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My Name Is Modesty

Alexandra Staden (Actor), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Actor), Scott Spiegel (Director) Rated:
R
Format: DVD
3.8 out of 5 stars 100 ratings
IMDb4.5/10.0
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Product Description

Product Description

Presented by Quentin Tarantino, MY NAME IS MODESTY is the thrilling adventure about a sexy spy who's skilled in the art of deception ... and the ways of revenge! Orphaned as a child and raised by a casino owner with ties to the mob, Modesty Blaise learned early on how to fight, steal, and spy. Once grown, she becomes the casino owner's bodyguard, but is ultimately unable to protect him from a murderous old enemy. Now, with vengeance on her mind, it's time for payback! Based on the popular "Modesty Blaise" series of graphic novels, it's a stylish big-screen adaptation full of action and suspense!

Amazon.com

My Name Is Modesty is a sleek but hardy entertainment based on cartoonist Peter O'Donnell's story about an orphaned girl who survives wars, deserts, and sundry hardships to become the tough manager of a Tangiers casino. Alexandra Staden (Vanity Fair) is the second actress to play Modesty Blaise in a feature film (Monica Vitti took the role in 1966), and her beautiful cool and enigmatic poise are perfect for the mysterious yet likeable heroine. My Name Is Modesty cleverly introduces Modesty's background and wiles in a thriller set during an armed takeover of the casino. Deflecting demands by a terrorist leader (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) while also creatively keeping hostages alive, Modesty agrees to a game of roulette with the strongman. She plays for lives; he plays to hear chapters from her unknown life, reluctantly told. Directed by actor-director Scott Spiegel and presented by Quentin Tarantino (among the DVD's special features is a conversation between the two), the film is a noble, engaging genre piece. --Tom Keogh

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.52 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Scott Spiegel
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 18 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ September 28, 2004
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Alexandra Staden, Fred Pearson, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Raymond Cruz, Valentin Teodosiu
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ Spanish
  • Producers ‏ : ‎ Marcelo Anciano, Michael Berrow, Michelle Sy, Paul Berrow, Quentin Tarantino
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Miramax
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0002L57XC
  • Writers ‏ : ‎ Janet Scott Batchler, Lee Batchler
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Best Sellers Rank: #140,784 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 out of 5 stars 100 ratings

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
100 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the movie to be a good film with positive character development, and one customer highlights the 50-minute interview with Peter O'Donnell. Moreover, the pacing receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it's a great find for Modesty Blaise fans. However, the story and cast receive mixed reviews, with several customers finding the story poor and the leading character poorly cast. Additionally, the production value receives negative feedback, with one customer describing it as a low-budget film.

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Movie qualityCharacter developmentInterview lengthPacingStory qualityCastLooksProduction value
8 customers mention "Movie quality"7 positive1 negative

Customers find the movie good, with one describing it as surprisingly good and another noting it was their father's favorite.

"Good film" Read more

"...Definitely worth watching!!" Read more

"...have had more action but it was a great start to what could be a great series. Keep it up!" Read more

"...is very true to the source material and is tense, suspensful and facinating to anyone who doesn't have to have gore and explosions...." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the movie.

"...Alexandra Staden is great as the title character. I'm surprised to not have seen much of her since this movie was made in 2004...." Read more

"I love her story, the books and this was closer to the character created than most attempts." Read more

"Much closer to the original character...." Read more

3 customers mention "Interview length"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the interviews included in the movie, with one mentioning a 50-minute interview with Peter O'Donnell and another noting a 40-minute conversation with Quentin Tarantino.

"...There's a `making of' piece, and conversations with the creator Peter O'Donnell, along with another featuring Scott Spiegel and Quentin Tarantino...." Read more

"...The DVD includes a 50-minute interview with Peter O'Donnell, the now-retired creator of the Modesty Blaise character and author of the books and..." Read more

"...in the story development of this production, and contributed a nice interview on the disc...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the movie, with one mentioning it serves as an extensive retrospective of Modesty Blaise comics.

