Get ready for a revealing look at cinema's most provocative films! We're counting down the movies that pushed boundaries with their bold and daring nude scenes. From cult classics to controversial art films, this list explores the most memorable moments of on-screen nudity that shocked and captivated audiences.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those films where skin
00:10was definitely in.
00:11No, daddy doesn't even get to touch mommy for a very, very, very long time.
00:19Number 10, Boogie Nights.
00:21Let's go get some of that Saturday Night Fever.
00:25This film's setting of adult cinema's golden age essentially ensured that Boogie Nights
00:30was going to contain a lot of nudity.
00:33Director Paul Thomas Anderson takes his audience from the industry's early 70s innocence right
00:37on through to a comparatively jaded period of Reagan-era desperation.
00:42Jack, I'm ready to shoot.
00:4620 minutes, huh?
00:48No, I'm ready now.
00:49It's gotta be now.
00:5020 minutes, babe.
00:52Anderson even included legitimate adult film stars Veronica Hart and Nina Hartley within
00:57the cast of Boogie Nights, alongside daring performances from Julianne Moore and Heather
01:02Graham.
01:03I was going to take a pottery class at every woman's village today.
01:06Oh, I want to do that.
01:07This is a film that received varying reviews from those who were actually there performing
01:12in erotica back in the day, but that hasn't stopped Boogie Nights from remaining a cult
01:17classic.
01:18You know what I'm staring at?
01:21I'm staring at the foxiest bitch in the whole world.
01:269.
01:27Nymphomaniac Vol. 1
01:28The transgressive reputation of director Lars von Trier remained intact after both volumes
01:33of his Nymphomaniac series debuted back in Denmark in 2013.
01:37You wouldn't understand.
01:40Well, try me.
01:44But I wouldn't know where to start.
01:48These films were completed utilizing not only the talent of stars like Charlotte Gainsbourg
01:53and Shia LaBeouf, but also adult film actors who performed hardcore acts for insert shots.
01:59The subject of Nymphomania is another that, by definition, requires a lot of nudity on
02:04set.
02:05Whether I left society or it left me, I cannot say.
02:09I suppose you could make an argument for both sides.
02:13Lars von Trier also varies the tone of these set pieces, from the blackly comedic to the
02:18deadly serious.
02:19The extremity of this film, as a result, doesn't always make it light viewing, yet there's
02:30no denying the frank and honest depictions of compulsive sexual behavior contained with
02:35Nymphomaniac.
02:368.
02:37Blue is the Warmest Color
02:46There is a lot to unpack with regards to the controversies of Blue is the Warmest Color.
02:50For starters, there's the allegations that director Abdel Latif Kashish placed his cast
02:55and crew within an atmosphere of unfair working conditions.
02:58There have also been those that have pointed out how the film's themes of bisexual and
03:02lesbian relationships were delivered to the screen by a heterosexual male.
03:14What wasn't up for debate, however, were the end results of this film, which held nothing
03:18back in terms of nudity.
03:26The sexual act is explored within multiple set pieces and couplings, although Blue is
03:31the Warmest Color generally exists more within the art house than the grindhouse.
03:397.
03:43Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens
03:53No list like this would be complete without an appearance from the maestro of sexploitation,
03:57Russ Meyer.
03:58The man's cinematic oeuvre is one of tough men and tougher women, larger-than-life sex
04:04goddesses that dominated drive-in screens throughout the 60s and 70s.
04:09The latter part of this decade saw Meyer release two of his most envelope-pushing features
04:19with Up and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens.
04:23The latter's title is playing on Meyer's biggest hit, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, while
04:27also containing an overabundance of nudity.
04:30Kitten Natividad is the star of the show here, encapsulating all of the protracted dialogue
04:35and unsubtle jiggle that made Maverick Meyer one of a kind.
04:446.
04:47Hots
04:54Hots is the sort of film that wears its influences on its sleeve.
04:57Or is that shirt?
04:59The legacy of Hots has endured today not only due to its acronym, which stands for its title
05:03characters, but also the Hall of Fame-level nudity that stacks the screen.
05:08History has seen scores of sex comedies over the years, but Hots played its hand by casting
05:13a number of notable models, including Halloween star Sandy Johnson as stars.
05:23But Hots surprisingly never feels sleazy.
