All Quiet on the Western Front  

Neptune3 wrote this review on October 22nd, 2006

Nudity Rating:  

Scene Description:

skinny-dipping scene

Review Details:

In this Best Picture Oscar winner from 1930 (made before the strict censorship came into effect that forbad nudity, sex, extreme violence, language and other things) four German soldiers, including young male lead Lew Ayres, go skinny-dipping in a river after weeks without a bath. The four men frolic for a lengthy amount of time with only their backs and chests visible, but, when three French women happen by, they begin diving into the water again and again, showing their (skinny!) behinds as they jump up and into the water. Their sides are also seen. No frontal nudity can be made out, but the scene warrants two stars because of the rarity of male movie flesh in the early days of film and because the four men are naked in the water for a LONG time, eventually going back to see the women at night and (though it is only implied) approaching their house naked. They are also affectionate with one another in that "war pal" sort of way and, for a time, stand in the water with their genitals just below the surface (and not clearly seen.) The film is an old, lengthy, sometimes creaky, but still very effective anti-war picture and isn't worth watching solely for this skin, but it IS worth watching and this sequence is an enjoyable one.