisoners of war during WWII who are invited to play a high profile football (soccer for the American readers) match against a German team as a part of a German propaganda effort. In an inspired bit of casting, the film notably casts a group of real life internationally renowned players such as Pelé alongside Hollywood greats Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine.
When Major Karl von Steiner (Max von Sydow) visits a prison camp and sees a group of prisoners playing football in the yard, he notices and strikes up a conversation with English Captain John Colby (Michael Caine), a professional footballer for West Ham United before the war. Sydow’s Steiner is portrayed more of a lover of the game than a cold blooded Nazi, and he successfully pitches the idea of a match between the prisoners and the Germans to his superiors as a ploy to give the Germans a public victory. Colby is tasked with assembling and managing the team including Corporal Luis Fernandez (Pelé) and Captain Robert Hatch (Sylvester Stallone), a brash American who is occupied with trying to escape the camp and regain his freedom.
While the film opens with a very sobering reminder of the real dangers these men face, the film overall never seems that high stakes in regards to the safety of the prisoners. The German guards seemingly overlook a lot of behavior that would have resulted in bloodshed in a different movie. While a more realistic touch may have made this movie more respected, it certainly would not have been as fun as it ended up being. Although they are stuck in a prison camp, the film delivers the joy of seeing a rag-tag group come together to practice and become a functioning team. Caine has the natural gravitas and cutting wit to make this role really come to life, providing many of the big laughs throughout. Likewise, Stallone, only a few years removed from Rocky, keeps his role grounded even when his character gets into some slightly unbelievable situations.
The movie makes some unnecessary detours throughout the runtime that result in a few underdeveloped plotlines, but the rousing finale between POWs and the Germans mostly makes up for such things. The match is expertly directed by Huston, and the inclusion of real life players makes the whole situation feel a lot more credible. In addition to his role on screen, football legend Pelé was essential in helping to craft plays that would be realistic and exciting for the film. Victory does what all good sports movies should do, gets you invested in the characters and embraces newcomers to the sport. Those who give the movie a chance should leave it with a smile on their face.
Video Quality
Victory makes its Blu-Ray debut courtesy of Warner Archive with a lovely 1080p transfer sourced from a recent 2K scan of the interpositive. The film is presented in its original 2.35:1, and it looks truly amazing with impressive clarity, rich detail, deep blacks and nice, natural film grain. The colors really start to pop when the action moves from the drab prison camps to the bright, lively stadium where the match is held. There is also no hint of print damage to be found throughout the duration. This presentation is a real treat for fans of the film.
Audio Quality
The film is presented here in its original stereo mix with a lively DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track. Although there is quite a bit of diversity with the different dialects presented throughout the film, the clarity of the audio is never an issue, as dialogue remains easy to understand. When the action moves to the stadium, the sounds are balanced beautifully from the cheering crowd to the commentators and the action sounds from the game. Oscar-winner Bill Conti provides an energetic and soaring original score that sounds outstanding here. Kudos to Warner Archive for providing such a great sounding disc.
Special Features
- Theatrical Trailer: The lone special feature is the original 2.5 minute trailer that gives a good summary of the movie. This is always a fun supplement to include since you can usually see how impressive the restoration is in comparison.
Final Thoughts
Victory is not destined to rest alongside classics such as The Great Escape or The Dirty Dozen, but it does prove to be a hell of a lot of fun. While the film can be a bit scattered in its focus at times, it leads up to a really satisfying finale that brings the thrills. Warner Archive has provided a technically excellent Blu-Ray that brings a lot of life to the presentation. For those looking for a fun, old-fashioned sports film with a bit of twist, look no further than Victory. Recommended.
Victory can be purchased directly through Warner Archive or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.