On V List of Movie Reviews
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Victory (1981)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
4/03, 5/05, 4/13, 12/16, 12/22
5/05:
Victory may be an imposter of The Great Escape, but it stands on its own.
Sylvester Stallone, while not always superb, isn't bad, and the potential of his trademark moments won't be fully
realized in time. However, I'm disgusted by the sight of the escape committee.
Gerry Fisher's cinematography is great, but to my disappointment, the action appears limited and thus not exciting enough.
Why is Pelé's screen time so short, especially during the soccer game? It's quite hard to believe. Obviously, he has
the best scene of the film: the bicycle kick, compelling Major Karl Von Steiner to stand up and cheer. It won't take a genius to
figure he'll be executed soon thereafter.
All in all, Victory is an entertaining soccer movie.
4/13:
Stallone and Pelé take on the Nazis for a game of soccer in Victory.
That's one half of it, and the other half is The Great Escape plan. There's a great style
of cinematography that's often underutilized in other films. John Huston opts for indirect screen shots which means I don't always
see the actors doing things in a straightforward way but on the oblique. Yet Pelé's limited screen time is disappointing.
All in all, Victory is an enjoyable soccer picture, no matter what time of the day is, and it's hard to think
of a better one in this particular genre.
12/16:
I've finally upped my rating of Victory to '8'.
It's still the best soccer movie I've seen, and time has been kind to it. I now notice Michael Caine is never shown
playing in the game. So, I guess he was too fat and out of shape to move. As a matter of fact, Osvaldo Ardiles said: "Awful,
and he couldn't even run 20 yards."
Also, Sylvester Stallone broke a finger while trying to stop the fast-moving ball from Pelé. An interesting link between Caine
and Stallone is the former was the original Jack Carter while the latter took over the part in the remake of
Get Carter. Now, there's no debate as to who made out better.
All in all, John Huston scores a winner in Victory, an entertaining WWII soccer picture that simply defies logic.
12/22:
The Stallone effect cannot be denied, and Victory is still the best and most entertaining soccer movie made.
All in all, RIP Pelé who'll always be the greatest football player ever lived.