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 No Wave Cinema!
What the heck is No Wave? It's fascinating, really! Punks, get ready because this is the era for you.
No Wave cinema took place in the mid-to-late 70s well into the mid-80s. It was characterized mostly by the music scene at the time which included musicians like Patti Smith, Blondie, Richard Hell, Television, The Talking Heads, The Heartbreakers, and The Ramones. How NYC punk can it get?
The artists involved all flocked mostly around the Lower East Side and Alphabet City in New York City because that area was practically decrepit at the time. Rents were very cheap, so poor artists were able to live there and have studios, venues, and galleries there without breaking the bank.
The films themselves were a response to French New Wave but were mostly influenced by directors of the previous indie art era like Andy Warhol, John Cassavetes, and John Waters. These films were punk rock in spirit, energy, and actors.
Directors in New Wave included Jim Jarmusch, Vincent Gallo, Amos Poe, Susan Seidelman, Vivienne Dick, and more. Famous films include The Blank Generation, Stranger Than Paradise, and Susan Seidelman's Smithereens (a true classic). None of those films had sexy scenes...but these films did. Check these sexy flicks out:
Variety
This 1983 film by director Bette Gordon is about a young woman who is desperate for a change. Sandy McLeod plays the leading lady in a movie about a woman who yearns for more. To change things up, she decides to take a job at a seedy Times Square titty bar. There are no explicit tits in the movie, but we do see bras and cleavage from Sandy and her co-workers.
Unmade Beds
Amos Poe chose to showcase Blondie's Debbie Harry in this 1976 black-and-white film which is essentially a 70s New York response to the French New Wave classic Breathless. Unmade Beds is a staple of modern American indie filmmaking and Poe worked closely with Harry on this sexy little experiment in meta-filmmaking.
The plot follows a man who thinks that he literally IS the protagonist from Breathless. He has a strong, imaginary view of himself which all comes into question when he meets blond bombshell Harry. Between hottie Harry and Patti Astor's massive cleavage, this movie will inspire you to unmake some beds.
The Driller Killer
Now for some REAL nudity! This indie slasher by director Abel Ferrara is about a painter who kills people and uses blood spatter as paint. He makes Jackson Pollock-style paintings with the blood of his victims! One of his victims is played by cutie Carolyn Marz in her only screen credit ever when she has a lesbian scene with Baybi Day!
Watch the scene here:
Fingered
Finally, let's talk about a film that came all the way at the end of this era (arguably past it, but with a woman who was an actual star of the No Wave movement). Punk rock queen Lydia Lunch serves up something truly tasty in this seductively titled short film by Richard Kern. In this film, Lydia plays a phone sex operator who gets together with a client for a debaucherous night.
They finger and she also gets fisted in her ass. A lot goes on in this 25-minute hardcore film that seems to dip fairly heavily into porn!