"...There's also and extensive retrospective of Modesty Blaise comics and artwork, featuring a detailed synopsis of 95 stories. Cookieman108" Read more

"...Great find for Modesty Blaise fans...." Read more

"Modesty Blaze !! Great Movie!! More Please!!..." Read more

8 customers mention "Story quality"5 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the movie's story, with some finding it very poor.

"I love her story, the books and this was closer to the character created than most attempts." Read more

"...There is not much of a story line except how modesty came into her name from being an orphan...." Read more

"...It was a small film work, but was great with their follow thru. I especially enjoyed the interview with Peter O'Donnell who died this year...." Read more

"...The three weeks of filming in Romania really bring an air of authenticity to the story, originally set in Iran and eastern Europe...." Read more

6 customers mention "Cast"4 positive2 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the cast of the movie, with some appreciating the good actors, while one customer finds the leading lady terrible.

"...Right on! All of the Tarantino traits are in order...first class acting (Alexandra Staden and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), revenge, mind games and non-..." Read more

"...Primarily two things: the leading character was poorly cast and the script was embarrassingly bad...." Read more

"...But it tells the story of fiction's most spectacular female agent, one rendered for thirty years in comic strips and more than ten novels...." Read more

"...is old, photography is not technically as good, but the actors blend into their roles and you feel carried along with them...." Read more

3 customers mention "Looks"2 positive1 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the movie's appearance.

"...Not only that I feel the actress chosen for the role was a perfect fit. Looks, body and demeamour." Read more

"Really, this movie is pretty awful. It looks very cheap and hastily made, and the leading lady is terrible but she's surrounded with good actors..." Read more

"...The widescreen (1.85:1), enhanced for 16 X 9 TVs, looks very good, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio comes through clearly...." Read more

4 customers mention "Production value"1 positive3 negative

Customers criticize the production value of the movie, describing it as low-budget and hastily made.

"...film was shot in only 18 days in Hungary and is very obviously a low-budget film...." Read more

"...It was a small film work, but was great with their follow thru. I especially enjoyed the interview with Peter O'Donnell who died this year...." Read more

"This is a really decent production, albeit done on a shoestring, conveying the origin story of Modesty Blaise...." Read more

"Really, this movie is pretty awful. It looks very cheap and hastily made, and the leading lady is terrible but she's surrounded with good actors..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • socrates17
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Character ReBoot Years Before Batman and James Bond
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    Although I bought the DVD when it first came out, and have watched it several times, I never wrote a review.

    I loved it when I first saw it and I love it still.

    Sadly, it seems it never made enough money to motivate anyone to do a follow-up. I assume QT still controls the rights, but after Kill Bill if he does a film that is as true to the source material as this film is, since it has another tough female lead, anyone not familiar with the character will see this as a let-down as they won't go into it prepared for what it is supposed to be.

    Peter O'Donnell wrote his stories to focus more on character and psychological suspense rather than action thrillers.

    The tug of wills between Modesty and Miklos is very true to the source material and is tense, suspensful and facinating to anyone who doesn't have to have gore and explosions. Alexandra did a great job in playing how O'Donnell's character would have taken control of the situation. Yes, she is younger than the written Modesty. Yes, there is no Willie Garvin. The reasons are that this is an origin story and takes place at least a decade before the first written Modesty Blaise. That could even explain why Staden's body is thinner than the character as written and drawn, which is an issue that a lot of O'Donnell fans seem to have with this film. Psychologically, though, I thought she nailed it.

