‘Skin: A History of Nudity In The Movies’ Trailer Strips the Mystery From Nude Scenes

By Greta Bjornson @greatbjornson
Published July 8, 2020, 4:25 p.m. ET

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A new documentary is looking into Hollywood’s naked truth. Skin: A History of Nudity In The Movies explores the influence and impact of nudity on screen, interviewing some of the biggest stars to shed their clothes in front of the camera.

In a newly released trailer today, the film explores the origins of nudity on screen, starting with Marilyn Monroe. As one interview subject explains, Monroe “was the first actress to prove that nudity does not destroy your career, it can even help your career.”

Skin: A History of Nudity In The Movies explains what happened after Monroe’s game-changing nude scenes. Films began to embrace nudity more widely, and audiences were pulled in. “Everybody is naked, and they’re touching each other,” another film subject exclaims in today’s trailer. From Midnight Cowboy to American Pie and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Skin covers films across the decades.

While the documentary follows the boom in nude scenes — with one interviewee saying “it was liberating for actresses and actors to get nude on screen” — it also examines how the industry’s approach to these scenes changed as time went on, especially following the MeToo movement.

“Skin delves into the gender bias concerning nudity in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has pushed for gender equality in feature films today,” the film’s official synopsis reads. “A deep discussion of pre-code Hollywood and its amoral roots, the censorship that ‘cleaned up’ Hollywood and how the MPAA was formed leads into a discussion of how nudity changed cinematic culture through the decades. It culminates in a discussion of ‘what are nude scenes like in the age of the #METOO movement?'”

Skin features interviews with Malcolm McDowell, Pam Grier, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Smith, Sean Young, Peter Bogdanovich, Amy Heckerling, Traci Lords, Mariel Hemingway and Bruce Davison. The film will be available to watch on demand this summer, dropping on VOD Aug. 18.

Watch the full trailer for Skin: A History of Nudity In The Movies in the video above.