25 Most Legendary Nude Scenes in Movies

The most famous leg-cross in film history. In an otherwise clinical interrogation room, Catherine Tramell (Stone) coolly and calculatingly takes control. Revealing not only in the literal sense, but in what she does to the men facing her. Stone later said she was not fully aware of what the shot would show.

A deeply controversial film, above all because of one notorious scene. Maria Schneider later said she felt humiliated because key details were not shared with her beforehand, which seriously damaged Bernardo Bertolucci's reputation. The film remains an uncomfortable masterpiece about grief, power and sex, and a cautionary tale about consent on set.

In an ice-cold, almost clinical atmosphere, Johansson plays an alien who lures men to their doom. Her nudity isn't an object of desire but of disorientation, fear and alienation. A perfect example of how body and mystery can merge.

A teenage boy's fantasy, literally. Phoebe Cates' slow-motion emergence from the pool became a cultural moment in its own right. More than an adolescent daydream, the scene cleverly plays with the line between fantasy and reality.

This intensely raw and emotional scene is anything but erotic in the traditional sense. Berry and Billy Bob Thornton show their characters at their most broken, with intimacy as a last attempt at human contact. Berry won an Oscar for the role, the first Black woman to win Best Actress.

'Draw me like one of your French girls.' Winslet's pose wearing nothing but the Heart of the Ocean necklace became an iconic moment in a film that broke millions of hearts. Nude but never exploitative, the scene is about trust, desire and self-determination.

Stanley Kubrick's swan song is an exploration of sexual fantasy, jealousy and distance, and Kidman shines in a series of scenes that say more about inner conflict than physical arousal.

With her braided hair and the famous beach run, Bo Derek became an instant sex symbol. A scene that defined an era and is still associated with the archetype of perfection, or the longing for it.

Eva Green's fearless performance in Bernardo Bertolucci's film is a rare example of acting that's artistic, intelligent and erotic at once. The film is full of cinephilia, politics and sex, with Green at its radiant center.

In a reversal of the classic nude image, it's the man who undresses here, not for power but in surrender. One of the rare times male nudity on screen feels tender and vulnerable.

Sultry, steamy and over the top, but also hypnotic. Jolie's physical presence is an essential part of her character's mystery in this erotic thriller with Antonio Banderas.

His brief, shirtless appearance became legendary. More suggestive than explicit, but Pitt's scene as a young, cocky drifter launched his career, and countless fantasies.

Long, explicit and controversial: the intimate scenes are intensely realistic, but critics and the actresses themselves raised concerns about how they were filmed. Still, the scenes between the leads are honest, vulnerable and heartbreaking in their abandon.

In this adaptation of Milan Kundera's novel, nudity, philosophy and desire are seamlessly interwoven. Binoche brings subtlety, sensuality and emotion to every scene.

His muscular, shirtless silhouette running through the mountains was as memorable to many viewers as the action and drama. A film that showed heroism and attraction can easily go hand in hand.

A film that was panned for years but grew into a cult classic full of hypersexual energy and raw ambition. Berkley's nudity isn't modest but bombastic, which fits this decadent Vegas nightmare perfectly.

Fassbender's nudity here is anything but erotic. His body is a vehicle for addiction, emptiness and inner pain. A daring performance in a film that unflinchingly examines shame.

David Lynch weaves sex, identity and illusion together in this hypnotic scene between Watts and Laura Harring. Nothing is what it seems, and that's exactly what makes the scene so haunting.

In a scene that's both poetic and sad, Bellucci's character is publicly humiliated in the town square by women who once envied her, while the men look on. A painful reminder that nudity on film can also be about shame and humiliation.

Danny Boyle's hypnotic thriller uses Dawson's body as a powerful, self-aware plot device, in a scene where her nudity isn't merely seductive but revealing, literally and narratively.

In her breakthrough film, Robbie dominates not only Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort but the whole screen. The scene in the nursery, where she turns the tables on him, is a masterclass in control and female power.

McGregor was known for his fearless attitude toward nudity, and in this somber, erotic drama his performance is unfiltered and unvarnished.

The dream or hallucination scene between Nina and Lily is sensational, intense and ambiguous, fitting perfectly in a film that constantly balances between reality and madness.

The softcore classic that revolutionized the genre, with Dutch actress Kristel as the face of sultry French sensuality. Groundbreaking at the time, and still an icon.

In a scene that isn't about explicit nudity but about intimacy and presence, Seberg lies in bed and talks, with nothing but her voice, her gaze and her body. An early New Wave approach to nudity as natural vulnerability.