'Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies' looks at the past, with an eye on the future

Toward that end, "Skin" begins from the perspective of the #MeToo movement, discussing the pressure actresses have felt, evolving standards through the years and the logistics of filming nude scenes in a way that still makes those involved comfortable, including the use of intimacy coordinators. As critic Amy Nicholson notes, such decisions must now be "cross examined" and justified, which was hardly the case in the old days.

For some actors, these career choices were agonizing. For others, it wasn't that a big deal. That includes a few of the men interviewed, with Malcolm McDowell reminiscing about his roles in 1970s movies like "A Clockwork Orange" and "Caligula," saying, "I came along at the very moment that the floodgates opened."

Indeed, the film reminds us how much the media world has changed from the pre-Internet age, when going to the movies actually offered the semi-magical (and yes, often naughty) allure of seeing things that weren't readily accessible in the comfort of one's home.

Director Danny Wolf proceeds to illustrate that by rifling through decade after decade of film history, from the "moral guardians" of the 1920s to the introduction of the Hays Code in the 1930s, from the US emulating more permissive European films to implementation of the MPAA ratings system in the late 1960s.

"Skin" mostly unfolds in scholarly fashion, but there's no getting around the slightly leering side of it. (Jim McBride, a.k.a. Mr. Skin, an authority on where to find nudity in movies, is among the producers.)

Fortunately, there's an abundance of worthwhile anecdotes strewn throughout -- some upsetting, others simply amusing. In the latter basket, director Joe Dante recalls how producer Roger Corman would submit his movies to the ratings board, then release them to drive-ins with all the excised bits restored, correctly guessing that nobody would bother to check up on them.

The central issue that emerges, however, comes from actresses who were pressured or compelled to do nude scenes, and the lack of protection and safeguards available to them. Some recollections come from women whose careers were defined by that, such as Shannon Elizabeth in "American Pie," or "Showgirls" and "Striptease" co-star Rena Riffel, who asks with the benefit of hindsight, "Was I being taken advantage of?"

As is so often the case, filmmakers and regulators found themselves chasing a moving target, while movie distributors capitalized on efforts to restrict content as a marketing come-on -- a Whac-a-Mole game repeated time and again through the medium's history.

The documentary also makes clear the inequity and inconsistency in the treatment of women, with Sean Young recalling how a director matter-of-factly asked her to expose herself before casting her, and director Peter Bogdanovich saying the producers wanted to make nudity a condition of hiring Cybill Shepherd for his 1971 film "The Last Picture Show," which he resisted.

The filmmakers, actors and historians interviewed stress that nudity has its place in movies (and increasingly premium television), despite cinema's problematic history of juxtaposing sex with violence, and questions of how to distinguish artistic intent from mere exploitation.

"Skin" meanders a bit too much in covering and uncovering 100-plus years of movies, but the net effect is indeed revealing -- not just for the nostalgia of it all, but how understanding that history can inform where Hollywood goes from here.

"Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies" is available on demand beginning Aug. 18.