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The 10th Victim - Blue Underground (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1965
Director: Elio Petri
Writers: Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni, Ennio Flaiano, Elio Petri, Ernesto Gastaldi
Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli, Salvo Randone, Massimo Serato, Milo Quesada, Luce Bonifassy, George Wang, Evi Rigano, Walter Williams, Richard Armstrong, Antonio Ciani, Jacques Herlin, Wolfgang Hillinger, Mickey Knox, Anita Sanders

Release Date: September 13th, 2011
Approximate Running Time: 92 Minutes 20 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $19.99

" It is the 21st Century, and society's lust for violence is satisfied by “The Big Hunt,” an international game of legalized murder. But when the sport's two top assassins (Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress) are pitted against each other, they find that love is the most dangerous game of all. As the world watches, the hunt is on. Who will become The 10th Victim?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "newly remastered from the original negative."

The 10th Victim comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 24.7 GB

Feature: 20 GB

The source used for this transfer is in very good condition; any flaws at the source are minor. Colors look vibrant, flesh tones look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good. Also, though grain is present, there appears to be some grain management applied to this transfer. That said, despite this transfer's shortcomings, it is a marked improvement over The 10th Victim's previous North American home video releases.

Audio: 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 3.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Italian language track is the stronger of the two tracks. Besides sounding clearer, it is also more robust than the English-language track. That said, dialog always comes through clearly on both tracks. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH subtitles for the English language track. Other subtitles include removable French and removable Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a poster & still gallery, Marcello Mastroianni still gallery, U.S. theatrical trailer (1 minute 47 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Italian theatrical trailer (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), and documentary about Marcello Mastroianni titled Marcello: A Sweet Life (98 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles).

Summary:

The 10th Victim was co-written and directed by Elio Petri, whose other notable films include The Assassin (L'assassino), A Quiet Place in the Country, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, and Property Is No Longer a Theft. The 10th Victim is an adaptation of a story written by Robert Sheckley titled The Seventh Victim.

The cinematographer on The 10th Victim was Gianni Di Venanzo, whose impressive filmography includes Il grido, Big Deal on Madonna Street, La note, L’eclisse, Federico Fellini’s 81/2, and Juliet of the Spirits. After The 10th Victim, Gianni Di Venanzo would only work on one more film before his untimely death at the age of 45.

The score for The 10th Victim was composed by Piero Piccioni, whose other notable scores include Duel of the Titans, The Lady Killer of Rome, La Commare Secca (The Grim Reaper), Contempt (the Italian and Spanish versions), The Nuns of Saint Archangel, and Story of a Cloistered Nun.

The narrative revolves around two characters, Marcello Polletti and Caroline Meredith, who are both participating in "The Big Hunt." Marcello is the hunted, while Caroline is the hunter in search of her 10th victim. She soon discovers that he is not as easy a target as her previous victims as he leads her around on a series of misadventures as he tries to figure out who she is and what she wants. This cat-and-mouse game that evolves between these two characters is the most enjoyable part of the film.

The cast of The 10th Victim is strong, led by Marcello Mastroianni's (8 1/2) performance as Marcello Polletti, a charismatic character who fits the type of character he was frequently cast to play. Cast in the role of Caroline Meredith, the other lead is Ursula Andress (Dr. No). Though she gives a good performance, one has to wonder if Ann-Margret, the original choice, would have been a better fit in the role of Caroline Meredith. Having said that, there is a scene with Ursula Andress that clearly inspired the Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery machine gun breast assassins.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where The 10th Victim does not deliver and then some. The premise is superbly realized, the narrative does a great job building momentum, and a very satisfying finale provides the perfect climax. Also, The 10th Victim takes full advantage of the Rome locations in the film. All of the sets used are beautifully designed and realized. Ultimately, The 10th Victim is a highly entertaining farce that fans of Eurospy films and campy 1960s sci-fi cinema are sure to thoroughly enjoy.

The 10th Victim gets a good release from Blue Underground that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative documentary.