I should probably start by saying that I have now seen this movie a couple of times and yet I still have no idea what the hell is going on in it! Its story-line seems like it is pretty simple but the excessively casual approach in how it is told makes it borderline incomprehensible. It reminded me a lot of the later Casino Royale (1967) which was also a spy spoof which threw many things at the screen, except for a story. Modesty Blaise was directed by Joseph Losey who by all accounts hated the James Bond films and no doubt wanted his film to damage the spy film genre to such an extent that the Bond franchise would cease to exist. To be honest, it would be easy to believe that Losey wasn't really taking this film very seriously as it is something of a mess in many ways. But, like Casino Royale, it's a mess that I have to admit a certain fondness for. It's a wilfully trivial movie which is overwhelmingly about style over content.So what is the best thing about it? The answer is simply Monica Vitti, Monica Vitti, Monica Vitti. This Italian actress had up to this point been principally known for her appearances in Michelangelo Antonioni's new wave art films, such as L'avventura (1960). To put it mildly, Modesty Blaise is something of a departure from those oh-so-serious art-house dramas. Some people think her to be miscast here but I for one think she is perfect. She suits the comic goings on and is quite frankly one of the most beautiful women of her era. This playful film unashamedly makes the most of her super chic image and decks her out in a multitude of costume changes and differing hairstyles. Vitti is effortlessly cool and sexy here, with her heavy Italian accented English merely a further plus point.Aside from Vitti there is Dirk Bogarde having a laugh as the incredibly unscary villain, replete with blonde wig and camper than camp persona. Rossella Falk plays his female enforcer who at one point tortures and kills a mime artist for reasons that simply elude me (but the fact that a mime artist is killed is not exactly a bad idea in principal). Terence Stamp plays Vitti's side-kick and he doesn't make too much of an impression in an under-written role. The film essentially is made up of parts. Some of which are good enough to ensure this remains a 60's curiosity. It has a lush theme song, colourful pop art sets, a sunny setting and breezy atmosphere, an utterly random musical routine in the middle, great outfits and a band of Arabs turning up to save the day for no real discernible reason.Modesty Blaise is really something of an obscure film these days. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it failed at the box office back in the day. But its sheer oddness and incomprehensibility is something that ensures it has a bit of cult value and I have to admit that it improved on a second watch – once you know what not to expect, you can more easily enjoy what actually does unfold on-screen. It's definitely one for anyone with any interest in 60's pop art cinema or for those who appreciate the sensual ice queen that is Monica Vitti.

Mediocre adaptation based on character of Modesty Blaise who was created in 1963 by Peter O'Donnell , realized in 60 pop-arty style and far from original image . A two-fisted babe spy (embodied by attractive Monica Vitti in his first English language role) , the world's most lethal female secret agent , and her colleague , the dark-haired , brawn Willie Garvin (the British Terence Stamp) confront a dangerous international delinquent usually wielding his endless collection of parasols and perfumed wig named Gabriel (Dick Bogarde) and aided by his right-hand (Clive Revill as twitching Scots helper) . The tough secret agent is watching out for a diamond shipment , which is the target of her arch-rival enemy . Colorful but failed rendition , not taking any situation seriously ; being based on famous strip-cartoon thriller by Peter O'Donnell who retired himself and Modesty Blaise in 2001 . However , Peter O'Donnell complained that of his original screenplay, only one line remains . This very campy picture contains thrills , action , phantasmagoria , tongue-in-cheek , absurd situations , but being badly developed . The main and support cast -with everyone having fun- is frankly good , but is really wasted . Monica Vitti as tough British spy, the world's deadliest and most dazzlingly female agent, is miscast and is hardly ideal actress in the title character . Joseph Losey found it difficult to work with Monica Vitti, as she would invariably be accompanied onto the set by director Michelangelo Antonioni, in whose films she had become famous ; Antonioni would often whisper suggestions to her, and she would take direction from him rather than Losey. The best of the interpretations results to be Dick Bogarde as a cunning villain , including some enjoyable moments as when he is staked out in the desert and he croaks : I'm thirsty , Champagne . Furthermore , a sympathetic Clive Revill and Rosselle Falk as as a villainess who cruelly murders his victims . And special appearance of notorious British secondaries such as Harry Andrews , Alexander Knox and James Craig . This movie was one of four 20th Century Fox pictures featuring female spies that were released during 1966-1967 , the movies were Fathom (1967), Caprice (1967) and Come Spy with Me (1967)There is another version about this character titled ¨My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure¨ , 2004 , by Scott Spiegel with Alexandra Staden as Modesty Blaise , Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau and Raymond Cruz ; it was produced as a prequel to the popular spy comic strip, plans call for this film to be followed by more Blaise movies taking place during the timeframe of the comic strip . In addition , a TV version : Modesty Blaise (1982) by Reza Badiyi with Ann Turkel as Modesty Blaise and Lewis Van Bergen as Willie Garvin .Atmospheric original music by John Dankworth including a catching leitmotif . Gliimmer as well as glamorous cinematography by Jack Hildyard . The motion picture was middling directed by Joseph Losey . Director Losey was originally compelled to release movies under pseudonym Victor Hansbury because he had blacklisted by Hollywood where he shot The boy with the green hair , Prowler, Sleeping tiger, among others , during the 50s red scare . Losey exiled England where directed good films as The servant , King and Country , Accident , Romantic Englishwoman and other European countries as France where filmed Mr Klein at his best .

