Modesty Blaise. 1966. Italy. Directed by Joseph Losey. Screenplay by Evan Jones, Harold Pinter, based on a book by Peter O’Donnell, Jim Holdaway. With Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp, Dirk Bogarde, Harry Andrews, Clive Revill, Michael Craig. DCP. 119 min.
Released at the height of James Bond’s popularity, Joseph Losey’s adaptation the 1960s Modesty Blaise comic strip satirizes the international secret agent craze with a camp, Pop art–inspired film about the titular heroine (Monica Vitti), who emerges from a Greek refugee camp with no memory, wanders postwar Europe, and eventually becomes a formidable spy. Carlo Rambaldi contributes to this all-star international effort with mannequins, prostheses, mechanical creatures, and other special effects that reinforce the film’s oddball spirit.