Escape to Victory

Escape to Victory (1981) is John Huston's wartime drama you can watch online on iFILM. With the war dragging on, German officers stage a propaganda football match: their national side against a ragtag team of Allied prisoners.

Running the prisoners' side is John Colby, a former English pro played by Michael Caine, who pulls a squad together from the soldiers in the camp. American captain Hatch, played by Sylvester Stallone, ends up in goal while quietly arranging a breakout through the stadium tunnel at half-time. But as kickoff turns into a real contest in front of a Paris crowd, the men start caring less about escaping and more about actually winning. Max von Sydow plays the German officer who set it all up.

The real draw is the lineup of genuine football legends on the pitch: Pelé, England's Bobby Moore, Argentina's Osvaldo Ardiles. Pelé's overhead bicycle-kick goal was shot for real, no double. A hundred and sixteen minutes where the game matters more than the uniform. Stream Escape to Victory (1981) online on iFILM.