Ursula Andress, voted the greatest Bond Girl ever, sports another iconic bikini, and this time it literally kills! Set in the near future, the film opens with Andress killing her penultimate victim in “The Big Hunt”, a reality-TV style game show which selects both ‘Hunter’ and ‘Victim’ from participants; the two then chase one another around the globe: kill your 10th victim and you win millions! Andress’ final victim is the cool, sun-loving Italian Marcello (Mastroianni) who also needs to notch up another kill!

Certainly one of those films where it’s style over substance, the costume and production design will dazzle you throughout. The quite surreal futuristic production design is an experience to view and features some awesome 60’s wireless phones, pet robots and other bizarre stuff lurking in the background. Ursula Andress being the main star (and attraction) of the feature just oozes sex appeal throughout and makes a lot of use of the sultry and revealing costumes. The film itself is a bundle of fun to start with but does tend to lose its pace towards the end . Quite simplistic in terms of plot (overshadowed quiet frequently by visuals pieced together by frantic camerawork and editing), it’s pretty understandable to see why this is regarded a cult film.

The 10th Victim is presented on Blu-ray with a MPEG4-AVC 1080/24p transfer that preserves it’s original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio. The HD image on display is pretty good and the sources used for this transfer seemed to have been preserved very well. Skin tones are warm and natural throughout and the colour palette used is vivid and punchy and highlights a lot of the funky production design. There was hardly any print damage observed. There are a few shots that appear to be softer than others but generally, it’s sharp and detailed throughout. There was no Edge Enhancement or Digital Noise Reduction observed either but I did see some digital noise creep in during my viewing.

The 10th Victim is supplied with dual audio tracks. An English LPCM 2.0 track and dubbed Italian LPCM 2.0 track.The audio mix is what one would expect. Italian films from this era didn’t have access to good ADR / sound mixing facilities so it comes across as a bit harsh and flat. Dialogue was clear though (on both English and Italian audio tracks) and sound effects (futuristic whooshing noises being quite a giggle when heard) were nicely balanced. The music can be a bit overbearing and muddled but in terms of the LPCM audio on this disc, it preserves it very well.

Interview with Kim Newman and Paola Petri (28:30) – presented in 1080/24p with LPCM 2.0 audio

Theatrical Trailer (02:22) – The film’s original theatrical trailer is presented on the disc in Italian with English subtitles. Presented in 1080/24p with LPCM 2.0 audio

Photo Gallery (01:00) – a selection of original posters and lobby stills play alongside selections of the films original score.

Shameless Trailers – Venus in Furs, The Frightened Woman, Baba Yaga : The Final Cut, Footprints on the Moon, The Bronx Warriors Trilogy, The New York Ripper, The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh, Cannibal Holocaust, Dellemorte Dellamore, Amsterdamned, The Nurse,

For The Best of World Cinema – a quick overview of other titles from studios connected to Shameless

Certainly a bizarre and crazy film but quite a lot of fun as well. Ursla Andress stuns and excites throughout the film as well as the original and funky production design. Featuring a fairly decent, but not perfect, audio and video transfer with a small but exclusive serving of bonus features, The 10th Victim is for viewers with an acquired taste but is actually quite fun once you get into the swing of it.

Purchase your copy from the official Shameless Films website and at  Amazon.co.uk