La víctima número diez

To judge this film by "today's standards" misses the point--what are we comparing it to? Armageddon? Scream 3? This was the European 60s vision of the 'future'-- and why didn't it turn out that way? An odd, cheeky little plot mixing romance, light sci-fi and gunplay is underscored by dazzling visuals in a similar style to The Prisoner series, or Alphaville (if it were in color). Piero Piccioni's score is pure 'Jazz 2001', and is available as an import reissue. Mastroianni is charming and Ursula Andress is at her sexiest, in an array of groovy ensembles. It all depends on what you're after, but personally I wish the WORLD LOOKED like this movie and that men's and women's fashion reflected this film's 'in the future, people will dress like this' style. Anchor Bay's DVD is a great addition to the collection of any 60s/European film fan.

In the future an organization sets up a game show that show people hunting each other. Two people are chosen: the Hunter and the Victim. Anything goes as the Victim flees for the designated time period. Marcello Mastorianni plays the most successful killer and then his number comes up as a victim. The hunters and victims have know knowledge of one another and Marcello must always be on guard. The hunter after him is the beautiful Ursula Andress, always dressed in knock-out fashions. Marcello's as cool as ever, always dressed in black, wearing sunglasses. The production design is fantastic. The colourful comic book architecture is the height of retro cool. For fan of Italian '60s pop art science fiction, this is one to check out.

Very silly, very early 1960s, very Italian, very stylish and in the end very sexy and very amusing. This variant of The Dangerous Game does not start well and is far more confusing than it need be but the more it goes on and the more we saw of Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress the more fun it gets. Having recently seen Andress give a great performance with Stanley Baker in Perfect Friday, I was delighted to see she is just as good here, helping proceedings enormously with her great looks and performance. Mastoianni is as reliable as ever but doesn't look so good with blond hair and doesn't seem 100% comfortable all the time. Hard to classify and also hard to rate because although by the end I was smiling broadly, was not anything like as happy at the start. Very strange film and it sits even more strangely within the output of director, Elio Petri but certainly worth seeing and if you like Andress, you will love it.

I normally don't feel compelled to write reviews for films, especially when similar views have already been presented. However, after seeing a blatantly off-base review under the title of "hopeless" for "The 10th Victim", I had to make up for it. That reviewer is obviously incapable of appreciating a film like this because it's not easily pigeonholed. It's a fun, exciting comedy, drama, and farce rolled into one... I really liked the interactions between Andress (who looks absolutely stunning in this film) and Mastroianni. An interesting concept that is well executed... after viewing it for the first time, I knew it would remain an all-time favorite of mine for life... I am thrilled that this is finally seeing the light of day on DVD (after a way-outdated VHS version that even had a photo of Andress from ten years later on the cover, instead of a proper still from the movie). I'm buying this on DVD the second it's released...

Lest I forget... the soundtrack of this film is simply amazing... Not a large amount of original music, but what a score it is... by the Italian master Piero Piccioni. Listen and love...

I always enjoy 1960s ideas on what the future holds. This is a kind of proto Purge. As a replacement for war, society has devised the "Big Hunt". Legalised violence. People are encouraged to take part in hunts, sometimes the hunter, sometimes the hunted. Survive 10 rounds and there's cash in it. It could be quite edgy with that premise, but no. This is the 60s so it's a romantic action comedy with a heavy dose of kitsch. We're introduced to Caroline Meredith (Ursula Andress) who dances onto screen in a skimpy silver bikini before shooting her pray with bullets from her bra. That pretty much sets the scene. This is her 9th kill, she's one more to go before she's done and wins a million dollars. It's a French/Italian production, shot in Italy, all very stylish. Cigarettes, sunglasses, sex and cool cars. Caroline's 10th victim isn't going to come easy. She's up against Marcello Poletti (Marcello Mastroianni), a pairing chosen by a supercomputer in Geneva that talks with an hysterically clipped robot voice. It's clearly trying to have a bit of fun. Echoed by the kitsch 60s europop score, although I'm not sure that's intended or just typical of the period. Caroline is approached by some TV types, who want to film and televise her grand finale, it's all brilliantly bonkers, but eeks out the idea far too long, leaving it feeling a bit thin. It's funny enough, silly enough to get away with it though. Largely down to the ridiculous sets and bad acting. The only jeopardy is that although Caroline knows who she's to kill. Marcello doesn't know who's hunting him. If he kills the wrong person he gets 30 years in jail. It would be easy if Caroline just tried to shoot him, but that's not the game and not how she's got this far. She has to trick him and lure him in, which sets up a playful game of cat and mouse with the pair as the inevitably get more tangled than either had intended. It's crap really, but a good laugh.