Victory Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Victory Blu-ray Movie Review

The Not-So-Great Escape.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 28, 2020

Equal parts war drama and sports movie (wrap your head around that one), John Huston's Victory blends The Great Escape and Rocky with mixed results. There's no boxing in sight -- that first comparison stems from the participation of one Sylvester Stallone, who portrays WWII prisoner Robert Hatch. Our main story revolves around Captain John Colby (Michael Caine), a fellow POW and former pro footballer who's tasked with a special assignment by German Major Karl von Steiner: assemble a soccer team to play against the highly-favored Germans...and likely get slaughtered. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Colby puts together a group including Hatch (reluctanty), Corporal Luis Fernandez (Pelé), and several others, all while arranging a daring escape plan that will take place during the big match.

If that weren't enough, there's a second escape plan in the works: Hatch is planning his own trip outside during their training, which eventually includes a meeting with members of the French Resistance who will hopefully aid the team once their time comes. It's one of several mutually beneficial agreements that drive the story but, like most big plans, nothing ends up working out as planned. Without venturing too deep into spoiler territory, Victory reminds us that the least likely outcome -- unbelievable as it may be -- sometimes happens anyway, even if dozen upon dozens of sports dramas (including Rocky and most of its sequels) have rendered its underdog story all but cliché by now.

For better or worse, Victory devotes almost equal time to the team's training and escape plan, which includes that secondary attempt where Hatch meets with Resistance leader André (Amidou, the stage name of actor Hamidou Benmessaoud) and the lovely Renée (Carole Laure). This barely fruitful meeting devolves into a tepid romance between Hatch and Renée while representing Victory's biggest flaw: the pacing, which is so inconsistent that neither the escape attempt or climactic game feels as important as it should. If anything shines, it's the latter: said game is well-shot with plenty of top stars, including the aforementioned Pelé showing off his footwork and a few slow-motion bicycle kicks for good measure. Other items also work in Victory's favor including the respectable cast and a memorable score by Bill Conti, which infuses some of its most athletic moments with an appropriate amount of brassy fanfare.

As a whole, though, Victory can't help but feel like less than the sum of its parts. Both the separate Rocky and The Great Escape boast much clearer paths and bigger payoffs by sticking to a single genre, and even closer matches like the original The Longest Yard (long overdue for its own Blu-ray) feel more cohesive and satisfying. Yet Victory is still worth a watch for newcomers -- especially fans of the cast and crew -- and will likely play even better for those who saw it in younger years. Last issued on DVD in 2010, Victory's new Blu-ray arrives from Warner Archive Collection; it features another outstanding A/V presentation from perhaps the most reliable catalog studio in the business.

Victory Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Writing video summaries for Warner Archive Collection titles is harder than it looks -- they're so consistently great that I'm running out of adjectives. As usual, this 1080p transfer appears extremely faithful to its source material with terrific image detail, strong textures, and a satisfying amount of natural film grain. Truth be told, much of Victory is painted in rather bland earth tones -- a result of the prison camp setting, not the cinematography -- but its more colorful third act offers a nice visual contrast with vivid hues including bright banners, striking red uniforms, and the deep greens of the stadium soccer field. Flesh tones look entirely natural in both settings, with shadow detail and contrast levels holding steady as well. Depth is also outstanding under the right lighting conditions. Also of note is the overall cleanliness of this picture, which is sourced from a recent 2K scan of the interpositive with extensive manual cleanup and encoded at a high bitrate. Overall, it's another purist's dream that will please die-hard fans and newcomers alike.

Victory Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Victory's original stereo mix -- here presented in DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio -- is mighty impressive, with a surprisingly deep and forceful presence that offers great channel separation. Dialogue is mixed well and often easy to understand, although some regional dialects are aided by the optional English subtitles. Much like its visuals, things are a bit more subdued during the first half of Victory but the climactic soccer game breathes even more life into the already-great audio track, from the roar of the crowd to the marching band, play-by-play announcer and, of course, on-field action. Earlier moments shine as well and feature notable depth during crowded scenes and appropriately narrow sound field within some of the more cramped interior locations. Of course, Bill Conti's rousing original score plays better than ever: its brassy, invigorating overtones sound extremely bold and dynamic without constantly fighting for attention. Overall, this is a great-sounding lossless track that impresses in a lot of unexpected ways.

The aforementioned English (SDH) subtitles, unfortunately, are poorly formatted in ALL CAPS. Aside from that annoying and persistent problem, they're at least placed within the 2.39:1 frame with no obvious sync issues.

Victory Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Victory arrives on Blu-ray in a keepcase with poster artwork that's just ridiculously bad. As usual, on-disc extras are extremely limited -- Warner Bros. released a featureless DVD back in 2010, so at least we get something.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:30) - This over-the-top trailer offers a decent plot summary, which is some ways is much clearer than the film itself. It's in rough but watchable shape and cropped to 1.85:1. Watch it here.

Victory Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Huston's Victory wants desperately to attain the highs of Rocky and The Great Escape, but never comes close -- it's a textbook example of a film whose reach exceeds its grasp. Luckily, it's not a total loss: the cast is game and it connects the dots well enough to work as a decent enough sports drama in the home stretch, and I'd imagine that the haze of nostalgia adds a lot for those who watched this back in the day. Warner Archive has done a fine job with the Blu-ray as usual, mainly focusing attention on its terrific 1080p transfer and robust lossless audio mix. Victory is very much recommended to die-hard fans of the film and cast, but newcomers may want to try before they buy.