ThiefHott Too much of everything

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

calvinnme This is a parody is based on a British comic strip, and the film came off as another one of the James Bond spoofs that littered the screen in the 1960's (The Matt Helm series, the Dr. Goldfoot series, etc).The movie is about superspy Modesty Blaise (Vitti), who can change her appearance just by snapping her fingers. She is hired by the British government to protect a shipment of diamonds, which international thief Gabriel (Bogarde) is after. Blaise only accepts the job if Willie Garvin (Stamp) is allowed to work with her. Film goes on its way from there.Script is infuriating because it misses opportunity after opportunity for satire. It assumes that just because Blaise is a woman superspy, that alone is hilarious. Vitti does her best, and sounds like a smoky voiced Garbo, but the script leaves her high and dry. She gets most of her laughs from intonation, sight gags, and the glint in her eyes. Stamp is on the sidelines, although his appearance changes at will also. Bogarde as Gabriel is the funniest person in the film, whether he's refusing an egg because it's overcooked or reminding a potential killer that it's rude to point.This one does have Bogarde, and Blaises' changes are spectacular, and so are the sets. There are setpieces that are homages to famous directors, which I found amusing. However, it just goes on too long for what little it is trying to do, there are too many dry spells without laughs, and Bogarde and company are off-screen for too long. Still worth a watch--maybe.

apsbl1977 Joseph LOSEY directed MODESTY BLAISE, not John Schlesinger.This is to correct Alan Mount's following comment. Mr. Mount is entitled to dislike the film but it's fair to ask that he get the director correct.Mr. Mount wrote:"Director John Schlesinger seemed to use the movie totally as a showcase for his friend Dirk Bogarde whose performance is irritating in the extreme. If Modesty Blaise is to be resurrected as a movie heroine in the future a director with a genuine flair for action is required.This was not Schlesinger's forte at all."Given his comment, Mr. Mount seems to consider Modesty Blaise an "action film." I don't completely agree with that, but I might if he would be so kind as to elaborate on what he found lacking in the action in the film or how it was handled. Or better yet, why he considers it in main an "action" film? Since he would have preferred a director with a "genuine flair for action," what then should such a director have done with the film? Thanks.

christopher-underwood When I first saw this on its original release in the mid sixties, I remember being disappointed. I had been bewitched by Monica Vitti's performances with Antonioni and had much enjoyed Losey's earlier film with Dirk Bogarde, the 1963 film, The Servant. It seemed shallow and frivolous, completely lacking in any seriousness. And maybe my assessment still stands, it's just that now I love it. I love its crazy lurches, this way and that, the sinister, yet amusing Bogarde and his extraordinary drinking vessels. I love the successfully over the top performance from Terence Stamp and the glorious pop art set designs and costumerie, which I probably took for granted back in the day. But most of all, I love Monica Vitti. She can be beautifully moody and introverted for Antonioni but here she smoulders and glows with a knowingness that maybe puts her above Bardot. The scenes with Bogarde are alive, those with Stamp amusing but with Vitti on screen, it is hard to look at anything or anyone else. Worry not whether this is a spoof or not, just sit back and enjoy a very special cinematic experience that encapsulated a moment in time perfectly. Wonderful.

ShadeGrenade Fox pinned hopes on 'Modesty' becoming a franchise to rival Bond, but these were cruelly dashed as Joseph Losey's film played to mostly empty theatres in the U.K. and U.S.A. ( it did rather better on the Continent ). Taken on its own terms, its not too bad. Jack Shampan's production design is superb, as is John Dankworth's music, there are a couple of decent performances ( Clive Revill, Harry Andrews, and a wonderfully camp turn from Dirk Bogarde ) and some good moments such as Modesty finding herself trapped in an op art cell. But as an adaptation of Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway's comic-strip, its a non-starter. Monica Vitti fails to project warmth and charm as Modesty, while Terence Stamp sounds like Michael Caine on an off-day. The scene where they sing a romantic duet whilst under fire is just painful. Losey was clearly not the right director for this project. Fox made a rather more successful 'girl power' Bond thriller a year later - 'Fathom', starring Raquel Welch.