05:26The vibe here instead feels more silly and sexy, the sort of atmosphere that's largely
05:31parodied today, yet delivered straight-faced back in 79 for an excited audience.
05:405.
05:44Forkies
05:52If there was a Mount Rushmore for sex comedies, then we're willing to bet that Bob Clark's
05:57Forkies would deserve a prime spot.
05:59The Black Christmas and A Christmas Story director enjoyed one of 1981's biggest hits,
06:04a franchise maker that saw no less than two sequels.
06:14Forkies is notable for its casting of Kim Cattrall as Miss Honeywell, whose exaggerated
06:19sex scene went on to become the stuff of home video legend.
06:22Elsewhere, there's also that old-school go-to classic, The Shower Scene, only this
06:27time boasting both male and female nudity.
06:30Granted, Forkies does have its share of more serious-minded moments, with some of its side
06:34plots, but the overarching vibe here remains Sex Comedy 101.
06:424.
06:48Showgirls
06:56Erotic thrillers were all the rage back in the 1990s, with Showgirls existing as one
07:00of the most memorable NC-17 flubs of this era.
07:03The balance of R-rated intrigue with extreme sexual content, highlighted by star Elizabeth
07:09Berkley, perhaps seeking to distance herself from television past.
07:19Showgirls became infamous for its hard-in-the-paint sex scene between Berkley and co-star Karl
07:25McLaughlin, although edited versions were also released for home video.
07:29Yet, who are we kidding?
07:31There's only one way to enjoy a Showgirls screening, and that's with the full, uncensored
07:36Monty.
07:433.
07:50Eyes Wide Shut
07:51Director Stanley Kubrick's cinematic coder, Eyes Wide Shut, was certainly an interesting
08:05way to cap off his career.
08:06The film earned headlines back in 1999 due to the extremity of its sexual content.
08:12Eyes Wide Shut was even digitally censored back in the day, in order to achieve its theatrical
08:16R-rating.
08:17The full, uncut version remains available on home video today, however it remains a
08:28challenging film.
08:30The nudity here doesn't always feel as if it's designed to titillate, just as Eyes Wide
08:34Shut doesn't so much feel like an erotic thriller as it does an examination of a marriage.
08:39Still, the memorable design, costuming, and visual aesthetic ensure that this film never
08:44strayed too far from a Kubrickian conversation.
08:542.
08:55Caligula
08:56So, did you think that streaming services like Netflix pioneered the historical drama
09:12masquerading as erotica?
09:14Think again, because Caligula would like you to hold its beer.
09:21This utterly unforgettable cult classic was produced by Penthouse Magazine publisher Bob
09:26Guccione, written by Gore Vidal, and directed by Italy's Tinto Brass.
09:31The result was a film of varying cuts, but with a number of creative constants, sex,
09:37style, and violence.
09:39Caligula starred Helen Mirren, Malcolm McDowell, and Peter O'Toole, alongside performers hired
09:43by Guccione during post-production to film hardcore sequences.
09:49There's honestly enough nudity beyond these sequences, of course, but this infamous editing
10:00only adds to Caligula's notorious reputation.
10:04Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
10:07Emmanuel
10:08The softcore sensation that promised X was never like this.
10:22Humanoids from the Deep
10:23A Roger Corman production jam-packed with monsters and nudity.
10:35The Wolf of Wall Street
10:37The era of excess and excessive skin.
10:46The Perils of Gwendolyn in the Land of the Yik-Yak
10:49Music video star Tony Katane in a French fantasy farce.
11:02A Dirty Shame
11:03John Waters' infamous NC-17 bomb.
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11:28The Dreamers
11:44Director Bernardo Bertolucci was no stranger to controversy, having helmed the infamous
11:49Last Tango in Paris back in 1972.
11:52The Dreamers only added to Bertolucci's uncompromising legacy thanks to such taboo topics as the
11:57sexualization of sibling relationships.
12:00Granted, themes of political unrest and class structure also arrived within the narrative
12:05of The Dreamers, but most attention was paid to the nude scenes of stars Ava Green, Michael
12:10Pitt, and Louis Guerrelle.
12:18This love triangle is juxtaposed against the Parisian riots of May 1968, and a result that
12:24makes The Dreamers feel like a study of character and motivation amidst a backdrop of eroticism.
12:37Be honest, did nude scenes in a film influence your desire to check them out?
12:41Let us know in the comments.
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