LOS ANGELES — A new documentary, “Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies,” premieres today on VOD through Amazon, iTunes and most major streaming services.
Produced by Mr. Skin’s Jim McBride and industry vet Paul Fishbein, the film begins with the silent movie era and runs through present day, examining the changes in morality that led to the display of nudity in films, while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped this history.
“I always wondered why no one had ever done a definitive history of movie nudity. Obviously it’s one of my passions,” McBride said. “We live in the ‘Golden Age of Documentaries,’ with great ones being made on every subject from ‘The Last Dance’ to ‘Tiger King,’ and I figured now was as good a time as any to do this.”
“Skin” explores gender bias concerning nudity in motion pictures and follows the revolution that has pushed towards gender equality in feature films today.
Star-Studded Cast
Co-producer Fishbein added that the film also presents “a deep discussion of pre-code Hollywood and its amoral roots, the censorship that ‘cleaned up’ Hollywood and how the MPAA was formed."
“That leads into a discussion of how nudity changed cinematic culture through the decades,” he added.
The documentary was directed by Danny Wolf, who also produced this year’s three-part documentary “Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time.”
Amongst the names who show up during the two-hour running time are Pam Grier, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Young, Mamie van Doren, Sybil Danning, Shannon Elizabeth, Diane Franklin, EG Daily, Cerina Vincent, Kristanna Loken, John Cameron Mitchell and Oscar nominees Bruce Davison, Linda Blair, Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts and Sylvia Miles, in her final interview.
In addition, directors Peter Bogdanovich, Amy Heckerling, Joe Dante and Kevin Smith make appearances, as do many critics and experts on film history.
From Silents to #MeToo
Wolf explained that the documentarians "also wondered how nudity changed careers. For some, like Shannon Elizabeth, it bolstered them; but for others, such as Diane Franklin, they had to fight so that it wouldn’t define their lives.”
The director stressed that in doing this documentary they “wanted to make sure that we covered both the male and female perspectives, as well as every type of actor, from the 300-plus pound Ken Davitian of ‘Borat’ fame to reluctant sex symbols, such as Mamie Van Doren.”
The film also includes testimony from mainstream intimacy coordinator Alicia Rodis discussing what nude scenes look like in 2020, especially in light of the #MeToo movement.
For McBride, ‘Skin’ was also an opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his successful Mr. Skin website.
“I was writing my memoir, 'Being Mr. Skin,' when Paul Fishbein reached out to see if I wanted to collaborate on a bigger project, “ he explained. “I hosted his documentary of the greatest adult stars for Showtime, and he wanted to do something bigger and outside the mainstream adult industry. We discovered what we wanted to do together, almost instantaneously.”
For more about "Skin," visit IMDB.