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Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: August 23rd, 2016.
Director: Joseph Losey
Cast: Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp, Dirk Bogarde, Harry Andrews
Year: 1966
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The Movie:
Directed by Joseph Losey in 1966, pretty much the height of the swinging spy movie craze, Modesty Blaise stars the strikingly beautiful Monica Vitti as the titular secret agent in the employ of the British Secret Service. Never mind the fact that she can't hide her Italian accent worth a damn, it doesn't matter. She's British. Modesty, however, is more than just your average spy - she's got the unusual ability to change her hair color and wardrobe in the blink of an eye! Never mind the fact that she's still very clearly Monica Vitti with a series of different wigs and outfits every time this happens, it doesn't matter.
The plot involves Modesty and her partner, Willie (Terence Stamp), trying to crack a diamond heist operation led by a man named Gabriel (Dick Bogarde) and his associate Mrs. Fothergill (Rosella Falk). In order to do this they have to follow the clues to an island hideaway, taking on various bad guys and assorted characters along the way.
Based on the comic strip by Peter O'Donnell, the story is no great shakes and as a satire of the popular James Bond movies, Modesty Blaise isn't really very good. Losey opts for long, drawn out set pieces over cracking action sequences but in terms of style, the film is tough to beat. Quirky camera angles aplenty and a whole lot of obvious care in terms of the set design, wardrobe and locations make this a fantastic looking picture. It is a treat for the eyes even if it sort of plods along and overstays its welcome by a half an hour or so (this should not have been two hours, Losey needed a better editor here).
As to the cast, well, Dick Bogarde is actually a lot of fun as the nefarious Gabriel. He chews a bit of scenery but he does it well and he's plenty entertaining. Rosella Falk is also enjoyable in her supporting role. Terence Stamp as our heroine's partner in arms is quite amusing, his character being fairly cunning and more than a little sneaky at times. For the most part, however, this is Monica Vitti's show. She isn't given loads of dialogue here, which is probably for the best given her accent and fairly wooden delivery. But if her thesping abilities leave more than a little to be desired, her looks do not. She was an absolutely stunning beauty and Losey makes sure she gets plenty of screen time. A big part of the selling of this picture appears to be highlighting the actress strutting about in various skimpy outfits, and on that level the movie delivers!
Fans of quirky, campy humor will appreciate this more than those looking for a straight satire. The mix-sixties style and attire, not to mention the hairstyles, are clearly a product of their time but that's a big part of what makes this an enjoyable watch. Not a perfect film by any stretch, it's two hours of style over substance, but if it is fluff, at least it is pretty entertaining fluff.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Modesty Blaise looks quite nice in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen as it is presented on this Blu-ray release. There's some minor print damage here and there in the form of the occasional speck but nothing too serious. Grain is present, as it should be, but some noise reduction looks like it's been applied here and there, resulting in some minor smoothing effects. Colors look nice and natural if maybe a little understated and not quite as strong as they should. Detail is never quite reference quality but certainly a noticeable upgrade over standard definition. The image is free of any obvious edge enhancement and color reproduction is pretty solid here. All in all, you get a fairly imperfect but noticeable upgrade in quality here over what we've had before.
The DTS-HD 2.0 Mono mix on the disc is also quite good. There are no problems with hiss or distortion to report and the levels are well balanced. Dialogue is clear and easy to follow and this is problem free, and the score generally sounds quite good with strong range and decent depth to it.
David Del Valle and Armand Mastroianni kick off a pretty substantial selection of supplements with a fun audio commentary. Here they talk up the look of the film quite a bit, noting the style employed throughout and some of the camerawork. They discuss the locations, the score, the performances and Losey's direction while also offering up some critical analysis of the film and plenty of facts and figures about the cast and crew.
After that we move on to an interview with assistant director Gavrik Losey who talks for thirteen minutes about working with Josey Losey on the film, the locations, the film's leading lady and her attitude towards the project, what it was like on set and more. Even Jones then appears on camera for an eight minute piece in which the screenwriter opens up about what he thinks works and, just as importantly, doesn't work in regards to adapting the source material to the big screen. A third and final interview spends four minutes with assistant art director Norman Dorme about who did what on set and some of the responsibilities he took on during the course of the production.
Outside of that we get a trailer for the feature, a still gallery, static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Modesty Blaise is about a half an hour longer than it should be and it frequently indulges in style over substance, but if it is not a particularly good movie in a lot of ways, in just as many ways it is a very interesting one. Kino's Blu-ray offers a modest but not insignificant upgrade in terms of visual quality alongside solid audio and an impressive array of supplements documenting the film's history.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
