Incredible Movie Plots That Are Based On Real Life Escape To Victory
The Movie
A motley crew of Allied prisoners of war in a German POW camp form a football team under former West Ham player John Colby (Michael Caine). Asked to play an exhibition match against their captors, they plan to escape at half time, but decide to stay and finish the match despite Nazi attempts to fix it.
Poster of the return match
The Amazing True Story!
We know what you're thinking: surely that pile of Hollywood claptrap and Sylvester Stallone goalkeeping wasn't really based on a true story? Well, think again. But forget the POWs; the real inspiration for this was in Nazi-occupied Ukraine, where former members of football team (that's "soccer" for our Yankee readers) Dynamo Kiev came together while working in a bakery and formed a team called FC Start, a name that isn't a patch on "dynamo" if you ask us. They joined a league run by a Nazi sympathiser and proceeded to thoroughly demolish every military or related team that the Germans sent against them.
After the Luftwaffe's "team" was defeated 5-1 on August 6, they asked Start for a rematch, which took place on August 9 and has since become known as "the Death Match" (ah, the names are getting better). When an SS officer was appointed referee and the players received an anonymous warning that they'd be wise to lose the match, it was clear that things weren't going to be massively fair. Sure enough, physical violence nearly knocked out FC Start's goalie and fouls were allowed as a matter of course. In the second half the score stood at 5-1 in Start's favour after Start defender Klimenko, having got the ball, beaten the German defenders, walked around the German goalkeeper and then just kicked the ball back to the midfield instead of scoring because really, what was the point. Seeing the opposing team just toying with the Luftwaffe, the referee stopped the match before the 90 minutes were up.
Following the match, several members of FC Start were arrested and tortured by the Gestapo on allegations that they were working for the Soviet NKVD agency (forerunners to the KGB). One died under torture; others in the concentration camp to which they were sent.
The Differences
Virtually everything: the true story is far more dramatic than the Hollywood version, and has the added bonus that it didn't feature Stallone trying to get to grips with this "soccer" thing. In fairness, it has been filmed more accurately on three occasions, twice in Russia and once in Hungary.
Have Your Say
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Your Comments
1
Aye.
Posted on Saturday December 5, 2009, 02:06 by captainamazing
It's about time someone mentioned it was the Spartans who were reknowned boy-lovers, not the Persians. And fighting in your keks? What's that about?? Read More
2
ahem!
Posted on Monday November 9, 2009, 18:13 by mdogg81
L: Kefka of Clubs
While there are hundreds more inaccurate things you could say about 300, something always ignored about the Battle of Thermopylae is the arguably more important naval battle going on at the same time at Artemisium at the same time, led by the Athenian general Themistocles. While it wasn't a victory, exactly, it did damage the Persian fleet enough that Salamis (where the war was really won) was a much easier victory for the Greek armies. Also, as Herodotus claims there were 2,500,000 soldiers, cutting off their supply train (their navy) was a much more important tactic than killing a few soldiers or holding them up for a bit.
Sorry for the rant, but I really feel Sparta gets far too much credit for winning the Persian Wars. Remember when you guys were too busy to fight at Marathon, eh? Who had to do the heavy lifting there?!
sp;
That're very interesting, however it would make for a godawful, dull piece of entertainment journalism, which is why Read More
4
RE: AYE!
Posted on Monday November 9, 2009, 10:21 by Helen OHara
NZ, I didn't forget it, but I was looking for incidences where the real story was more interesting than the movie, and in that one I felt they were about on a par.
Kefka, there's no doubt that Artemisium was important, or Salamis, but neither has quite as great a cool factor as Thermopylae.
Read More
5
AYE!
Posted on Saturday November 7, 2009, 09:39 by nz_louise
you forgot heavenly creatures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read More
6
300
Posted on Friday November 6, 2009, 15:16 by Kefka of Clubs
While there are hundreds more inaccurate things you could say about 300, something always ignored about the Battle of Thermopylae is the arguably more important naval battle going on at the same time at Artemisium at the same time, led by the Athenian general Themistocles. While it wasn't a victory, exactly, it did damage the Persian fleet enough that Salamis (where the war was really won) was a much easier victory for the Greek armies. Also, as Herodotus claims there were 2,500,000 soldiers, cutting off their supply train (their navy) was a much more important tactic than killing a few soldiers or holding them up for a bit.
Sorry for the rant, but I really feel Sparta gets far too much credit for winning the Persian Wars. Remember when you guys were too busy to fight at Marathon, eh? Who had to do the heavy lifting there?! Read More
7
Dead Ringers
Posted on Friday November 6, 2009, 12:21 by sonofjor-el
Where's Dead Ringers?! I don't think any writer could have come up with identical twin Gynaecologists, manipulating their patients. Class. Read More
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