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Modesty Blaise (1966)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 4.2/10
Reviews Counted: 9
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 5

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 938

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Movie Info

A popular British comic strip series served as inspiration for this light-hearted espionage adventure, which if nothing else certainly shows the marks of its origins in the mid-1960s. A large departure for director Joseph Losey, better known for brooding interpretations of Harold Pinter works (The Servant, Accident), the film is emphatically bright and colorful, taking on at times a nearly psychedelic feel. The strangeness is emphasized by the unusual casting, including Italian star Monica Vitti

Unrated, 2 hr.

Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy

Directed By: Joseph Losey

Written By: Evan Jones

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1966 Wide

On DVD: Jul 16, 2002

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Modesty Blaise Trailer & Photos

Cast

Monica Vitti
Modesty Blaise
Terence Stamp
Willie Garvin
Dirk Bogarde
Gabriel
Harry Andrews
Sir Gerald Tarrant
Michael Craig
Paul Hagan
Scilla Gabel
Melina
Alexander Knox
Minister
Rossella Falk
Mrs. Fothergill
Joe Melia
Crevier
Lex Schoorel
Walter
Sylvain
Pacco
Jon Bluming
Hans
Roberto Bisacco
Enrico
Saro Urz�
Basilio
Tina Aumont
Nicole
Michael Chow
Weng
John Karlsen
Oleg
Patrick Ludlow
Under Secretary
Oliver MacGreevy
Tattooed Man
Clive Revill
McWhirter, Sheik Abu Ta...
John Stacy
Tyboria Captain
Robin Hunter
Pilot
Wolfgang Hillinger
Handsome
Denys Graham
Copilot
George Fisher

Critic Reviews for Modesty Blaise

All Critics (10) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (5) | DVD (10)

Not merely a spy spoof, based on a book and a comic strip about a femme James Bond type, the colorful production gives the horse laugh to many different film plots and styles.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety

Top Critic

Too much of it is just foolish, labored and sometimes painful camp.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

Joseph Losey weaves his own brand of magic with this psychedelic spoof.

October 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Talk

| Comment

Movie Talk Source: Movie Talk

Joseph Losey didn't really do frivolous. Which is probably why his attempt at spoofy pseudo-Bondery is so direly unfunny.

October 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Total Film

| Comment

Philip Kemp

Total Film

under the non-stop stream of jokes lies a bitter edge of malice, directed not only against the genre itself but against a society which trusts its politicians and its generals.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Derek Adams

Time Out

At a running time of just under two full hours, the boredom becomes as exaggerated as the wallpaper.

March 16, 2004 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Ryan Cracknell

Apollo Guide

I waited 20 years to see this movie, and boy was I let down! Terence Stamp was cool, though.

August 30, 2002 Comment

Jeffrey Westhoff

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Modesty Blaise

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One of my least favourite spy movies. It's more about the whole mod female spy fashion and coolness, and focuses less on plot, characters, and anything else. I didn't care for it.

September 5, 2010

AJ Verser

Super Reviewer

So very camp. Great actors, fine director and lovely sets can't save a bad script. There are only two reasons to watch this film: 1) the fashions modeled by Vitti, and 2) die-hard fans of Dirk Bogarde or Terence Stamp.

November 28, 2010