December 5, 2009

Mr Skin's Skintastic Video Guide: The 501 Greatest Movies for Sex & Nudity on DVD (2007)

When it comes to book titles this one really doesn't leave much to the imagination; it does exactly what is says on the cover. That's right, you've got Mr Skin's 501 top movies honouring the exposure of female flesh, as long as they are available on an official US release and playable on Region 1 DVD player. Bloody fantastic stuff if you ask me.

As well as the 501 Greatest movies there is also Mr Skin's personal top 69 and the top 69 movies that are not currently available on DVD. It's all quite exhaustive stuff, alongside cover art for each movie, although not all the art is from the US release, there is a brief rundown of the plot in most cases but more importantly it gives the lowdown on who flashes what and what they flash. Indeed, in what must have been some seriously extensive "research" there is a breast, butt and bush count for each flick.

The list of movies contained is incredibly varied as well, you have everything covered, from Grindhouse to Arthouse, Blaxsploitation to Nazisploitation, Low Brow to High Brow, Horror, Comedy, Drama, you name it it is probably covered in one shape or form here. From the likes of Cannibal Holocaust, Bloodsucking Freaks and the Ilsa flicks to more mainstream faire such as Doc Hollywood, American Pie and Road Trip plus many in between. In fact reading this has made me want to search quite a few of these out, being the pervert that I am.

Alongside the movies though there are also loads of interesting tidbits of information about the various directors, film companies and actresses etc. Not to mention a guide to some of Dr Skin's quite inventive play on words, such as "furburgerage" and "skingoria". That's the main thing that holds this guide together and that is the fantastic humor that is prevalent throughout. So many films guides are just lists of movies, but there is nothing that really glues everything together. Here though, aside from checking which movie has the highest boob count, I can guarantee that you will be laughing along as you read.

The Skintastic Video Guide is a quite splendid reference guide that I wholeheartedly recommend you pick up. Whether you are seriously interested in the contents, and judging by some of the movies listed i'd reckon that the nudity was the only redeeming point, or whether you you just want a fun and informative read, you really can't go wrong. Although I will just add that Straw Dogs was set in Cornwall and not Scotland which is at the complete opposite end of the UK. Not that that matters as there is more information here than should be humanly possible to gather, and credit must be given to all involved for taking the time and effort to compile it.

Great book.

Rating 4 stars

Review by Jude Felton

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