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Film (1965; vt The Tenth Victim). Champion/Concordia. Directed by Elio Petri. Written by Petri, Ennio Flaiano, Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvione, based on "Seventh Victim" (April 1953 Galaxy) by Robert Sheckley. Cast includes Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli, Marcello Mastroianni and Massimo Serato. 92 minutes. Colour.
This French-Italian coproduction is based loosely on Sheckley's story about a future world where, as a safety valve for latent aggression, the government has legalized duels to the death. In the film two participants (Mastroianni and Andress) are highly trained individuals alternating as "hunter" and "victim", each aiming for the ten-kill score that will bring unlimited privileges. The Dystopian possibilities are neglected in favour of the then-fashionable James Bond/thriller approach, with black jokes and posturing in extravagant costumes. The novelization is The Tenth Victim (1966) by Robert Sheckley. [JB]
see also: Leisure.
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Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 16:42 pm on 13 March 2026.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/decima_vittima_la>