The Tenth Victim (La Decima Vittima)
Director: Elio Petri
France/Italy 1965
92 minutes
Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress's breasts spray bullets from a death-dealing,
double-barrelled bra in this legendary science-fiction extravaganza
about contract killing in the next century. Ursula plays Caroline
Meredith, top gun in a game of government-sanctioned murder called
"The Big Hunt," who is searching for her "tenth victim" to achieve
the
highest possible score. With her treacherous tits, the American Miss
Meredith has selected Marcello for her tenth hit, but he's not
exactly
an innocent victim. Sleek in silk pyjamas and peroxided skull cut,
he's
out to dispatch her first, and when the two killers fall in love,
it's
PRIZZI'S HONOUR set in a pop vision of the (fast advancing)
future. With its Club Masoch and James Bond jibes, the film recalls
the crazy days of MODESTY BLAISE, but director Petri is not
unserious with his futuristic farce: he cites Antonioni's
RED DESERT
as a major influence on the film (it is designed and shot by that
film's
visual team). Based on
Robert Scheckley's short story
"The Seventh
Victim", about a society where
violence is
channeled into organized murder
hunts.
"Mastroianni delivers another impeccable performance... Fun and
gadgets galore... beautifully paced and succeeds in both amusing and
horrifying the spectator... stunning set and decor" (Boxoffice).
