Let's throw it back to a black-and-white sixties movie that shows nudity with some grit. It was a critically acclaimed and controversial film for its nude scenes, so let's take a look at the classic 1964 drama The Pawnbroker.
Sidney Lumet directed this movie that boasts an impressive cast, including Morgan Freeman in his feature film debut. Rod Steiger was even nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as a Holocaust survivor whoownsa New York City pawn shop. He wrestles with his life in Harlem and the ways it reminds him subtly of his life in the Holocaust. His memory drifts back and we see scenes of what it was like. It's a heavy film, but it also features its fair share of sexy babes who are shown naked.
The Pawnbroker has the distinction of being one of the last films to push the limits of the Hays Code. Linda Geiser and Thelma Oliver star in the movie with Linda showing her body off in flashbacks while Thelma is the real deal in real-time as a sex worker trying to make a buck. She's beautiful, but our leading man is haunted by his memories.
This film is briefly talked about in the documentary Skin which mentions how it pushed the boundaries of the Hays Code. The movie was first labeled a C rating which stood for "Condemned". The rating was contested and after fights and revotes with The Motion Picture Association of America, it was finally given a pass. They thought that this film was a unique case of acceptable movie nudity and that it would not set a precedent, but it inevitably did. The code fell away shortly after! Victory! Learn more about it in the documentary which you can catch a clip of here:
