The 10th Victim
| The 10th Victim | |
|---|---|
Italian film poster
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| Directed by | Elio Petri |
| Produced by | Carlo Ponti |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | "Seventh Victim" by Robert Sheckley |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Piero Piccioni |
| Cinematography | Gianni Di Venanzo |
| Edited by | Ruggero Mastroianni |
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Production
companies |
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| Distributed by | Interfilm |
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Release date
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December 3, 1965 |
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | Italian English |
The 10th Victim (Italian: La decima vittima) is a 1965 Italian-French science fiction film directed by Elio Petri and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress, and featuring Elsa Martinelli in a supporting role. The picture is based on Robert Sheckley's 1953 short story "Seventh Victim". Sheckley later published a novelization of the film in 1966, and two sequels (Victim Prime and Hunter/Victim) in 1987 and 1988, respectively. In the United States, the film was theatrically released by Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures.
In the near future, big wars are avoided by giving individuals with violent tendencies a chance to kill in the Big Hunt. The Hunt is the most popular form of entertainment in the world and also attracts participants who are looking for fame and fortune. It includes ten rounds for each competitor, five as the hunters and five as the victims. The survivor of ten rounds becomes extremely wealthy and retires. Scenes switch between the pursuit, romance between a hunter and a victim, with a narrator explaining the rules and justification of the Hunt.
Caroline Meredith (Ursula Andress) is a huntress armed with a high caliber Bosch shotgun looking for her tenth victim. To maximize financial gain, Meredith wants to get a perfect kill in front of the cameras as she has negotiated a major sponsorship from the Ming Tea Company. Marcello Poletti (Marcello Mastroianni) is the victim. He is reluctant to kill Meredith because he is not sure that she is his hunter; later he is more reluctant because they have become romantically involved.
The original short story was written from the point of view of a man hunting his seventh target, a woman, whereas in the movie she is the hunter. He finds her apparently defenceless sitting in a cafe. Talking to her, she tells him how she is new to the game but could not bear to kill her own target, and now expects to die. The hunter falls in love with his victim, as in the movie, and eventually reveals who he is. She has tricked him; she shoots him, joining the ranks of the "Tens".
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Wikipedia