Forgotten Cinema

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes take a look at "Victory", or "Escape to Victory", as the film has somehow come to be known.
Both Mike Butler and Mike Field enjoy the movie, but neither thinks it entirely works. One of the biggest surprises on this revisit is just how central Sylvester Stallone’s character is to the story. Both Mikes remembered him as more of a supporting player, but instead his character becomes the film’s primary focus, despite being one of its least likable figures.
For both Butler and Field, Michael Caine’s character feels like the far more natural protagonist. His role within the team, his relationships with the other prisoners, and his involvement in the match give the film a stronger emotional center than Stallone’s escape-focused storyline.
The film also struggles to generate much real danger. Its POW camp often feels less like a prison and more like a strangely relaxed summer camp for captured soldiers, while the so-called Bureau of Escape is almost comically organized. Many members of the soccer team are played by actual footballers rather than actors, which makes the final match more authentic but also leaves much of the team underdeveloped as characters. Combined with German soldiers who rarely feel especially threatening, the movie never builds the level of tension its premise seems to promise.
Still, "Victory" remains an entertaining watch. The final match delivers some genuinely impressive soccer, including more from Stallone than either Mike expected, while Pelé naturally steals the show once the players take the field.
The Mikes also dig into the strange production history surrounding the film, including the director’s dislike of the finished movie and stories about Stallone being less than popular with the cast while juggling filming with work on "Rocky III" and spending his downtime traveling around Europe.
Messy, oddly low-stakes, and built around the wrong central character, "Victory" is far from perfect. But once the match finally begins, there is enough charm, spectacle, and genuine athleticism to make the whole thing worth the trip.
What are some other forgotten soccer (football) films? Let us know in the comments below!
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0:00 - Introduction
3:14 - Film Facts
10:17 - Film Discussion
34:59 - Reviews
40:10 - Who Would You Recommend This To?
41:41 - Why Is This Forgotten?
45:41 - Plugs
#ForgottenCinema #Victory #EscapeToVictory #SylvesterStallone #MichaelCaine #MaxVonSydow #Pele #Soccer #WW2 #WWII #WorldWarTwo #Sports #SportsMovie #80sMovies #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #UnderratedMovies

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes take a look at "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", the ambitious 2004 sci-fi adventure starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie.
Butler remembered enjoying the visual style of the film more than the movie itself. On this revisit, even that appreciation has faded. The film seems caught between two aesthetics. It never fully embraces the bold color of a pulp comic brought to life, but it also cannot commit to the stark, high-contrast black-and-white look that might have better suited the material. Instead, much of the movie is intentionally washed out and soft; leaving its once-groundbreaking visual approach feeling surprisingly muted.
The bigger problem for both Mikes is the story. "Sky Captain" drops the audience into an alternate world without giving us much opportunity to understand it, follows a hero we barely get to know, and introduces a collection of characters who rarely receive enough screen time to become emotionally involving. For an adventure movie, there are also surprisingly long stretches where the adventure itself feels missing.
At roughly an hour and forty-five minutes, the film feels considerably longer than it is. Field even fell asleep during his first viewing and had to go back and finish it. He ultimately feels the material might have worked better as interactive media or even as a short film, which is fitting considering the feature grew out of a short inspired by the old serials that once played before movies.
There are still things to appreciate. The performances are solid, the effects remain impressive in places, and the amount of post-production accomplished with tools similar to the Adobe software available to home users in the early 2000s is genuinely fascinating. Most importantly, the studio took a real creative swing on something visually unusual, and both Mikes would rather see Hollywood continue taking those kinds of risks than avoid them entirely.
Unfortunately, ambition alone does not make the finished film work. "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is an interesting experiment, a technically impressive production, and ultimately a bit of a miss.
What are some other pulp serial homage films? Let us know in the comments below!
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🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
✨ Support us on Patreon for exclusive content: www.patreon.com/forgottencinema
🛍️ Grab some Forgotten Cinema merch: www.etsy.com/shop/ForgottenCinemaShop
Check out our website: https://www.forgottencinemapodcast.com
0:00 - Introduction
3:21 - Film Facts
12:23 - Film Discussion
31:41 - Reviews
39:49 - Who Would You Recommend This To?
43:17 - Why Is This Forgotten?
45:38 - Plugs
#ForgottenCinema #SkyCaptainAndTheWorldofTomorrow #SkyCaptain #JudeLaw #GwynethPaltrow #AngelinaJolie #GiovanniRibisi #SciFi #Adventure #ActionMovie #00sMovies #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #UnderratedMovies