    I find this particularly ahead of the curve following the sorely needed reboots of Batman and James Bond. After 2 dismal earlier efforts, although the character isn't nearly as well known to the public as Batman and Bond, this is a reboot as well, and it is really sad that probably no more films about her will be made.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • NPHighView
    5.0 out of 5 stars Faithful Origin Story for a Highly Underappreciated Heroine
    Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This is a really decent production, albeit done on a shoestring, conveying the origin story of Modesty Blaise. Peter O'Donnell, a strip cartoonist and story creator, ran this strip for almost 30 years starting in the 1960's. He also participated in the story development of this production, and contributed a nice interview on the disc.
    This was made at Miramax, supposedly to retain the rights to the story and characters, and in hopes of developing a franchise. After 17 years, I guess it's unlikely that it will come to fruition. Quentin Tarantino - where are you when we need you? The three weeks of filming in Romania really bring an air of authenticity to the story, originally set in Iran and eastern Europe.
    Alexandra Staden is great as the title character. I'm surprised to not have seen much of her since this movie was made in 2004. I really, really hope, for her sake, that Weinstein was not involved.
    Her co-star, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, you might have seen in a little toss-off called Game of Thrones.
    Great find for Modesty Blaise fans.
    Note: the plot concerns situations and events before the appearance of Willie Garvin in the Modesty Blaise stories.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Placeholder
    4.0 out of 5 stars If you like an East European flavor/middle east - tangiers
    Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The movie was delivered in the evening but I saw the package on my bedroom table only in the morning and I decided to watch it for some time for quality as I was getting ready. It ended up in my getting late for office and then I came back home and watched it. If you like an East European flavor/middle east - tangiers, morroco etc. in terms of locales, then the movie shows it and the characters also live it. There is not much of a story line except how modesty came into her name from being an orphan. But the direction is good and the way the plot moves along is crisp. Since the movie is old, photography is not technically as good, but the actors blend into their roles and you feel carried along with them. There is a twist in the end which if spelt out would spoil your fun. Definitely worth watching!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Rennie Petersen
    3.0 out of 5 stars Bad news for Modesty fans
    Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    I'm sorry, I just couldn't like this movie, even though I wanted to. As a long-time fan of the Modesty Blaise books and comic strips I was really hoping that they had finally gotten it right, but my conclusion is that once again they've blown it.

    What worries me especially is that poor sales of this movie may result in Miramax deciding to drop the idea of making big-budget Modesty movies based on the books. And by the time Miramax's license expires ("My Name is Modesty" was primarily made to allow Miramax to hold on to the license) it may be too late. We die-hard Modesty fans are getting up in years and movie studios don't make movies for an intended audience who lives in old folks homes.

    What was wrong with "My Name is Modesty"? Primarily two things: the leading character was poorly cast and the script was embarrassingly bad.

    Alexandra Staden was unable to project the personality or presence necessary to be Modesty. An actress was needed who could make you feel that here was a person who had incredible self-assurance and self-control, and Alexandra Staden just didn't cut it.

    On top of that, Alexandra Staden didn't have the physique to be Modesty. Nor, in my opinion (but this is very subjective), the attractive good looks.

    The story was also very poor. They decided that they wanted some kind of prequel movie where Modesty would be introduced. What they came up with was a film with a very contrived here-and-now story that provided a vehicle for a large number of flashbacks to Modesty's past. But neither the story of Modesty's background nor the here-and-now story work very well.

    In the background story the most important person is Lob, an old man who Modesty befriends and who becomes her tutor, teaching her everything most children learn in school and much more. Lob was a professor who spoke seven languages and had extensive knowledge of many things. So far so good - this is consistent with the books about Modesty.

    But in the movie Lob is also a martial arts guru who has killed two prison guards! And yet 12-year-old Modesty has to save him from a couple of rag-tag boys who try to steal from him! Sorry, but it just doesn't work, both because it's inconsistent and because the idea of Lob being both the intellectual mentor and the martial arts teacher is too far out. (In the books Lob was totally helpless without Modesty, and Modesty first learned unarmed combat at a later time in her life.)

    As for the current story, Modesty is apparently the casino owner's right-hand man, but without any indication of how or why she got this position. Miklos (the bad guy) shows up with a gang of heavily armed nasties, kills a couple of people just to prove that he is indeed the bad guy, and then sits around all night listening to Modesty tell tales of her childhood! How unrealistic and contrived can you get?

    With the above problems going against it the film just doesn't make the grade.

    The film was shot in only 18 days in Hungary and is very obviously a low-budget film. This I don't hold against it - if the casting of Modesty had been better and the script wasn't so dumb I would have accepted the low-budget aspect as an unfortunate fact of life and lauded the film within it's limitations.

