There is no doubt that Pelé’s vast career It is one of the most successful and recognized in the world of football. Three world cups, more than 700 professional goals and continental titles with his club make Edson Arantes do Nascimento be one of the candidates to be recognized as the best footballer in history.
The heyday of O’Rei is always indisputable in sports, even the Argentines themselves as the “Crazy” Gatti and Menotti They have made it clear that the Brazilian is the greatest in football, above Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi.
Of course, his star position was marked by a slight crisis in the 70s, which is why he decided to play in the United States to be able to solve his life of luxury and waste.
Pelé was called to star in this war film together with the interpreter of “Rocky” (Free Press Photo: IMDb)
Thus, after shining at Santos in Brazil, the 82-year-old star was signed by the New York Cosmosmanaging to capture the attention of various figures in the field of entertainment in the most powerful country in the world.
Years later, the Brazilian legend was invited to participate in “Escape or Victory”a science fiction film that managed to have footballers Bobby Moore, Paul Van Himst, Kazimierz Deyna and Osvaldo Ardiles in its cast.
Directed by John Huston, the new American film managed to concentrate the expectation of all lovers of the seventh art, since in addition to the aforementioned footballers, they also had the already established Sylvester Stallone, Max Von Sydow and Michael Caine as their main cast.
WHAT IS THE FILM “EVASION TO VICTORY” ABOUT?
Years ago, tapes with war and war tones were the favorite bets for directors, which is why they decided to allocate a large economic amount for the production of “Evasion to Victory” by getting famous people in each of the entertainment industries. .
Of course, and to get away from the traditional cliché, this film was based on the ‘Match of Death’ between FC Start, a group of former players from a kyiv club, and Rukh, a powerful Ukrainian cast that had its heyday in the Third Reich.
Although it had a great influence on what happened in the Second World War, the tape has several scenes that present fictitious events between the prisoners of war and the Nazi Germans, since it gives us a soccer match between both sides. Something totally ironic given the war context of that time.
In the aforementioned film, Pelé gives life to “Luis Fernandez”, a skilled player who gives victory to the team that also includes Michael Caine. The development of the film focuses on these two characters, who have the slogan of winning the game to free themselves from the control and dominance of the Germans.
This is how “Robert Hatch” is added, an experienced goalkeeper who is played by Sylvester Stallone, another great legend, but of contemporary cinema worldwide.
The curious thing about this film is that both the soccer players and those invited to the production highlighted Pelé’s skills when taking the ball and doing his thing. There is no doubt that he was ahead of his time.
WAS THE PELÉ FILM GOOD OR BAD?
Despite being presented as a fresh bet involving athletes and world-class figures, the film was not widely accepted in the United States, being one of the most forgotten releases in American cinema.
Where it did have a good reception was in South America, especially in the land of samba and some countries on that continent such as Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
