This past year, I've been watching the films on the AFI Top 100 List to follow along with an incredible podcast called Unspooled. I love to listen along with the hosts, film critic Amy Nicholson and comedian Paul Scheer, as a kind of film club that asks me to revisit some of Hollywood's finest films and watch several that I've avoided for a majority of my life on movie-watching Earth for one reason or another. One thing that I have noticed,as a fan of movies and movie nudity, is the way that these iconic films also have some of the most famous nudity in movie history. I'm going to look at the nudity in the most recent films I watched - again,inspiredby the podcast Unspooled - Nashville, Network, and Pulp Fiction.
Let's start with Pulp Fiction, a film that surprisingly hasnofemale nudity. I actually thought it did have nudity until I rewatched it a few weeks ago. Maria de Medeiros instead spends time in her underwear and a white T-shirt with no bra underneath while the Marilyn Monroe impersonator Susan Griffiths pays homage to Marilyn in her white underwear.
This groundbreaking flick had no groundbreaking nudity or sex scenes which is something I completely forgot about until I rewatched it. In fact, the movie is rather sexless except for Uma Thurman's sort of sensual dancing in tight black capris and Maria and Bruce Willis laying in bed together. The movie seems to suggest there is no room for sex or female sensualityin this world of witty gangsters and loaded guns - but there IS male nudity and a gimp. The film is so masculine that itonly has male nudity. Go figure! While Pulp Fiction is no doubt a great film that I liked even better on this recent watch than I had originally, it doesn't do much for the world of skin. Luckily, Tarantino has remedied this in his films since then and he now does a better job of celebrating the power of sex appeal. Look at Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for proof!
Next up, let's talk about Nashville. Robert Altman's rambling ode to the country music scene in 1970s Nashville is divisive. Some people love it while others can't help but wonder what the hell is going on. I'm in the latter camp. Although, admittedly, this movie was more enjoyable on my second watch when I had a better sense of its tone and plot. The eye candy wasn't bad either. Shelley Duvall in her underwear is legitimately adorable. She's a delight throughout the film, but this sexy number she wore had me smiling!
Gwen Welles plays Sueleen Gay in the movie and goes totally nude to bare her buns and breasts in a room full of clothed people. It's a skincredibly memorable and off-kilter scene in which this wannabe country singer, who can't actually sing that well, sings at a party where the crowd wants her to strip. When she gets booed off stage for singing, she changes her strategy. As sexy Sueleen takes off her clothes at the men's request, she sings to prove to the gentlemen that that's where her talent lies. Unfortunately for Sueleen, the men are more impressed by her rack than her voice. Hey, so are we! This is one of those great nude scenes in movie history that uses nudity and the actress' sexuality to drive forward her character development. This scene perfectly showcases Sueleen's delusional desperation to make it any cost as Sueleen learns that having an audience cheer for her feeds her soul, despite the fact that it's for her breasts rather than her dreams. This nude scene lends itself to the film's larger truth that people have to compromise some part of their life in order to make their dreams come true.
Before we move on, I do want to point out there was even a rare appearance of Lily Tomlin's nipples in Nashville. Lily has had a long career with no nudity except for this sneak peek at her pokies when she's wearing a white lace bra. Now that's something to sing about!
Finally,I just watchedNetworkwhich was the most recent episode of the podcast.This 1976 Sidney Lumet film about television weirdly feels more relevant todayin a world where we're allmad as hell and we don't want to take it anymore. This movie is great in ways that are downright spooky. This satire essentially predicted modern television and pop culture in such ways that it no longer feels like a satire. What seemed like crass black humor in the film ended up becoming eerily similar to our actual entertainment. Networkis incredibly well-acted, the script is tight, and it doesn't feel nearly as dated as I thought that it might. It's captivating from start to finish and that's mostly due to Faye Dunaway's stunning performance. Sheacts like her life is depending on it as a ball-breaking television producer working in a male-dominated world. When she's not breaking balls, she's arousing them in a scene where she also bares her perky pair! Faye is actually in three AFI Top 100 films and she shows her breasts in all three. Honestly? The films she's in are all my personal favorites on the list. Faye and her fun bags know how to make iconic cinema!
Join me next weekwhere I'll talk about three more films on the AFI Top 100 list and their nudity. Do the Right Thing and listen to Unspooled in the meantime and start watching these flicks with me.