    Strangely enough, the thing I liked best about "My Name is Modesty" was the casting of Miklos, the bad guy. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had an impossible role to play because of the poor script but he did a good job, better than Alexandra Staden's portrayal of Modesty. In fact, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau could have been a fairly good Willie Garvin. (Willie Garvin is Modesty's trusted sidekick, who enters her life a couple of years after the events shown in this movie).

    The DVD includes a 50-minute interview with Peter O'Donnell, the now-retired creator of the Modesty Blaise character and author of the books and comic strips. He tells again the very moving story about his meeting with the real-life little girl who later inspired him to create Modesty Blaise. (His telling of the story is much more moving than the re-enactment that we see at the beginning of this movie.)

    The DVD also includes a 40-minute interview with Quentin Tarantino, a long-time Modesty fan who is the driving force behind Miramax getting the movie rights to the character. There is also an extensive index to all of the Modesty comic strips.

    Despite me giving only three stars I'm recommending this movie if you're a Modesty fan. If not, then it's best to avoid it.

    Rennie Petersen
    9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Randal
    4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is a must-have for Modesty Blaise readers, especially those of us who who are old enough to remember the disappointing Monica Vitti/Terence Stamp movie. (Yeah, okay, Terence Stamp WAS Willie Garvin and he'd surely be a hard act to follow, but the rest of the movie sucked.) This is Modesty's backstory, pre Willie Garvin, in two timelines. The 'today' of the movie is Modesty as a casino croupier poised to take over what will become The Network and her backstory shows her as a war-orphan and stateless refugee child, a born survivor. Both the 'now' timeline and the 'then' are backstory for the books, of course. Nicely done.
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  • Nicolo
    5.0 out of 5 stars My name is modesty
    Reviewed in Italy on September 25, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Presentato da Quentin Tarantino e questo è gia garanzia, specie se si è suoi fan. Veloce la consegna del DVD arrivato in perfetto stato. Grazie.
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  • N.S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars I <3 it!
    Reviewed in Canada on September 26, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Great seller!
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  • Sev
    3.0 out of 5 stars Still waiting for the real Modesty
    Reviewed in France on June 22, 2004
    Verified Purchase
    For those true Modesty Blaise fans who've waited almost 40 years for the definitive screen version, the wait continues because this is not it, though it's definitely a step up from Losey's travesty. The main problem with this is the obvious fact that it's a quick cheap knock-off solely to keep the screen rights, therefore it's light in action and locations, but then again this does allow plenty of character interaction between Modesty and the main villain of the piece. The basic plot revolves around a rival gang's attempt to overthrow the Louche gang in Tangier and rob the safe in Louche's exclusive casino, where Modesty is working as a croupier. A siege situation develops allowing Modesty's back story to be told, which is thankfully very faithful to the history as told in Peter O'Donnell's novels.
    Alexandra Staden, who play's Modesty is obviously an accomplished actress as displayed in her subtle verbal exchanges with the heavies, but she is extremely white and so is not entirely believable as someone who has wandered the Middle-East and North Africa for a decade.
    As prequels go this is not bad, hopefully Quentin Tarantino will now make his screen version with Willie Garvin, Sir Gerald Tarrant, the Colliers and everyone else who inhabits Modesty's special Universe. Until he does this will have to do.
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  • KENNETH VALKEITH
    5.0 out of 5 stars Just love Modesty Balise
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    If you love/like Modesty Blaise then this is one for you. The DVD is full packed with stuff. First watch the interview with Peter O'Donnell, where he talks about Modesty, how she came into his life and the development of her character.
    The interview with Tarantino and Scotty is a bit of a bore, Tarantino's giggle gets just too much and I skipped it after about 15 minutes. It doesn't add much to the package.
    The film is first class. Taking us from her childhood through to the time she started the Network, and before Willie Garvin. Alexandra Staden is just as you imagine Modesty to be. Cool under pressure and compassionate for the lives of others. Then when she gets the chance to show her stuff, not a lot of it I am afraid, but she is spot on. Killing the villain as we have come to expect, with panache, verve and just the right kind of justice.
    Now we need the next installment with Willie coming into the picture. Also added is a precis of all the comic stirps that are in circulation.
    A definate must for all Modesty enthusiastes.
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