Documentaries don’t always have to be sad and depressing topics. I enjoy a heavy documentary about a real event. But occasionally I prefer a documentary about something that’s uplifting and a touch spicey. Something that allows me to appreciate what people in the past had to do to have a jolly good time. Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers / Taboo: The Beginning of Erotic Cinema is a double feature about the naughty side of cinema from those “Good Ol’ Days.”
Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers (2004 – 52:39) talks about how burlesque theaters were the domain of strip tease audiences along with comics. While it was mainly known for live action entertainment, the stars of the circuit eventually made movies that could be shown at clubs between the live dancers. They also sold them as stag films for home viewers. These films couldn’t be shown in normal theaters thanks to the Hayes Code. Not that all the dancers were topless, but they were very suggestive with pasties. A few artists did make normal movies that teased. One clip in the documentary has Gypsy Rose Lee showing off her teasing skills while she discusses her career so it’s autobiographical and educational. She rolls down stockings and removes a little more without showing it all off. Her audience in the clip are uniformed soldiers so she’s doing her patriotic duty. Tempest Storm struts her stuff in color so you can see her blazing red hair. The iconic Bettie Page dances even though she’s mostly known for her pin ups. Sally Rand shows off her swirling fan dance. For avid fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, there’s footage of Lili St. Cyr. Susan Sarandon sings about her in one of the songs. There’s plenty of archival footage to give a sense of what was shot over the decades. The narrator gives pertinent facts about the performers without being overbearing. He lets us know about the dangers of the cops at striptease shows. Performers had to know the local laws or fear getting busted. The best part of the documentary is you get to enjoy the music and the motions without the dancers feeling rushed or over edited.
Taboo: The Beginning of Erotic Cinema (2004 – 52:37) shows up how naked folks showed up on the silver screen long before the 1970s. They have clips from the 1920. There were stag movies before sound arrived. The documentary traces erotic imagery back to ancient drawings and sculptures. Things ramped up when photography arrived. France is the first place where casts stripped down. Several examples are shown here from those black and white days. These are the classic dirty French movies. Things started getting frisky in American movies (although not as tawdry as the French). In Hollywood, the Hayes Office killed the fun in the 1930s. Things went underground for the erotic. We get to see a lot of clips from stag films that were distributed in non-legal ways. There’s even a Christmas special with Santa Claus getting naughty. A montage of Bettie Page’s fetish film work delights the eyes. Amazing to think how the cops arrested people for these films that you can now buy on DVD in the mail. There is talk of the big change in X-rated action. There’s even footage involving Sylvester Stallone’s Italian Stallion erotic movie.
Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers / Taboo: The Beginning of Erotic Cinema is a fine double feature for getting a sense of the history of what was captured on celluloid before the creation of the X Rating. In these days where you’re a few keywords away from watching whatever, getting a glimpse of what the pioneers of adult cinema and burlesque went through is meaningful. The filmmakers back then had to find a film laboratory willing to process illicit imagery. They didn’t just use their phones and post it online. The best part of both of these documentaries is that they allow most of the performances to play out. You’ll be enlightened, educated and entertained by these history lessons on erotica.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. Because these are documentaries that rely on vintage footage, the quality varies. Nothing is in too bad of a shape. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo for both films. The mix is fine for the movies that have audio and the narrator. The movies are subtitled in English.
No bonus features.
SkinMax presents Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers / Taboo: The Beginning of Erotic Cinema (Double Feature). Directed by Phillip Dye & Kelly Cauthen. Starring Bettie Page, Sheree North, Gypsy Rose Lee & Josephine Baker. Boxset Contents: 2 movies on 1 DVD. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 25, 2025.
