Anticipating reality-based game shows (not to mention the movie Series 7) by several decades, The 10th Victim, a 1965 Italian film recently unearthed for re-release on video, takes place in a futuristic society in which a game called The Big Hunt has single-handedly ended all war and conflict on Earth. Acting as "the safety valve of mankind," as one organizer puts it, the Hunt pits volunteers against each another in a globalized variation on The Most Dangerous Game, with participants taking turns as hunter and victim. Had he played it straight, director Elio Petri (Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion) might have created an effective thriller; by opting to play it slant, however, he crafted something even better. Equal parts drive-in fodder, Alphaville, and Sleeper, with a high-'60s vision of the future that would make the creators of The Prisoner jealous, Petri's film is an unrestrained satire that literalizes the battle of the sexes. Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress star as two veteran contestants working toward their 10th kills, which will net them both fame and a handsome reward. Slightly ahead in the game, Andress draws Mastroianni as her next target and travels to Rome to stalk him, not expecting the spark of attraction that flies between them. The rules of the game, not to mention her corporate sponsors, bring their own obligations, and as she and the suspicious Mastroianni tangle with their feelings, Mastroianni wrestles with the recent annulment of his marriage and his live-in girlfriend's plea for commitment. Touching on divorce, the media, the treatment of the elderly, and other topics, The 10th Victim seldom pauses long enough to dwell on any of them with much detail, but it seldom needs to. Instead, it offers a fast-paced, Mad-style take on 21st-century life that's both ahead of its time and entrenched in its own era. (Unless white leather jumpsuits are due for a comeback.)