Our Staff Picks column 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 of Staff Picks has a decidedly skintillating angle, as we suss out which films from a particular subgenre are the best to find great nudity. This week let's cover one a skinteresting genre: Dogma 95!
Essentially "Dogma 95" was a brief indie film movement that put restrictions on filmmaking for budding directors. This movement was created to give power back to artists and take power away from studios. Whether or not it did that successfully is debatable, but these films did wind up being influential to future indie filmmakers. Plus there was nudity.
They were not to make their films "fancy" - no special effects, camera tricks, handheld cameras, and even very limited music. One notable element of Dogma 95 was that the director was not to be credited. Well, we do know who the main directors in this movement were! Directors included the one and only Lars von Trier, Susanne Bier, Harmony Korine, Kristian Levring, Annette K. Olesen, Jean-Marc Barr, Thomas Vinterberg, and Lone Scherfig.
In fact, von Trier and Vittenberg created the avant garde style of cinema by realizing their theories "The Dogma Manifesto" and "The Vow of Chastity" in their efforts to purify movie-making. The good news is that there is no real chastity in these films. These films have a lot of nudity!
A lot of the films in this movement received negative reviews which may be why this movement only lasted a short while. Essentially, only the first film that really heralded this dogma - 1998's Festen or Celebration - was critically acclaimed and won awards at film festivals. Let's take a look at that film and the others with great nude scens"
Celebration
This Danish film did give us a little bit of something to celebrate. Thomas Vittenberg directed this quirky drama about a family that reunites for their patriarch's 60th birthday. While they are together, old wounds come to the surface. Do you know what else comes to the surface? The titties on Trine Dyrholm.
The Idiots
Lars von Trier directed this flick about people who decide to abandon society and live in a commune. That's not all (because that's never all when it comes to von Trier). The people live in the commune and act like, well, "idiots". This was 1998 so you can imagine how non-politically correct that was. They do this to annoy people and you might feel annoyed by the film yourself. The film is certainly a challenge. What helps is that there is nudity - A LOT of nudity.
Louise Mieritz shows off her fantastic ass while Trine Michelsen sunbathes topless AND lays back fully nude to let us admire her big breasts and her trimmed bush. You'll be smart to unzip your pants when you watch The Idiots.
The King is Alive
The King is Alive follows tourists who get stranded in a mining town. In order to keep themselves entertained as they wait for help, they put on a performance of King Lear. Jennifer Jason Leigh and a boobalicious Janet McTeer both star and give Shakespearean levels of sexiness in the film. Jennifer Jason Leigh's lovely nude body would certainly skinspire The Bard himself!
Lovers
The French always have to get involved in a film movement and turn it sexy. Jean-Marc Barr gave us this quaint look at - what else? - two lovers. A European couple in Paris? What do you think they spend most of the movie doing? Sex, of course! Elodie Bouchez gives a skintastic performance as the Parisian pretty girl who gets nude with her lover.
