December 28, 2010

POSTER: THE 10th VICTIM

One of Spy Vibe's top-ten movies of all time is Elio Petri's The 10th Victim (1965). A rare Belgian poster from my collection. Note the space-age helmet/visor (top right) and Ursula's gun-bra (bottom left). Nuff said! See why The 10th Victim was number #5 in Spy Vibe's top-ten Set Countdown here. Check out Spy Vibe's poster-panel question and tell us your BBC James Bond name here.

4 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite films and an true masterwork from a design perspective. In addition to the brilliantly futuristic costume and set creations, the filmmakers carried out a subtle but ingenious aesthetic refinement to the blue Citroën DS 19 that Marcello Mastroianni drives in the film.

    The standard opaque fiberglass roof was removed and replaced with a blue-tinted acrylic panel that matched the car’s blue paint from a distance, but was completely transparent. In the initial shot of the car from a low camera angle, clouds in the sky can be seen through the roof. In some overhead shots, Marcello can be seen piloting the car through the blue roof as if the camera had an x-ray lens.

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  2. That's one of the details I have also enjoyed in the film. The steering wheel that we see from the roof-shot had a kind of airplane control look to it, which made Marcello's car even more futuristic in my eyes. But I didn't grow up with Citroen, so I don't know if that was common? As you say, the film is a masterwork from a design perspective. The architecture and interior design, the fashion and music. I think it's the best example of this period.

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  3. I've added a link above to the 10th Victim and our top-ten set countdown page.

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  4. Great observation - I never noticed the steering wheel!

    I just looked at some of the stills from IMCDB and I see what you mean. Citroëns of this era had a novel unispoke steering wheel with the spoke located in the 6:00 position, but the rim was a conventional 360 degrees. Apparently the filmmakers had the top of the rim cut away to give that aircraft appearance.

    I am sure both cars that have major roles in the film, the Citroën and the Jaguar E-Type were deliberately chosen for their futuristic design which was still very much au courant in 1965, despite the fact that the Citroën design was already ten years old and the Jaguar four.

    The roof and steering wheel modifications to the DS just added that extra little dose of futurism. It's all in the details!

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