Top 5 films to get you in the mood for the World Cup
Published:
The World Cup is now just days away – with England priced at 28/1 to win it – and to mark the occasions Hollywood has got in on the act with the release of the footy-themed movie United Passions.
Tim Roth plays Sepp Blatter and Gérard Depardieu features as Jules Rimet but while it boasts a stellar cast this one looks set to be an absolute turkey.
With that in mind Ladbrokes News’ James Curtis has put together a list of more suitable films to get you in the mood.
Escape to Victory
Firmly in the so bad it’s good category this prisoner of war film documents a game between the German national team and a rag-tag bunch of prisoners in Nazi-occupied France.
It may not sound like a recipe for movie gold but the film boasts a who’s who of World Cup legends including Pele, Bobby Moore and Ossie Ardiles and even better Sly Stallone stars – as a goalkeeper.
The Other Half
These days nothing cajoles a sports fan more than a down–the-camera “Let’s ‘ave it!” from Danny Dyer – or so straight-to-DVD film-makers would have us believe.
At this point you’re either a Dyer fan or you’re not but for those who are follow the cockney geezer’s Mark as he “accidentally” takes his new wife on honeymoon to Portugal at the same time as the Three Lions are in town and intent on glory!
Goal III
Okay. Okay. This is the one that brought the franchise to a grinding halt but if you bothered to watch Santiago Munez sign for Newcastle and then Real Madrid you may as well cop this DVD number and see how he fares on the biggest stage of all.
This one doesn’t have the cameos of the first two but Lock Stock’s Nick Moran and Danny Dyer’s Football factory companion Tamer Hassan feature so it could be worse.
Mike Bassett – England Manager
The closest most England fans will get to (spoiler alert) seeing the Three Lions win the World Cup this film stars Ricky Tomlinson as a foul-mouthed managerial washout thrust into the spotlight as an unlikely national boss.
A cast of English TV stars fill the cast and Pele lends some stardust but this film is worth watching for the changing room antics alone!
Bend it like Beckham
“The daughter of orthodox Sikh rebels against her parents’ traditionalism by running off to Germany with a football team.”
That’s what IMDB says anyway. For us though it’s the film that launched the career of Keira Knightley and provided a decent number of laughs. Watch out for a cameo from Shaznay Lewis of All Saints fame!
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £50 in free bets.