Not a word or an image is to be taken seriously. Not even when the sadistic chief villain, Dirk Bogarde, parodies an American general's phony speech about how, when "the widows and orphans" of the Vietnamese weep, "their tears are our tears." That's about as gruesome as it gets though.The rest is flighty and whimsical, something along the lines of "The Avengers," the British TV series popular at the time. The outfits are as outrageous as the set decoration and the fantastic plot.I don't know if the story is actually worth bothering with, but for what it's worth, Modesty Blaise (Monica Vitti) is a kind of freelance James Bond who is immensely wealthy. She and her sometimes colleague Terence Stamp are hired to protect a shipment of diamonds being sent to an Arab sheik in return for oil concessions. Bogarde is the man who intends to intercept and steal the payment. He lives like a Turkish pasha on a Mediterranean island that is all jutting rock, century plants, flaming blossoms, and castles with an op-art decor. Bogarde is an effete fellow given to snits of exasperation and always cooling himself with tiny, delicate fans. There are many adventures and one or two double crosses before the diamonds wind up in the hands of the sheik and Bogarde is tied down, spread-eagled on the desert sand, licking his dry lips under the blazing sun and begging for, "Champagne, champagne." Director Joseph Losey is best known as someone at home in dramas about Big Questions that are full of mystery and ambiguity. He, the plot, and the characters are equally mysterious and ambiguous here but these features are put to subtle comic use. None of the gags are out of the Marx Brothers' playbook.Well, few of them are. In the opening, we see a well-dressed Briton walk up to a tall brick row house in Amsterdam, extend his brolly, and push the doorbell. There is an enormous blast that not only atomizes the visitor but collapses the entire building so that the neat row of Dutch houses is left with an untidy gap of smoking rubble. When the dust begins to clear the impression left is that of a missing front tooth.More often the humor is subtle and sometimes hard to catch. Harry Andrews tells his superior, "Hehe. That's very sinister, uh, Minister." And there is an immediate cut when Bogarde's accountant notices with disgust that Bogarde's drink -- an electric blue liquid in a glass with a yard-long stem -- has a goldfish swimming in it.Or the humor, if that's what it is, can be lodged in shock. In the middle of a conversation, Stamp leaps to his feet, flings a dagger through an open window, and transfixes a pigeon in mid flight.Monica Vitti is exquisite. She's tan and lithe, always impeccably dressed, no matter how outrageous the outfit, no matter that no one can find a way to get her out of her tight black body stocking. She has the alien eyes of Barbra Streisand with a more modest splanchnocranium. Her Italianate voice verges on a husky croak like Claudia Cardinale's. No one has ever eaten a more sensuous apple, not even Eve. She can change her hair style from a foot-tall blond monstrosity out of Louis XVI to a shorter, dark, modern cut in the blink of an eye. Can you and I do that? No. Well -- I wouldn't want to, but you might.I remember seeing this in Honolulu while returning from a sojourn in a tiny village on an island in the Pacific that lacked the advantages of movies or television. It was overwhelming, as if I'd been instantly transported from a dungeon to a Disneyland for the eye and the mind. And the title song is a caprice that let's us in on the joke before we hear even the premise.

Truth be told, I hated this movie on first viewing many years ago and, in fact, I only just now purchased the utterly bare-bones Fox DVD for three reasons: the disc is now out-of-print; I found it very cheaply (surprisingly) at a local retailer; and, most importantly perhaps, I was prepared to give it another chance thanks to my ongoing (and very rewarding) Losey-thon.To say that Joseph Losey was a strange choice to helm this picture would be a massive understatement. In his previous films, very rarely (if at all) had he shown that he had any sense of humor, much less the kind of campy, knowing and irreverent one essential for successful comic strip adaptations. As it happens, the film was not well-received and both leads - Monica Vitti (who apparently phoned Michelangelo Antonioni everyday during the shoot) and Terence Stamp - were unhappy making it; there are those who even go so far as to consider it not just Losey's nadir but quite simply one of the worst films ever made! Well, based on that first TV viewing of it, I probably would have endorsed such sentiments myself... However, my re-acquaintance with it proved something of a minor revelation: while still as uneven as I recalled, I couldn't now deny that there were some delightful elements which, on the whole, made the film palatable and, at times, even endearing: Evan Jones' script was occasionally quite witty, Losey's own trademark odd compositions (usually so overpowering in his melodramas) suited the "anything goes" mood of the material, Jack Hildyard's glossy cinematography of attractive Mediterranean locations, outrageous outfits and groovy production design was top-notch and Losey's frequent composer Johnny Dankworth provided an infectious score.And what about that cast? Monica Vitti (who would have guessed that she could ever be as attractive and sexy as this judging by her work for Antonioni?), Terence Stamp (gleefully throwing knives, bedding women and engaging in a charming, impromptu singing duet with Vitti while driving up a mountaintop and reprising it for the action-packed finale), Dirk Bogarde (ironically named Gabriel, he was never campier - or gayer - than as the silver-wigged, self-proclaimed "villain of the piece"), Michael Craig (as Vitti's ex-lover and pursuing British agent), Harry Andrews (as a top British Secret Service official firing away bullets from his umbrella), Alexander Knox (as a bumbling British MP forever mispronouncing names and giving out the wrong information), Clive Revill (for no apparent reason in a dual role: as Bogarde's right-hand man who keeps the accounts even on the field of battle and as Vitti's "father", an Arabian Sheik!), Rossella Falk (as the lethal Miss. Fothergill, Bogarde's manly assistant, who keeps a regiment of mostly aging men in shape through arduous physical exercise), Saro Urzi (as a lowly, opera-singing henchman of Bogarde's), Tina Aumont (as an ill-fated conquest/informer of Stamp's) and real-life magician Silvan (as a duplicitous circus performer).Ultimately, while the plot is too convoluted to follow at times and the film itself may not be in the same league as Mario Bava's DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968) or even Roger Vadim's BARBARELLA (1968), it's certainly an engaging spy spoof and far better than its reputation suggests.