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 of the absolute BEST years in moviemaking: X-Rated Cinema.
Greetings
Greetings is historic because it was the first film ever to receive an X-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. The movie was directed by Brian DePalma in 1968 and is a satirical film that focuses on a few young men trying to dodge the Vietnam War draft. It appears that a lot of those guys dodge the draft through sex...lots and lots of sex.
Sara-Jo Edlin and Ashley Oliver both go nude in this film which is loosely told in three stories, including one about a peeping tom and all of the peepers he peeps. Greetings to those breasts!
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy has the distinction of being the first and only X-rated film to win an Oscar. The movie follows a male sex worker who leaves the South for The Big Apple so that he can make the big bucks with his presumably big dick. While in NYC, the naive young man meets Dustin Hoffman's famous Ratso. Ratso (who famously said "I'm walkin' here") helps the hustler and the two form a deep relationship.
This 1969 film is still deeply touching and I highly recommend it. For an X-rated film about a gigolo, the nudity is not explicit. However, there certainly are scenes showcasing female nudity from Brenda Vaccaro and Jennifer Salt. Pass the Salt!
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
This film was intended to be a sequel to the film The Valley of the Dolls, but it wound up being something of a sexploitation parody directed by the one and only Russ Meyer. The original was a fun film, but nothing compares to this sex romp of a sequel.
This delightfully kitschy and sexy flick features nudity from hourglass hottie Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Erica Gavin, Phyllis Davis, Marcia McBroom, and many more.
Performance
Let's talk about a lesser-known flick from this era. These other X-rated films can be found everywhere and are always discussed in roundups of X-rated film history. Few people take the time to talk about Performance starring Mick Jagger. That could be because it is a wildly weird film, but it is also a difficult film to find. Rockstars and nude girls? What is this, The Idol? It may as well be!
Famous girlfriend to rockstars Anita Pallenberg stars in a sexy, drugged-up role where the beachy blond shows her TA in this film co-directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll rewarded this film with an X-rating.
Pink Flamingos
Is any X-rated classic film more shocking and fun than Pink Flamingos? Pink Flamingos STILL shocks people at midnight screenings around the world. This X-rated film (it was updated with an NC-17 upon its re-release in 1997), put director John Waters on the map in 1972. The indie filmmaker took his troupe of weirdos and made something that celebrated filth...and, boy, did they ever.
The film famously stars drag queen Divine, but it also features naked actresses Mink Stole and Cookie Mueller in the roles that brought them to American audiences who got to see everything they had to offer.
