Our Staff Picks column is a new addition that takes you back to a time when video stores reigned supreme and the "Staff Picks" section was the place to find out what films were worthy of one's time. Of course, our version has a decidedly nude angle, as we suss out which films from a certain genre with great nudity. This week: New Hollywood!
New Hollywood began in the mid-60s when studios lost their grip of control on filmmakers. Directors were given more control which meant that directors were able to do a lot more experimentation. Not only that, but a new crop of filmmakers were arriving in Hollywood.
These filmmakers had studied film - some of the first to do so - in and out of universities. They watched and were influenced by foreign films, namely French New Wave and Italian Neo-Realism which were nothing like the movies that classic Hollywood was churning out. What resulted was a novel feeling in Hollywood. It was youthful, daring, gritty, and inventive. It was New Hollywood.
The era was slightly controversial, too. Some criticized these directors for having too much power and for abusing that power. Many critics consider the early 80s to be the official end of this movement after Spielberg ended his friendship with director John Landis following on-set deaths on Twilight Zone: The Movie.
That combined with various reports about how out-of-control and sometimes dangerous these sets were have marred some modern views of this era. Mostly, we all know not to encourage this kind of behavior again.
That being said, nothing can detract from how fantastic a lot of these films really are. These films changed cinema and remain super influential on filmmakers for decades to come. Plus? They are some of the first American movies to include male nudity. Rock on.
Here are our staff picks for New Hollywood movies with great nude scenes:
Easy Rider
The beginning of this movement is believed to have begun with two films: Bonnie Clyde and Easy Rider. Easy Rider has a lot more nudity than Bonnie Clyde, so that's what we are celebrating today. In a lot of ways, Easy Rider feels more quintessentially American anyway. It has a simple premise in which bikers go on a cross-country road trip to the US and stop for sex and drugs.
What makes this film part of the movement is the auteur and indie nature behind its creation. Hippie filmmaker Dennis Hopper directed and starred in the film - and he went nude. We call that a triple threat!
Cool Hand Luke
Stuart Rosenberg and Paul Newman began working together at this time and they collaborated on several solid New Hollywood movies. Cool Hand Luke is the best of them! This 1967 film follows Paul Newman on a chain gang and the guys he meets while in prison. One of those guys is Ralph Waite who has a meaty seat worth drooling over. I want to give him a cool handie!
Greetings
Brian de Palma made some of the bloodiest, scariest, and most challenging films in American cinema. But he started it all with this wacky comedy featuring X-rated nude scenes. Greetings follows three friends in the 60s whose free love ideas and political conspiracies collide.
Jonathan Warden's nude bod also collides in a scene that parodies porn - something that was readily available to watch in the burgeoning adult moviehouses in New York City! Say "greetings" to Jonathan's cock and balls.
The Last Picture Show
Peter Bogdanovich directed a very American movie when he and co-producer Polly Platt presented this black-and-white film about teenagers in a tiny Texas town whose industry and opportunities are dying. With their whole lives ahead of them, the only promising option is to leave town but that's not easy to do.
It's a gorgeous coming-of-age film that realistically depicts Americana. Randy Quaid and Gary Brockette are strapping young American men when they strip nude and swim in a pool. They convince goody-two-shoes gal Cybill Shepherd to join them. After seeing these nude dudes, she obliges!
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy was an unlikely hit. Jon Voight stars as a southern sex worker who moves to New York City to make more money. The city is tough, but he befriends Dustin Hoffman who offers support. It is a sweet film about their relationship dotted with nude scenes by Voight.
The only X-rated film to ever win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Midnight Cowboy is one of the best American films ever made.