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes take a look at "Restoration", the 1995 period drama starring Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Neill.
Neither Mike Butler nor Mike Field had seen the film before, and both come away impressed. The performances are excellent across the board, with Downey Jr. carrying the film beautifully and Sam Neill standing out as King Charles II, played as both a philandering monarch and a surprisingly wise, compassionate ruler. The costumes and production design are equally impressive, more than earning the recognition they received during awards season.
Where the film loses some momentum is in the way its story is structured. "Restoration" unfolds almost like a series of vignettes, and while many of those individual sections work, the transitions between them can leave the movie feeling disjointed. Field particularly struggles with the Meg Ryan and Quaker hospital portion of the story, while Butler believes those scenes are important but also suspects the film may be missing connective material that would have helped everything flow together more naturally.
At the same time, both Mikes appreciate that "Restoration" avoids one of the most common traps of the historical drama. It never becomes a bloated period epic. The film moves quickly, keeps its focus relatively tight, and trusts its actors and production design to do much of the heavy lifting.
While neither Butler nor Field quite loves the movie, both find plenty to admire and would easily recommend "Restoration" to anyone interested in history, great performances, or the craft of filmmaking itself.
What are some other forgotten period piece films we might like? Let us know in the comments below!
🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more Forgotten Cinema content!
🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
✨ Support us on Patreon for exclusive content: www.patreon.com/forgottencinema
🛍️ Grab some Forgotten Cinema merch: www.etsy.com/shop/ForgottenCinemaShop
Check out our website: https://www.forgottencinemapodcast.com
0:00 - Introduction
4:57 - Film Facts
15:05 - Film Discussion
30:58 - Reviews
37:24 - Who Would You Recommend This To?
41:00 - Why Is This Forgotten?
44:00 - Plugs
#ForgottenCinema #Restoration #SamNeill #RobertDowneyJr #RDJ #MegRyan #HughGrant #PeriodFilm #PeriodPiece #90sMovies #Drama #Comedy #Historical #History #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #UnderratedMovies

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes turn up the heat with "Backdraft", Ron Howard's 1991 firefighter thriller starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, and Donald Sutherland.
Both Mike Butler and Mike Field are big fans of the film, particularly its performances and incredible practical fire effects. Butler singles out Kurt Russell and Donald Sutherland, while Field goes even further and unapologetically LOVES the movie.
There are still a few story beats and character decisions that keep Butler from loving "Backdraft" quite as much as Field does. Field agrees that those problems are there, but for him they do little to diminish everything the movie gets right.
The biggest standout for both Mikes is the filmmaking itself. The fire feels genuinely dangerous because so much of what appears on screen was accomplished practically, with enormous sets, real flames, and performers doing much of their own stunt work. The result gives "Backdraft" a physicality and sense of danger that is incredibly difficult to fake.
That leads to a larger discussion about whether a movie like this could even look as convincing if it were made today. Thirty-five years later, a remake would almost certainly rely far more heavily on green screen and CGI, but would that actually make the fire look better? For Butler and Field, "Backdraft" is a great example of why practical filmmaking can still produce images that modern technology struggles to replicate.
Flawed in places but spectacular where it counts, "Backdraft" remains a thrilling piece of early '90s filmmaking and a reminder that sometimes the best special effect is simply putting the camera in front of the real thing.
What are some other great fire fighter films? Let us know in the comments below!
🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more Forgotten Cinema content!
🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
✨ Support us on Patreon for exclusive content: www.patreon.com/forgottencinema
🛍️ Grab some Forgotten Cinema merch: www.etsy.com/shop/ForgottenCinemaShop
Check out our website: https://www.forgottencinemapodcast.com
0:00 - Introduction
2:57 - Film Facts
12:04 - Film Discussion
31:39 - Reviews
34:47 - Who Would You Recommend This To?
35:36 - Why Is This Forgotten?
40:07 - Plugs
#ForgottenCinema #Backdraft #KurtRussell #WilliamBaldwin #RobertDeNiro #RonHoward #FireFighters #90sMovies #Action #Thriller #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #UnderratedMovies

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes take a look at "Confess, Fletch", the 2022 comedy mystery starring Jon Hamm as investigative reporter and perpetual troublemaker Irwin M. Fletcher.
Both Mike Butler and Mike Field find plenty to like here. Jon Hamm makes Fletch his own, bringing an easygoing charm and dry comedic delivery to the character, while the supporting cast gives him plenty of strange personalities to bounce off of. The mystery moves along nicely, the jokes land, and the entire film has an effortlessly pleasant quality that makes it an easy watch.
"Confess, Fletch" certainly isn't reinventing either the comedy or mystery genre, but it doesn't really need to. It's funny, charming, inoffensive entertainment that knows exactly what kind of movie it wants to be and delivers a solid version of it.
The Mikes also discuss why a film like this struggled to find an audience in 2022. Between a theatrical marketplace still recovering from the pandemic, its simultaneous availability at home, and a cast that may not have pulled in younger moviegoers, "Confess, Fletch" never got much of a chance to build momentum.
That's especially unfortunate because Hamm proves to be a great fit for Fletch, and both Butler and Field would have happily watched him solve a few more mysteries. "Confess, Fletch" may not be groundbreaking, but sometimes a charming, funny little movie is more than enough.
Would you like to see more Jon Hamm starring "Fletch" films? Let us know in the comments below!
🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more Forgotten Cinema content!
🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
✨ Support us on Patreon for exclusive content: www.patreon.com/forgottencinema
🛍️ Grab some Forgotten Cinema merch: www.etsy.com/shop/ForgottenCinemaShop
Check out our website: https://www.forgottencinemapodcast.com
0:00 - Introduction
2:17 - Film Facts
10:48 - Film Discussion
25:12 - Reviews
28:23 - Who Would You Recommend This To?
31:47 - Why Is This Forgotten?
36:40 - Plugs
#ForgottenCinema #ConfessFletch #Fletch #JonHamm #Comedy #mystery #BasedOnABook #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #UnderratedMovies #Crime