Rating: 
Summary: Best DVD Ever
Review: ...I feel very special to have this in my collection. A 'lost' cult classic which up until now was not available. This DVD looks spectacular and seems to be 'un-cut' but I have never seen another print. This is a must for fans of 60's pop art. Films such as Danger Diabolik, Blow Up and Our Man Flint are good comparisons. Monika Vitti is stunning. The locations and photography are tre cool.
So run out and purchase this. yeah baby!
Rating: 
Summary: Fun If You Simply Take It for What It Is
Review: As breezy and formless as a good vacation or a life of shameless self-indulgence, "Modesty Blaise" is likely to drive anyone expecting a standard Hollywood plot nuts. In a way, that's what makes it most appealing. With director Joseph Losey's eclectic mix of old-fashioned studio and handheld verite styles, set to a swinging 60s Eurotrash soundtrack, there's enough happening in each scene to dazzle the senses--if not the brain--provided you see the letterboxed version, of course. Sultry Monica Vitti is Modesty Blaise, an international thief recruited by the British government to interfere with a diamond payoff involving an old arch-enemy (Dirk Bogarde), presumed dead all these years. Along for the ride is the often-creepy Terrance Stamp, cast here perfectly as a Cockney ally handy with a knife. There's not much in "Modesty Blaise" that makes sense conventionally, but viewing it as something of a time capsule--not for its camp or art direction, but for the many crisply photographed scenes of locations like London and Amsterdam-makes for a fascinating experience. And though much is made of Vitti's heavily accented command of English, listening to her is a more pleasant experience than to so many other actors challenged by speaking the language, such as Sylvester Stallone, Rosie Perez, Arnold Swarzenegger, Anna Nicole Smith, or Snoop Dog. You might even notice scenes that may have inspired similar ones in "Arabesque," "Casino Royale" and the "Charlie's Angels" redux. Like the much overhyped "Barbarella" a few years later, "Modesty Blaise" is a product of its time, no "Blow Up" but a curiosity to be experienced.
Rating:
Summary: BLAZING SPIES.....
Review: ENIGMATIC MONICA VITTI [dead-ringer for a svelte Bette Milder] leads us into this visually mind-numbing frolic of a spy-spoof! An Art-Director's dream - as ARE the continuous costume changes for Ms. Vitti! Quite sensational along the lines of "Casino Royale" - another must-have of this period.Plot? None really - just a series of delicious and sometimes deadly encounters as Spy vs Spy vs Spy vs Spy ..... in dear old Amsterdam, and then later aboard ships [yachts] and that odd island with the spectacular Arabian finish - [Modesty it seems was adopted!] The petard [mino cannon a Gift to Modesty - pointing at Buckingham Palace - off-lens - is a hoot!] DIRK BOGARDE has a field-day as Gabriel - the oh so chic and campy bad guy with an umbrella for all occasions - possibly to augment each outfit! A breathtaking Terence Stamp [still has those 'baby blues'] is Modesty's trusty sick-kick - also with the mandatory hair color change[s]. Quite delightful to behold - but be warned - this one needs eye-shades occasionally - it is in VIVID color. Great to have on DVD!
Rating: 
Summary: Skip the film, GET THE BOOKS!
Review: I actually saw this film when it came out in the theaters, way WAY back when. I must have been perhaps 11 years old. Terrible movie, totally confusing, and a script that was most likely contrived over numerous doses of LSD. However, I was quite taken by two things: (1) Terence Stamp and (2) the scene where Modesty peels the false skin off Willie Garvin's back to reveal all those tools and gadgets. When I discovered there was actually a book to read that might explain all I had seen, I jumped on it. The book, unlike the film, was wonderful, and Peter O'Donnell's stories only improved from the first novel right up until the final Modesty Blaise book was published 6 or 7 years ago. I cannot recommend this movie but I can and do urge you to go to your library (the most likely place you will find a Modesty Blaise book) and get the books, particularly the ones called "I, Lucifer" and "A Taste for Death." Great fun reading, the Modesty of the books quite outdoes James Bond for sheer interest.
Rating:
Summary: What a travesty
Review: I am a huge Modesty Blaise fan. I own and have read all the books and most of the comics. This movie is a disaster. First of all Modesty is BLONDE!!No no no this is all wrong, Modesty is of a Middle Eastern background, how can she be BLONDE!! Next why on earth do Modesty and Willie Garvin KISS!! Arghhhh. Modesty and Willie don't have that kind of a relationship.
The important thing about the Modesty Blaise series is the characters and their interaction, this movie is just high camp and sets and costumes. Terrible terrible.If I could give this no stars I would.
Rating:
Summary: What a travesty
Review: I am a real fan of parody and was hoping this film would fit the mold. Nope. It was boring and a waste of time. The Flint movies were superb - Fathom was acceptable. This is the first DVD I bought that I gave away after watching it (and I have a large collection of 1950 Sci Fi bad movies!). Don't bother renting or buying this DVD. It is a waste of money to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of time
Review: I am a real fan of parody and was hoping this film would fit the mold. Nope. It was boring and a waste of time. The Flint movies were superb - Fathom was acceptable. This is the first DVD I bought that I gave away after watching it (and I have a large collection of 1950 Sci Fi bad movies!). Don't bother renting or buying this DVD. It is a waste of money to do so.
Rating:
Summary: A new standard of awfulness
Review: I bought this DVD knowing it was bad, but I was interested in the psychedelic aspects of it. I thought maybe it would have a campy "Batman" feel to it, being made in the same great year of '66. I was not prepared for how terrible it really is. It's so abysmal that I couldn't finish it. The acting is nauseatingly bad, the script is pathetic, and the actor's voices appear to have been dubbed (badly). I found no kitsch or camp value in it whatsoever - it's just plain awful. In fact, the back cover of the DVD pretty much admits that: the only positive thing they can say is that the movie has "psychedelic wallpaper". Yes, it sure does, some very groovy designs indeed, but I need more than wallpaper in a movie to keep me interested. This is one of the worst movies I ever tried to watch. It was put on DVD purely because of the then-current Austin Powers/60's fad. Although I love the sixties, I think all copies of this movie should be burned, and the DVDs made into coasters.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute travesty
Review: I consider myself very lucky to have become acquainted with Modesty Blaise. Thank you, Peter O'Donnell, for Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin (my thanks are late but heartfelt, nonetheless). My life is much the richer for your work. This film, however, is a travesty. Modesty Blaise could have been, should have been, bigger and better than James Bond. Originally, I felt that the folks that made this film should be [fired]. However, I have entertained a more appropriate condemnation: They should be required to view their abomination repetitively ad infinatum.
Rating:
Summary: A bad film in a disappointing genera: really no stars
Review: It's too bad that spoofs of the James Bond films tend to be so very bad. Both print and television have done quite well making hip fun of Bond and his imitators, but movies made with the same idea consistantly come up short. Some of them are a lot of fun, even if they don't hold together. Some are completely unwatchable. Modesty Blaise comes somewhere in the middle. It isn't actually revolting, but it's nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is.
Fans of the Modesty Blaise comic strip and novels should avoid this film like the plague. This isn't Modesty, or Willie, any more than the Matt Helm films are adaptations of the Matt Helm books. People unfamilliar with the other Modesty material may find this film mildly enjoyable, but would be better off with the Flint movies, which come as close as anything ever done to making a success of this idea.
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