Every so often a nude scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and this week’s musical interlude comes from a director who’s pretty famous for their skin-clination for nudity.
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Before he brought the scandalous Basic Instinct and Showgirls to the screen, Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven helmed a dramatic romance starring future replicant Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven in her nude debut, 1973’s Turkish Delight. Rutger plays a sculptor, and Monique is his lover/wife who models for his work. That means she’s in the buff for a number of scenes, baring three beautiful Bs that lead to more poking than they do painting. Despite their obvious passion for each other, their relationship is tumultuous and doesn’t end well, so their moments of primal ecstasy and kinky flower play are captured by… (checks notes)… smooth jazz harmonica.
Monique van de Ven Nude in Turkish Delight
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Now it was the 70s, and this is totally a matter of opinion, but there’s a reason that their hasn’t been a hot sex scene set to The Hollies’ “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and that’s because sad harmonica music doesn’t exactly get people’s motors running.
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But according to Wikipedia, “Turkish Delight is the most successful film in the history of Dutch cinema” so maybe there’s something to Rogier van Otterloo’s score that people from the Netherlands really appreciate as they view Monique’s naughty nether-lands. Known for classical and jazz fusion, the composer would go to score more of Verhoeven’s Dutch films, but he passed away in 1988 so Elizabeth Berkley had to splash around to something other than an instrument that only really sounds good when playing raunchy blues or in a Charles Bronson Western.
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The kicker is that Turkish Delight was actually adapted into a musical in 2005, but there’s no evidence that van Otterloo’s score was used as a basis for the show’s musical numbers. Like the confection itself, Turkish Delight looks tasty (thanks to Monique’s amazing ass, boobs, and bush) - but does it really have the flavor to back things up?
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Catch Up With Previous Editions of Songs in the Key of Nudity
—Sweet Sweetback's Baadaassss Song
