6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
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?
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli, Salvo Randone, Massimo SeratoForeign | 100% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Only the Big Hunt offers you a sense of security.
The 10th Victim plays in hindsight like a tale of two movies. On one hand, it's a terribly dated and ultra-cheesy forward-thinking picture of
antiquated "future" technologies and ridiculous "future" landscapes that are both enough to pull the modern audience right out of the movie. On
the other hand,
it's impossible not to see it as nothing less than a visionary film. Sure the "man hunts man" and "hunter becomes hunted" angles were long
established before even The 10th Victim, gaining notoriety way back when with the release of The Most Dangerous Game, but
Director Elio Petri's 1965 Italian film is a trailblazer all its own. It's a film that incorporates corporate sponsorship, high technology, and media
sensationalism as critical pieces of the plot, all elements that would define one of Action's juiciest sub-genres that includes pictures like the original
Rollerball, The Running Man, The Condemned, and Hard Target. Each are movies of varying
degrees of
success but that give an idea what The 10th Victim might be like if its twisty plot and character-driven narrative also incorporated more
imaginative visions of
21st century technology to push it along. Fortunately, the movie works in spite of its visual silliness. Even today it's an engaging and occasionally
even heart-stopping Sci-Fi-inspired Thriller that's intriguing on its own merits and worth a watch for its standard-setting and forward-thinking
influences.
Hunting.
The 10th Victim's 1080p transfer is sometimes shaky, but the cumulative result is very positive. Blue Underground's latest transfer is sturdy and very nicely detailed. Clothes and faces are complex, and interior and exterior elements alike -- smooth and rough textures both -- enjoy stable detailing and strong definition. Colors are a strength; from the brightest hues to the least extraordinary whites and grays, the transfer never misses a beat in delivery of The 10th Victim's diverse palette. The image retains a very sharp grain structure which never feels wholly organic, but then again the image doesn't appear to be detrimentally scrubbed, either. However, jagged lines and noisy clusters do often surround objects and characters, which represents the transfer's most evident weakness. Additionally, occasional print damage -- pops, stray hairs -- appears but not to an excessive or distracting level. Getting back to the plusses, natural depth is evident, flesh tones appear accurate, and blacks are unwaveringly strong. This isn't quite Blue Underground's finest transfer, but it's a good, high-yield image that overcomes its few weaknesses with ease.
The 10th Victim features both original Italian and English-dubbed soundtracks, each of the DTS-HD MA mono variety. Neither is any great shakes, frankly, but the original Italian track is clearly the superior of the two. The English dub is so crackly and scratchy that it often borders on the unlistenable. It's a bit louder than the Italian mix, but the original track -- despite sounding a bit hollow in places -- is also more often than not the fuller, more balanced, cleaner, and generally more pleasant of the two. Of course, range is terribly limited, most sound effects lack even basic clarity, and the overall sensation is one of mushiness and undefined elements. However, dialogue is suitably crisp. Neither track is likely to impress, but the presentation succeeds -- notably in its original state -- in delivering the basic sound structure to a suitable level of proficiency.
The 10th Victim doesn't have too many film-specific supplements to offer, but it does include a second feature-length film.
The 10th Victim isn't exactly the kind of thing Blue Underground normally releases on Blu-ray. It's a far cry from the Horror pictures the studio puts out on a monthly basis, but that doesn't make it any less of a frightening tale of a possible future. While visually dated, the movie holds strong to its entertainment value while serving as a template for a slew of movies that copy its themes and put a different spin on its plot but that don't really find the same balance that makes The 10th Victim a success. Strong acting, good writing, steady direction, and its place as a semi-important historical picture make The 10th Victim a must-see for 21st century film connoisseurs. Blue Underground's Blu-ray release of The 10th Victim features occasionally troubled but mostly solid video, a serviceable but problematic soundtrack, and a few minor film-related extras to go along with a feature documentary. Recommended on the strength of the film.
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